This lame duck session will "restore" the democratic base and bring independents back to Obama

[Godhumor]

Yes, I know democratic approval of the president has been high throughout his two years, but this will still help.

On the face of it, the media and the general public impression is that these past few weeks have brought tremendous victories for the democrats (including the tax compromise that has polled extremely popular with the public since the deal was finished). Moreover, GLBT support (allowing for individual exceptions, of course) is not only shored up but motivated, as is the Hispanic vote over the republican obstruction of the DREAM act.

To the public, the republicans got demolished in this session.

All I can say is, overall, the president, the party and the public witnessed the most improbable final session of this Congress that could be expected after the shelacking in the midterms. Frankly, I've enjoyed watching it.

(Before anyone gets in on me on the cost of the compromise or posting op-eds insisting the president is using this as an excuse to target social security in another year, keep in mind I am talking about what has actually happened and not speculating on what might, maybe, possibly occur at some point in the future.)

*Edited title for grammatical inconsistency.*

[Andy823]

1. K&R nt.

[vi5]

2. This stuff made me happy...

..and it definitely dulled some of the anger and bitterness I've been feeling up until very recently. DADT...START....the 9/11 First Responders Bill. No ifs,ands, or buts, about it those are good victories.

That being said, these victories for our side in this lame duck session are going to look like nothing compared to what the Republicans will get once they are in charge of the House and have more power in the Senate after January. Nothing gets through the US government unless it's a 1 to 2 ration of only 1 thing that Democrats want, for every 2 things Republicans/The Rich want.

So these are victories and they are good things that were done and that's that. But 2 years in political terms is a lifetime and come January....hoo boy. What we got this past 2 weeks is going to look like Child's play.

[bvar22]

3. Aside from some token gestures,

all the hoopla about the "accomplishments" and the success of "bi-partisanship" is mostly window dressing.

Nothing...absolutely NOTHING was done to staunch the flow of money from the Working Class to the RICH.
In fact, after this much ballyhooed Lame Duck Session,
the bleeding is WORSE.

"In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

*The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

*The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

*The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

*The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

*The right of every family to a decent home;

*The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

*The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

*The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

Americas own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for all our citizens.

For unless there is security here at home there cannot be lasting peace in the world."--FDR

"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[Laelth]

4. I love seeing FDR's Second Bill of Rights posted.

Thanks for that.

-Laelth

[digidigido]

15. It's only a shame they didn't try to do this stuff BEFORE the election

[Tesha]

5. Don't count on it.

The American ship of state is still headed hard for the rocks.

Tesha

[applegrove]

6. It is like the tea baggers have taken over from the religious right as the GOP base.

And so those issues that inspired the religious right are not so high up on the GOP agenda. The GOP congresscritters are more afraid of raising taxes or not cutting spending than they are of abortion or glbt issues.

[AtomicKitten]

7. It was really quite spectacular.

He played the Republicans like a fiddle, not without giving up a particularly smelly concession, but a truly smooth political move. He won a second stimulus that will help so many people in need, the repeal of DADT, ratification of the START treaty, the 9/11 First Responders bill, the Food Safety bill, and more. I don't think there remains much doubt that this man is a leader.

K&R

[KansasVoter]

8. Most here will vote for Obama, but no money again from me

[egoclothes]

12. yes. and yes.

[Awsi Dooger]

9. Fundamentally, I don't think anything has changed

I'm more than a bit shocked to see some DUers who typically have a good big picture grasp overreact to the lame duck session. My sense is very few people were paying close attention. That's normal for the holiday season. The cable punditry shows may have been the same intensity and duration as normal but they certainly won't match the curiosity level once party power changes hands.

Obama needs to win the next 12 months, specifically in terms of the unemployment rate, and how he's viewed in relation to Boehner. Otherwise, no matter the apparent significance, this is like a long ago exhibition game.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

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[Number23]

11. K&R for hopeful thinking!

[egoclothes]

13. Maybe in two years the memory of the last two years will fade and

you will be right. Perhaps.

[Imajika]

14. Yeah, Obama is back from beneath the bus...

It happened with record speed this time around too.

3 weeks ago the bitter voices among us declared Obama dead to them, wrote him off a Republican plant or a spineless sellout.

A few weeks later and the anger and venom directed at the President are largely replaced with glowing posts, positive accounts of what a fantastic leader he is, etc.

It's the normal cycle here. Probably true of all partisan political forums. DU has as its members some of the most activist of the base, and we do bleed politics. It is to be expected that emotions will run at the extremes.

But we do have what I like to call the "rocks" among us. Those level headed people who take a longer view, look at the big picture, realize Obama sometimes just has a bad hand and has to work with what he has. I really admire those posters.