Sorry, I'm not ready to freak out yet.

[cali]

I've said here before that I think President Obama is weak. But I don't think he's stupid and I do think he wants to be re-elected. Cutting social security benefits would be a stupid move and one that would hurt his chances at being re-elected.

Sure I could be wrong, but I'm going to wait and see.

[uponit7771]

1. Come on, join in the "pre" histeria....its fun and full of laughs

[rurallib]

2. I am certainly going to contact the white house

to remind him that we are out here.

[theophilus]

3. I don't know if he wants to be re-elected. Why bother? He'll be set for life

no matter what he does. These politicians are, possibly, a "new breed". Once they get in they just kowtow to the corporations who promise that they will be enriched on the speaking circuit, etc. when they leave office. I don't think the voter counts for anything after the initial win. I hope I'm wrong but Mr. Obama will lose my support if he hurts SS or Medicare.

[Poll_Blind]

4. The deals that Joe Biden worked out in the Senate WEEKS ago are still unknown.

And these deals have already been "struck", insofar as they've been mutually agreed to among the Democrats in the Senate as to what they're willing to concede, at least up till now. Those concessions are known to Republican negotiators, but there is no formal "list" anywhere. Right now the only information coming out is informally from Republican negotiators and Administration officials.

Cali, you're going to get to see the deal for the first time after it's done, just like the rest of us. And by then it will be too late. There will be no public debate over what concessions will be made. It will be just like last December. If you recall, those negotiations were carried out with Joe Biden and a very small number of Republicans. After they struck the deal did the House and senate get whipped into supporting it.

I have every reason to believe the exact same tactic will occur this time.

PB

[democrank]

5. I`m with you. No need to "freak out."

President Obama is the Hope and Change president. He said so himself. Plus, he always fights for the folks who voted him into office. That`s why Republicans literally shake when he says something. They know he never caves.

[SidDithers]

6. K&R...

sensible approach. :thumbsup:

Sid

[BillStein]

7. Based on what I know so far,

I think I could support raising the cap and means-testing for SS. Let the wealthy pay more and collect less. But raising the retirement age is unwise.

Just a disclaimer, I'm 59, so raising the retirement age probably won't affect me or my husband (58).

[peace4ever]

8. Wait n see is a losing strategy. Folks who are concerned need to speak out NOW

Before the die is cast.

[Bluerthanblue]

14. I don't believe the OP says don't speak out where it matters-

:shrug:

Panic and doomsaying doesn't benefit anyone, ime.

[OnyxCollie]

9. Dupe.

[OnyxCollie]

10. Like FISA?

Or the public option?

Or the Bush tax cuts?

Or GITMO?

Or LIHEAP?

Just how far must you bury your head in the sand to not realize WE'RE BEING FUCKED OVER?

When it does happen, will you be so gullible to believe the sensible, pragmatic followers who will try to convince you that it was an 11th dimensional chess move to get reelected, and don't worry, we'll fix it later?

For fuck's sake, THINK.

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

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

[OnyxCollie]

24. Pretzel logic is not critical thinking.

But I find your attempts to overcome the cognitive dissonance fascinating.

Your hero-worship has great entertainment value, cali.

[pampango]

11. Truth-out: If you're not panicking you're not listening.

http://www.truth-out.org/14-propaganda-techniques-fox-news-uses-brainwash-americans/1309612678

Why FOX does what it does.

1. Panic Mongering.

This goes one step beyond simple fear mongering. With panic mongering, there is never a break from the fear. The idea is to terrify and terrorize the audience during every waking moment. From Muslims to swine flu to recession to homosexuals to immigrants to the rapture itself, the belief over at Fox seems to be that if your fight-or-flight reflexes aren't activated, you aren't alive. This of course raises the question: why terrorize your own audience? Because it is the fastest way to bypasses the rational brain. In other words, when people are afraid, they don't think rationally. And when they can't think rationally, they'll believe anything.

Replace "Muslims to swine flu to recession to homosexuals to immigrants to the rapture itself" with "Medicare/Social Security cuts, war-mongering, debt-ceiling sell-out (and maybe keep recession and immigrants)" and you've got some things to keep your "fight-or-flight" reflexes activated from the left as well.

We'll never be able to compete with FOX however.

Take the enormous amount of misinformation that is taken for truth by Fox audiences: the belief that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and that he was in on 9/11, the belief that climate change isn't real and/or man-made, the belief that Barack Obama is Muslim and wasn't born in the United States, the insistence that all Arabs are Muslim and all Muslims are terrorists, the inexplicable perceptions that immigrants are both too lazy to work and are about to steal your job. All of these claims are demonstrably false, yet Fox News viewers will maintain their veracity with incredible zeal.

[JohnnyLib2]

12. You scored a direct hit predicting the Weiner outcome.

And this sounds just as reasonable.

Rec.

[Bluerthanblue]

13. good plan.

I'm going to join you.

[Bake]

15. The time to freak out was back in the Reagan era.

Hell, it's too late to freak out now. Might as well lie back and "enjoy it." Because you're getting screwed.

Bake

[Obamanaut]

16. Why apologize for not being ready to freak out? nt

[joeybee12]

17. I think you're blocking out all the caving and stupid moves he's done in the past...nt

[Poll_Blind]

18. Ok, here you go: Two articles sourced from the White House directly:

Here. The links lead to the two articles, which are both separate posts on DU.

After reading those are you still in "wait and see" mode? And if so, what exactly are you waiting for? Because this is game-on, it's just a matter of how much as both of the articles show.

PB

[ljm2002]

19. You're right, we should wait to freak out...

...until the deal is unveiled and it's too damned late to let our representatives, our senators and the president know what we think about cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

That seems like a winning strategy.

Oh well it's probably too late anyway. I have let my reps know how I feel about this: I will not vote for any Democrat who votes for cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. Period.

[jtown1123]

20. Seconded.

[rucky]

22. I accept your apology. n/t

[spanone]

23. neither am i.

[TheKentuckian]

25. The discussion is freak out territory.

[blkmusclmachine]

26. The WH has a track record, use that as your guide.