Thank You Rahm and Welcome home! Job well done, it wasn't perfect but it was effective.

[wndycty]

Rahm is probably the must misunderstood person in Washington. He doesn't help himself with his style, but quite frankly he has been very effective.

[sadbear]

1. I agree

He did exactly what he was hired to do.

[wndycty]

2. Yes. . .

. . .and he served the president well.

[lamp_shade]

3. Big Rahm fan here. I'm going to miss him. Good for Chicago.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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[Aramchek]

10. true, but they have to use some tact to trash Obama without being banned

There was no such restriction with Rahm.
Open Season is coming to an end.

[butterfly77]

5. Kicked&Recommended!

[jaxx]

6. Make that 2.

I like Rahm. Chicago is the winner getting him back.

[mkultra]

8. i liked him but perhaps it serves our purposes better for him to step down

he has apparently irked some of those who claim to be the base so perhaps some new blood would be best.

[bigwillq]

9. Good riddance (nt)

[golddigger]

11. I hope the Oval office door hits him on the way out.

[choie]

12. Then you and Chicago deserve him..

n/t

[Phx_Dem]

13. Good luck, Rahm. Hope you win.

[terrya]

14. Nevermind

I don't like him, but whatever.

[HERVEPA]

15. Nah. He sucked!

[jgraz]

16. Couldn't disagree more

The guy's been a disaster at everything he touched. I hope for your sake and the sake of my favorite city that Rahm gets his ass kicked in the mayoral race.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jgraz]

21. Which is why we're about to lose the House

It's really simple: if you lose politically, you employed a losing political strategy. And just like in 94, Rahm was a huge part of that losing political strategy.

I just hope this new guy can turn things around.

[ProudDad]

32. And what, pray tell, is an "alleged progressive"

By YOUR words, YOU seem to fit that category...

And if you can defend a DLC abomination like Rahm, it's further proof of your "alleged progressive" stance.

Progressive means:

Community provision of the basic minimum of health care, food and housing for ALL...

All workers receive a living wage for their labor...and protections in the workplace...

A steeply progressive system of taxation that makes those who benefit most from the infrastructure of the community pay the most back...

An end to the capitalist system of exploitation that's destroying the Earth...

An END to wars -- all wars and a drastic cut (like 80%) to the war budget...

---------------------------

The Obamites have dribbled a few crumbs from the groaning table, increased military spending, paid of the banksters and other corporate megaliths, sabotaged universal health care for another generation in order to generate more income to the health insurance mafia and Big PhRMA, etc. etc. etc.

Under the watchful gaze of the gatekeeper, Rahm Israel Emanuel...

To my REAL progressive brothers and sisters in Chicago I send my commiserations...

[Ignis]

48. "alleged progressives...and I guess you are in that category"

Ah, it's nice to see that the No True Scotsman fallacy is alive and well at DU. :eyes:

[jgraz]

50. Funny thing is...

I'm also an "alleged Scotsman". :D

[Ignis]

51. I knew something jes' twern't raaht 'bout you, bwoy.

It's that faint aroma of wet wool and McEwan's. :freak:

[jgraz]

53. McEwan's??

I'm sure you meant Laphraoig... right? :beer:

[truebrit71]

20. +1000

An absolute fucking disaster...I'm sorry but the standard has to be set higher than "hey we're not as bad as the alternative"..besides which, I thought his boss was supposed to be "changing" that..

Got swept into office on a wave of change, and then carried on as usual..War criminals walk free, big polluters keep on polluting, LGBT still second-class citizens, war on drugs still on-going, Justice dept tasked to maintain govtsecrecy

[ihavenobias]

27. I feel bad for my beloved hometown of Chicago.

Oh well, at least the Bears are 3-0.

[jgraz]

28. Chicago will be just fine.

The Bears, on the other hand, still suck.

;)

[baldguy]

18. He wasn't effective. At all.

Part of the Chief of Staff's job is to get the administration's message out & to ride herd on Congress. Rahm has done neither.

[wndycty]

19. Health Care Reform, Wall Street Reform, Saving Detroit, Saving the Country. . .

. . .oh no not effective at all :sarcasm:

[jgraz]

23. I'm confused... are you listing the ways in which he was ineffective?

Cuz those first two items definitely qualify.

[baldguy]

24. Ask the average schmuck in the street about those.

One that hasn't been brainwashed by Faux. They'll say HRC is a "govt takeover", they don't understand Wall St reform, and they think bailing out the banks & Detroit and the huge stimulus have either done nothing or have harmed the country.

Mainly because the WH has allowed the GOP and their minions in the corporatist media to define them that way, without any counter argument for the truth.

[jgraz]

25. Or just wait a few years

After the economy has crashed again and we have more uninsured than when Obama took office. Then tell me how "effective" Rahm was.

[Nite Owl]

29. Not exactly

they are informed, at least the ones I meet while canvassing. Healthcare is considered far from a government takeover, they wanted Medicare for All. They wanted the banks broken up and investigated. I canvas dems but my GOP neighbors want the same things so if this had been done we would be riding free to a win now.

[jgraz]

30. Yep. By a 2-to-1 margin, people think HCR *didn't go far enough*.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/09/25/ap_poll_repeal_many_wish_health_law_went_further

[baldguy]

36. And who's fault is that?

Thanks to Rahm, single-payer wasn't even on the table.

[avaistheone1]

38. Hell the doctors who came to the Senate and the White House to advocate

for single payer were arrested. Their voices were not even heard.

[jgraz]

42. In fairness, I don't think it was all Rahm's fault.

Someone had to hire him. Who was that again? :shrug:

[wndycty]

44. So I take it you are just not a fan of this president, are you?

:kick:

[jgraz]

46. Sports teams have fans. The Jonas Brothers have fans.

A president should not have "fans".

I have certain expectations of this president -- based on his own statements -- and he has not met them. So I'm doing exactly what Barack Obama asked us to do and holding him accountable.

This is how a democracy is supposed to work. Why do you have such a problem with that?

[Ignis]

49. I guess you haven't seen the right pictures.

If you had, you'd be giddy like a schoolgirl. :loveya: And really, isn't that how We The People should view our elected officials?

---

Also, welcome back in from the cold, jgraz. :toast: The treatment you received was crap, so it speaks to your character that you've returned for a second helping. ;)

[KansasVoter]

22. You left off the sarcasm tag! -1

[alcibiades_mystery]

26. I'll be voting for him...again

:thumbsup:

[ProudDad]

31. I feel sorry for Chicago

First 60 years of Daleys... (although the son sort of "got it" when it came to trying to "green" the city a little)

Now this execrable corporatist...

And Chicago's seems like such a nice quaint town...(lousy food though...)

And, no, I don't hate Rahm -- just nearly everything he stands for... I don't hate very many people -- just the evil some people do.

[frazzled]

33. Boy, what you don't know about Chicago could fill a book

"Quaint"? Its architecture is preeminent among any city in the nation, and in terms of the twentieth century, any city in the world. It's symphony is certainly the foremost in the country, and one of the best in the world. It is home to two great universities: Northwestern and University of Chicago. It's theater scene (Goodman, Steppenwolf, Writer's Theatre) is world-renowned, and originated several of Broadway's and Off-Broadway's most acclaimed productions over the past several years. The Art Institute of Chicago is second only to The Met in New York in its encyclopedic collection.

Lousy food? You've got to be kidding. Tell that to Grant Achatz and Charlie Trotter and all the other world-recognized chefs who ply their trade here and make the lists of best restaurants internationally. Or the thousands of ethnic restaurants that dot the city from Chinatown to Greektown to Korea Town.

So I guess you're probably wrong about Emanuel, too.

[wndycty]

34. Plus 100,000

:kick:

[ProudDad]

37. "So I guess you're probably wrong about Emanuel, too."

Logic error. My opinion of Chicago has NOTHING to do with the evil done by Rahm Israel Emmanuel...

=======================

And I meant "Quaint" in the most positive sense. I thoroughly enjoyed the architecture, the tree lined streets, the city park I could walk to from my hostel downtown, even the subway/elevated was fun...

Of course, I couldn't afford to eat at the restaurants with the "fine chefs" that you allude to but I did dine at some of the "best" ethnic restaurants (according to the natives I was hanging out with) and found the food heavy, bland, overcooked and underspiced...

But then, my palate is used to REAL food; that served in San Francisco and Europe...

I realize that you Chicagoans need a much heavier fat layer to get through your horrible winters and therefore must lard your food with cream, cream, cream...so I can't blame you too much... :hide:

[frazzled]

39. You're remarks are pretty ugly

And I say this as someone who has eaten in both San Francisco and all over Europe (eh, so what), and still wears a size six dress. The term "evil" disqualifies you from the entire universe of logic.

Just keep repeating that word. It says tons about your state of mind.

[ProudDad]

40. So selling out the USAmerican sick care system

to the insurance and drug corporations -- FROM THE BEGINNING...

and making the US taxpayer back up that sale with our tax dollars...

Is not a basically "evil" act???

You are very naive if you can't see that there is evil in the world but most of it doesn't come from "dictators" or "terrorists" -- it comes from the board rooms and executive suites of the major corporations who buy the politicians of both "parties"...

And Rahm was a complete tool of that "evil" and did their bidding.

------------------------------------------

My "state of mind" is that I'd like to see the Earth survive as a viable, comfortable place for all of Her creatures...

Anyone who acts to impede that goal does "evil" in my book.

And the way humans in the aggregate (especially "politically") are acting, it won't survive...

We need a HUGE change in direction; not some insignificant fiddling with the deck chairs while the ship is sinking...

------------------------------------------

On edit; In addition to your naivete, you seem to have also lost your sense of humor... :)

[frazzled]

43. Americans are much better off with the Affordable Care Act than ...

they were under the status quo you seem to support. (Pipe dreams of some Edenic single-payer government-run program don't count--that was never going to happen).

I think it's evil when people don't appreciate that children whose coverage was dropped when they became ill can now be covered in perpetpuity; that annual and lifetime caps have been banned; that people who can't afford insurance will soon be able to get government help to get it. And that in the next few years, preexisting conditions will be a "quaint" term from the past.

Don't be living in a fantasy world where the progressive dream is achievable by snapping your fingers, and everyone in this country agrees with you. Look at the craziness out there. It is remarkable that this administration has achieved the large-scale legislation it did.

[jgraz]

52. As long as insurance companies are in charge, there will be people dying from lack of health care.

Under current estimates, when Obamacare fully takes effect in 2019 (EIGHT years from now), there will still be 23 million uninsured. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/03/health_care_for_all_minus_23_m.html

That's only 7 million less than were uninsured before Obama took office -- and that's using today's numbers. If healthcare costs continue to rise, there very well could be more uninsured in 2019 than there were in 2010.


Oh, and your crack about "Pipe dreams of some Edenic single-payer government-run program"? Check back after Governor Brown signs single-payer into law for all Californians. It's really not that hard to do if you elect actual leaders.

[ProudDad]

63. Wrong Again...

I support any of the numerous examples of NOT FOR PROFIT Universal, Comprehensive Health Care systems that EVERY industrialized country already has...!!!

Take your pick: Cuba, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Korea...and many others...

They ALL work better than the US for-profit "Sick Care" system...

Some are all private, some are all public, a couple are socialized, a couple of them are hybrids (including the best -- France)...

And NONE of them allow the kind of profits that Obama/Rahm just sold us out to preserve...

Since over 70 percent of the REAL USAmerican people preferred some version of Universal, NOT-FOR-PROFIT Health Care it's hardly a "Progressive dream"...

But, of course, when you have someone like Rahm Emmanuel counseling surrender before even beginning to fight, the "Health Insurance and Big PhRMA Stimulus Act of 2010" is what ya' get...

[ieoeja]

55. As a Chicagoan who starves to death when out west, I'd say his comments are perfect.

The human body craves more energy consumption in colder climates. To acheive similiar levels of comfort, it REQUIRES more energy consumption. There is nothing ugly or insulting about that. It is a simple biological fact.

Being acclimatized to Chicago weather, I find the food out west unsatisfactory in exactly the same way our Arizonian friend dislikes the food in Chicago. And for the same reason. We don't care for each other's food because it is not compatible with our climate.

I can't fault him for it. Nor can I find any fault in providing a factual explanation.

[ProudDad]

64. Thanks...

I really enjoyed my Chicago visit and would love to visit again...

Just NOT during the winter... :hi: :)

PS (on edit): For GREAT Mexican & Guatemalan, come to Tucson (and we're NOT jan brewer's phoenix - just kinda wishy-washy Dem "liberal-land").

[Radical Activist]

54. Rahm may lose the election.

And Chicago has excellent food.

[ieoeja]

56. Though a Chicago native, Rahm has very little ties to Chicago politics.

He started out in State gov't. He *was* an adviser and chief fundraiser for Daley's first mayoral election. But he did not get a job in Daley's administration. It appears he was strictly a money pipeline where Daley was concerned.

Rahm has no serious ties to the Chicago machine. If he doesn't have a good answer to, "what's in it for us", the machine won't be buying.

For now, Tom Dart is my default candidate.

[Radical Activist]

59. When was the last time he lived in Chicago full time? '92?

He was a DC figure as a Congressman. He went to DC for Clinton and then to New York to make his millions. A lot of people are asking for a mayor who will put more focus on the neighborhoods and I don't know how someone who hasn't lived in a Chicago neighborhood for nearly 20 years or so appeals to those voters.
I like Tom Dart too.

[VMI Dem]

35. Centrist weasel. Good riddance.

:hi:

[harun]

41. Epic DLC Corporatist fail.

[Uzybone]

45. Thanks Rahm, appreciate your service

many complain from the sidelines but don't do much else to advance progress. You did some good things and some bad things, but I generally will applaud any democrat who has your liberal voting credentials for doing service to the nation.

[wndycty]

47. Very well said

:kick:

[firedupdem]

68. +1 n/t

[apocalypsehow]

57. Good OP, and absolutely right. Kick, Rec.

:thumbsup:

[bvar22]

58. Job Well Done...indeed!

"In a Thursday interview, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel argued that rather than recoiling against Obama,
business leaders should be grateful for his support on at least a half-dozen counts:

*"his advocacy of greater international trade and education reform open markets despite union skepticism;"
(Union Busting, especially targeting the Teacher's Union and Privatization of Public Education)

*"his rejection of calls from some quarters to nationalize banks during the financial meltdown;"
(money for nothing. They could have used the bailout to leverage concessions and regulations like they did with the Auto Industry)

*"the rescue of the automobile industry,"
(Union Busting, major concessions from LABOR, none from management)

*"the fact that the overhaul of health care preserved the private delivery system"
(preserved and enriched the people who broke Health Care, and even this statement is a LIE. They "preserved" the For Profit Health Insurance Industry, and even Mandated Customers and Profits for said industry);

*the fact that billions in the stimulus package benefited business with lucrative new contracts,
(targeted the already rich)

*"and that financial regulation reform will take away the uncertainty that existed with a broken, pre-crash regulatory apparatus."
(Everybody KNOWS that re-instating Glass-Steagall was THE best fix)

<blue comments in Parenthesis are Mine>

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=B2F85DDF-18FE-70B2-A835FE1E7FA8D74C

[jaysunb]

60. k & r n/t

[Bullet1987]

61. "Thank you Rahm?"

What are you smoking?

[Warren Stupidity]

62. good riddance. K&U

When his appointment was announced I knew that my worst expectations for this administration would be easily met.

[donheld]

65. BULLSHIT k and unrecommend

[depakid]

66. Depends of course on how you judge "effectiveness."

[Fruittree]

67. I agree -

and wish him luck becoming mayor of the town he obviously loves..

[BEZERKO]

69. Beg to differ, civilly of course

Rahm was a disaster, a total disaster