Obama is so to the right that he/ his administration have now done THIS:

[DFab420]

1. Provided $12.2 billion in new funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act though the American Recovery and investment Act

2. Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act

3. Repealed DADT

4. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act to include gender, sexual orientation and disability

5. Awarded the Presidential Medal of freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King.

6.Restored funding to the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

7. U.S. jail population declined for first time in decades

8. US auto industry rescue plan

9. Returned the rights of Americans to visit and assist their families in Cuba

SOURCE
http://obamaachievements.org/list


I mean really. Look, JUST LOOK, at how RIGHT WING this candidate is!!!!!!!Obviously he is so conservative he makes Ronald Reagan and Nixon seem so LIBERAL!! AHHH!

:sarcasm:

[CakeGrrl]

1. A list! A LIST!!!

Dammit! Not another LIST!!!

:P

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[fascisthunter]

3. tell this to people who are about to lose their SS

the country falls apart and you find a puny list to prop a President up... truly sad and pathetic.

[DFab420]

4. I'm sorry but has ANYONE actually not received their SS check?

I mean I'm terrified that the sun won't rise tomorrow because every night it gets dark. But that doesn't mean it is the case...

Ah yes, a puny list that includes the protection of civil liberties and other such sad and pathetic progressive ideals

but truly the President is an evil man and I must be wrong to think he's done well...

[Marsala]

6. No one is about to lose their Social Security

...unless the Republicans lose it and don't raise the debt ceiling, in which case the only thing Obama could have done to stop it is completely cave in to all their demands.

[JoePhilly]

7. Really ... people are about to lose their social security????

OMG ... when did that happen?

Oh ... hasn't happened ... but let's run around with our hair on fire as if it did anyway.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CountAllVotes]

11. How fascist of you

Look in the mirror.

It is not in good form to try to start up a panic about something that likely will not happen.

If it does happen, my condolences.

[fascisthunter]

12. you are kidding, right?

[gateley]

19. I'm guessing those who benefited from the acts on this puny list

would be singing a different song than you.

And IF/WHEN SS/Med/Med benefits are "lost", your argument might have more merit.

[treestar]

88. And you don't blame the Republicans for it

Interesting.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[rhett o rick]

9. Are you trying to start another battle of the lists? nm

[DFab420]

16. My list-fu is superior!! HIIIIIiiii--YA!

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

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

[SteveM]

10. The "right-vs.-left" dichotemy MSM promotes is phony...

and merely supports a trumped-up notion of political viability, even as they wring their hands over "gridlock." If the "left" is Kucinich, Franks, Pelosi, and Sanders, then Hubert Humphrey is a raving Trotskyite, and LBJ a Socialist Worker Party member. Christ.

[n2doc]

13. And then there was this medal of freedom winner he was happy to award:

Don't think these count much as political bellwethers.

[DFab420]

14. Ah yes, a former sitting President getting an award

COMPLETELY and TOTALLY undos all other achievements of others getting the medal and the administration as well.

[MNBrewer]

15. Yay, "teh List"!

#2, and 4 were the doing of Congress, not the President. He just signed the bills. DADT was not done on his own, and if he hadn't been pushed we would still be waiting for #3 to have happened.

Yay, awarded Presidential Medals... yay.

What did the President do to reduce the US jail population?

[DFab420]

17. Well, it was his DoJ that presides over the Prison system right?

And if he didn't sign the bills then they wouldn't be law would they??


Also you're faulting the President for listening to the pushing on #3???

Also you are right, civil rights activist like Harvey Milk, who died simply for daring to be gay, should not be recognized by the highest seat of power of our country, what was I thinking.. Recognition and medal giving is just an empty platitude blah blah blah.

[MNBrewer]

22. well

What did he do to lower the jail population? Stop prosecutions? Let people out of jail early? Line them up against a wall and shoot them?

I'm faulting people who pretend that DADT was his accomplishment alone, and refuse to recognize that he would not have taken that step prior to the current Congress had he not had his feet continually held to a very hot fire.

Medals are window dressing. What concrete measure of good was done by that act for the GLBT citizens of this country? Mr. Obama STILL doesn't think that Harvey Milk should have been able to marry his partner! Why? FOr simply daring to be gay!

He believes in the sanctity of marriage, because "God's in the mix", after all. Male/female marriages are holy, while same-sex marriages just don't measure up.

[great white snark]

21. "What did the President do to reduce the US jail population?"

Fair Sentencing Act:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Sentencing_Act

[MNBrewer]

27. Well, awesome, he signed a law.

The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-220) was an Act of Congress signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama on August 3, 2010.

[DFab420]

? You do realize that LAWS are LAWS until the President signs them right?

That's how our system of government works....

[MNBrewer]

33. and he can have absolutely NOTHING to do with the passage

yet still get credit just for signing them? I mean, it's good that the law is a law, and hence that he signed it, but...

Congress did the heavy lifting on this and deserves the credit WAY more than Obama does.

[DFab420]

36. HAHAHAHAHA SO Here is my question...

Was FDR responsible for the New Deal? By your logic no. He shouldn't receive any credit since the congress did the heavy lifting.

Was JFK and LBJ responsible for the Civil Rights Act? NO! By your logic they both were just taking credit from the Congress..

I mean why do we even HAVE a President right??

I can clearly see now, no President has ever done anything, it's so clear to me now!!!

:sarcasm:

[MNBrewer]

44. Your interpretation of what I said is idiotic

Clearly, when a President gets out front, and works to get congress to pass something, the President deserves credit. I find no evidence that Obama got out in front of the Fair Sentencing Act. This bill was so non-controversial that it passed both chambers on a voice vote. I'm sure Obama had to really use up his political capital in order to get it passed! :sarcasm:

[Number23]

82. So the new "theme" is that he had to be "pushed" to end DADT

And people wonder why so few of us take anything we see here even the slightest bit seriously.

"In his first State of the Union address, the president said he would work with Congress and the military to lift the 15-year-old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, setting a rough timeline for repealing the increasingly unpopular ban that is particularly disliked by many of his most ardent supporters." http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/State_of_the_Union/gays-applaud-obama-pledge-repeal-dont-ask-dont-tell-policy-state-of-the-union/story?id=9687078

""We find unity in our incredible diversity, drawing on the promise enshrined in our Constitution: the notion that we are all created equal, that no matter who you are or what you look like, if you abide by the law you should be protected by it," he said... ""This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are." http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-27/politics/obama.gays.military_1_repeal-policy-that-bars-gays-servicemembers-legal-defense-network?_s=PM:POLITICS

Yes, that sounds EXACTLY like a man who is having to be "pushed," "kicking and screaming" to do something.

[great white snark]

35. He supported it first.

So did the DOJ.

[MNBrewer]

37. That law has an interesting history

with people from divergent views from both parties supporting it.

[Creideiki]

63. To reduce the jail population?

Per Freakonomics, that's mostly because of open access to abortion. Expect crime rates to rise now that several states have made it more difficult again. Turns out that unwanted children commit more crimes. Go figure.

[treestar]

89. Oh, so Congress does have power after all?

and the President signs bills, so it couldn't be done without him.

[Enrique]

18. copying and pasting vs. thinking

i'll take thinking any day.

[ClarkUSA]

20. No, it's historical fact vs. 24/7 demonizing and/or dismissive rhetoric.

I'll take facts any day.

[Enrique]

24. "Obama is perfect" is not a fact

it's a delusion.

[DFab420]

26. Where the HELL does it say Obama is perfect??

[ClarkUSA]

31. It's smoke and mirrors rhetoric aka. a lame strawman argument by Enrique.

Because he can't deny any of the facts either of us have put up, that's all he has.

[ClarkUSA]

29. That's a strawman argument. Why are you putting quotations over a phrase I didn't say?

Talk about "a delusion". :rofl:

[DFab420]

25. Using arguments that have factual statements to back them up vs.

Someones emotional opinion of a situation.

I'll take the list with the references and discussion point any day. But you enjoying your fact free day!!! :hi:

[ClarkUSA]

23. More facts which belie the constant bashing of this liberal President's superlative efforts--->

"In a photo taken on July 18, the President is shown meeting with heads of financial regulatory agencies in the Roosevelt Room of the White House to receive an update on implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

That week marked the first anniversary of the President signing into law the strongest consumer protections in history and the most significant reform of Wall Street since the Great Depression..."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2018932/US-debt-ceiling-crisis-talks-White-House-release-latest-scenes-photos.html#ixzz1TFYRX2ML

[MNBrewer]

30. Obama is a liberal President???

Maybe in the sense that he's not a Republican, but come one!!! Get REAL. He's no liberal.

[ClarkUSA]

34. Yes, he is. His legislative accomplishments reflect that, despite your ridicule of his efforts.

[MNBrewer]

38. I guess we have differing viewpoints on what "liberal" means

[DFab420]

39. I agree. You seem to think Liberal means: Does everything you think he should do and nothing else.

While, and I speak for myself only, view Liberal as someone who recognizes that humanity, on the whole, is exactly the same and deserves all the access to rights, happiness, and freedoms that we a lucky enough to enjoy..

And while I may not agree with every action taken by this President, he is clearly a liberal, just not one who you deem not pure enough to let into the club.....

[MNBrewer]

46. wow.

Your definition of a liberal would apply to Ron Paul just as easily as to Barack Obama. Are you asserting that Ron Paul is a liberal?

[DFab420]

48. No, Ron Paul is a libertarian, whose views can't be compressed into a one word

pop-political ID.

Just like most people have complex and nuanced views of the world that might not necessarily fit into the pseudo categories so readily available to fling around.

ALSO

Are you suggesting that people don't deserve the same things? That because Ron Paul may agree with my idea that everyone should be treated equally that it is therefore a bad idea?

Because that's what it sounded like you were doing.

You were using Ron Paul as a dirty word to tarnish what I believe in. Which is silly, and an ad-hom argument that does nothing but direct the discussion away from the salient point.

I didn't realize Liberals had purity tests....

[MNBrewer]

49. Your description of "liberal"

would apply to Ron Paul.

[DFab420]

52. Yea you said that already.

Anything else?

[rms013]

93. Libertarian

Libertarian platform is extreme left (personal freedoms) and extreme right (economic freedoms). And not one of them realizes they are in direct opposition. I would call them politically bipolar.

[rms013]

92. Liberal?

With all due respect, The President is a conservative. If he was a liberal he would not have signed the patriot act extension, the Bush Tax cuts, military tribunals and on and on. He is a politician and in order to get elected he must cow tow to those who paid for his election. Dem or Repub they are all servants of the same masters.

[great white snark]

28. Hell Yes, K&R. Thank you for this DFab420.

:thumbsup:

[mindwalker_i]

40. I was getting all worked up to unrec this...

then I read it. Nice.

[Wait Wut]

41. I'm gonna strangle you...

...for that subject line.


Recced, anyway.

:loveya:

[DFab420]

42. Haha I figured it was the only way to get people of both opinions to read it haha

Thanks for the rec
:hi:

[Fearless]

43. How many of those were passed by Congress exactly? Oh right... most.

[DFab420]

45. No shit really? Congress passed a bill BEFORE the President made it Law?

That's crazy!!!!!

When did this start happening!! I DEMAND ACTION!

Where does the Legislative Branch get off passing bills before law.

Does this mean EVERY Presidential achievement was just them stealing the glory from Congress? I mean the New Deal economic packages were passed by Congress before FDR signed them..

.THEREFORE.. FDR DIDN'T MAKE THE NEW DEAL!!! Obvious now it is to me. How could I have been so blind.


:sarcasm:

[Fearless]

47. You need to chill out.

[DFab420]

50. Why? Because I pointed out the fallacy in your argument in a humorous style?

[Fearless]

55. Nope.

[DFab420]

57. K.

:hug:

[MNBrewer]

53. You aren't taking into account

well, you're not taking much into account. You're very unsubtle.

[DFab420]

59. Well said. You really nailed me there man.

I mean the part where you point out exactly what you think I said was wrong, then back it up with facts was really impressive....

I don't think I've been zinged like this for a long time.....

[MNBrewer]

62. see?

[DFab420]

66. Yup! I sure do.

:hi:

[MNBrewer]

67. Excellent! You're welcome!

[DFab420]

69. no but seriously do you have an actual statement to make about our discussion or are we just

going to continue to pretend we are 12 in the backseat of a car?

Cause it seems you insulted me, then never explained why you felt it proper to do so.

Please... Enlighten us.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

54. The president decides whether or not to sign the laws -- that's how it works.

So either you misunderstand basic civics or, by your logic, no president can be credited with anything since laws have to be written by Congress in the first place -- that's their job.

[Fearless]

60. He signs things that are token achievements.

He does not campaign for them or support them. DADT alone dragged on six months until it took a court order to speed up the process. And I would appreciate that you stop belittling my intelligence. You don't know me or my qualifications. This is what is wrong with DU. You only care to press your point and your agenda and you don't listen, conduct yourself in an adult way, or accept that not everyone needs to think the way you do and it is not your job to try to make them.

[DFab420]

68. Would you like to explain to the LGBT community, or women, or minorities, or children who now

receive healthcare without fear of pre-existing conditions???

WHICH of those bills helping them was token?? I mean I'm interested as well, but I think it would be funnier if you stood up in front of a group of them and explained why it was nothing but a token bill.....

[Fearless]

70. DADT did not give US health care. Neither did the health care bill.

It REQUIRED we GET AND PAY for health care. So I don't know what you are talking about. Had the president NOT compromised away the public option or single payer, we would have a FUNCTIONING plan that would have helped these people. Additionally, no federal program can benefit LGBTQ partners because of DOMA. So I'm still wondering what you're talking about.


It was a token bill because it gave BIG PHARMA and the insurance corporations exactly what it wanted, a requirement that we either are provided health insurance by our jobs (fat chance anymore) or we PERSONALLY BUY it. That is what the bill did for people who don't have health care. The only positive I can find is that it extended the age that people can be on their parents' plan a few more years. But that does jack for those who don't have insurance at all. AND LGBTQ partners DO NOT have federal benefits. Some states do. DC does. The UNITED STATES DOES NOT.

[DFab420]

73. No of course your right, DOMA is in the way of federal programs.

But the office of the president can at least help them with things like

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/04/president-obama-issues-memo-giving-hospital-rights-to-gay-and-lesbian-patients-partners.html


But that just a token thing right? Being able to visit your sick or hurt loved one in the hospital is token...

or the

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard_Act

Which finally, and I quote, " expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability."

But again, this is just token.

Oh and yea, you know what he should have done, He should have stuck to his guns on the Healthcare Reform and either not allowed ANY reform at all, or his way only.. That sounds really reasonable.

Especially since now all we have is, no pre-existing condition exclusions, no cancellation of policies due to illnesses, no established annual spending caps, no cap on essential health spending (hospital stays, live in nurses etc)

But yes, some people still have to pay for coverage, therefore it wasn't worth any of the things it does because it wasn't the PERFECT plan...

...

Perspective...

Always a good thing.

[Fearless]

77. We didn't get health care reform. Make no mistake about it.

We got legally enslaved to insurance companies.


"no pre-existing condition exclusions, no cancellation of policies due to illnesses, no established annual spending caps, no cap on essential health spending" YEAH, but YOU get to pay for it out of your own pocket. They can't deny you care, but insurance companies can charge you to hell for it. And they do make no mistake about it.

And as for the other bills on LGBTQ rights, they are token. A token is a trivial bit given so that they don't have to give the whole. It is an appeasement. What we need is an all-inclusive ENDA and ERA. The rest is paying lip service to his donors. Do they help people? Absolutely. But this president has dragged his feet on real change since day one (RE DADT/DOMA). He'd rather give out bits and point to them when LGBTQ donors come around than actually take a stand for basic human rights.

Most pro-LGBTQ president we've had? Without a doubt. But that isn't saying much at all with what we've had to work with.

[Jefferson23]

85. +1

:thumbsup:

[Ikonoklast]

95. Goalposts Moved.

Funny how when a bill gets signed, it's Congress that should be getting all the credit, but when a bill fails, it's Obama's fault.

Yep.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

79. First, he did campaign on repealing DADT.

And he made sure to do it the right way, through Congress.

You only care to press your point and your agenda and you don't listen, conduct yourself in an adult way, or accept that not everyone needs to think the way you do and it is not your job to try to make them.

I think you're projecting. I've seen your posts before and you fit this description to the letter.

It's also ironic that you consider DADT repeal a "token achievement" while displaying the rainbow-flag avatar.

[Cali_Democrat]

51. Ken's shoryuken is more powerful than Ryu's shoryuken in Street Fighter 2 turbo edition

But Ryu's hadouken is more powerful than Ken's, although the players are extremely similar in their fighting styles.

They were trained by the same master.

[DFab420]

56. I DISAGREE!!!

Obviously you are a Hadouken apologist paid for by TBTP to post negative shoryuken posts....

:rofl:

[Creideiki]

58. Yay!!!!! It's the LIST!!!!!1!!1!!!111!!!!

I'm soooooo inclined to think he's progressive now!

[DFab420]

64. Yea! Facts will do that to you....

I mean if not for his achievements, his policy speeches, policy enactments, and his writings, then yea I would totally think he wasn't progressive,

But damnit! It's so hard to ignore all these truths about him...

[Creideiki]

71. Lily Ledbetter is an accomplishment

Most of the rest is easy to tear apart.

Not to mention that if he would just get out of the damned wars and not have signed onto extending the Bush Tax Fiasco Plan we wouldn't be in this mess. Those two things alone would be HALF the current deficit.

Go to Congress and say, "You want to cut spending? Sure. We'll leave Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan over two months. And end the Bush Tax Fiasco at the end of this year. Halfway done."

[DFab420]

76. Yea, if he hadn't signed to damned Bush tax extensions, which were attached to UI...

Damn those unemployed for needing the insurance money...If only they hand't allowed themselves to be held up by the republicans none of this would have ever happened. What's their problem anyways???


But on a more serious note, I do agree with you about the wars.

[Creideiki]

78. The best messaging campaign in my lifetime (saying a lot--even better than Reagan)

has turned into the worst messaging Administration. I'm at a loss for how incompetent the White House messaging department has been.

It should never have been necessary to extend the Bush Tax Fiasco to save people mired in the Bush Depression.

Then again, the Administration keeps shying away from calling it the "Bush Depression" or the "GOP Depression".

[treestar]

90. Why do people sneer at this?

Makes me think they just hate Obama.

[flamingdem]

61. Nice list, good to see that today nt

[DFab420]

65. Thanks

[robcon]

72. I'm proud of our president. I wish him well.

n/t

[SkyDaddy7]

74. Sure, Obama is such a Corporate shill, Bush 3...

and all the other hyperbolic crap I have seen him called here on DU!!!

I think it has become a contest as to who can complain about Obama the most.

[DFab420]

75. Didn't you know? The only way to show how progressive you are

is to hate on someone who isn't as progressive as you think you are?

[SkyDaddy7]

80. OOOHH...OK, I understand now!

That actually does make a lot of sense especially here on DU!

[Bluenorthwest]

81. You forgot to add extending the Bush Tax Cuts, Libya

Donnie McClurkin, Rick Warren and the pocket pardons for the entire Cheney Crime syndicate.

[Major Hogwash]

84. So you defend Khadaffi's terrorist regime? That's great. Bush did, too.

In fact, Bush took him off of the "evil empires" list.

I think everyone here knows what you're about.

[AEEHINRRTTUW]

83. Recommended

Excellent points.

[thelordofhell]

86. Holy cow, he is just like *bush*

We so need to primary him

:sarcasm:

[donheld]

87. Where are the jobs?

[NYC_SKP]

91. "U.S. jail population declined for first time in decades" I did not know that. Cool!

K/R!

:hi:

[mistertrickster]

94. Yup, you can definitely say he's better than Bush.

I think they call that "damning with faint praise."