nobody cares what we (liberals/hippies) think...

[kpete]

................

This proposal is further evidence that the debt ceiling negotiations were an intentional decision on Obama’s part. The president genuinely believes in deficit reduction, and chose to use the debt ceiling as an opportunity to cut spending with significant bipartisan cover. Obama hasn’t been fooled into these negotiations, nor is he playing rope-a-dope or a complex game of 11-dimensional chess. This is what he wants.

What does this mean for liberals? Well, they can complain and attack Obama — they’ve already begun — but criticism from the left has yet to budge the president, and it’s doubtful that this time will be any different. Demonstrations sound great, but they don’t actually carry a high chance for success; if your only option for changing the political calculations of a president is protest, then you’re probably too late to the game. Likewise, a primary campaign against Obama sounds like it might work, but outside of activist circles, there is little appetite for a challenge. The Democratic establishment is satisfied with President Obama, and will work to ensure his reelection.

Indeed, given the importance of presidential elections, Obama will be able to count on organization and support from every member of the Democratic coalition. Moreover, if a deal comes through, it will probably help him with independents, who support modest reductions in entitlement spending.

Simply put, liberals don’t have much leverage over the Obama administration, which, unfortunately, makes our concerns — and our anger — a second-order consideration at best.

The rest:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/161846/entitlements-table-obama-plans-go-big-budget-deal

[vi5]

1. HE organized the catfood comission....

Nobody else put that into place, and nobody made him call a commission on that. And the people that HE chose as his picks were horrible choices.

Yet somehow we're to believe that any cuts to SS or medicare are not what he wants but what he's being forced to do.

Horse. Shit.

[Aerows]

10. Damn right

He owns the Catfood Commission, and 14 of the 18 have been historically wanting to either abolish or sharply reduce SS. To claim now that he doesn't want any cuts to SS is absurd - his choices prove that he is willing to do it and it IS horse shit to say that he's being forced.

[DJ13]

2. if your only option for changing the political calculations of a president is protest

, then you’re probably too late to the game.



Unless you're Republicans who call themselves tea partiers.

Ever notice that our MSM only thinks protesting is appropriate if you're far right conservatives?

[villager]

3. Another astute observation, reliably unrecc'd here...

n/t

[democracy1st]

9. i'll rec in ur honor

[myrna minx]

4. Yep - he's far more concerned with helping the GOP

than with the people who voted for him.I won't be fooled again.

[hifiguy]

5. Second order?

Try tenth or twentieth. We are utterly screwn and were chumped three years ago in the bargain.

[Lorien]

6. Which makes me wonder; if things are this bad before a reelection campaign

what will they be like during a second term? It's time to find a primary challenger.

[senseandsensibility]

7. K and R

Reality is still important, and still allowed here. What to do about it is another story.

[Rex]

8. Ya and just like 2010, he will cost us big for being a political snob.

Obama might win a second term...but it won't be from the liberal vote, I assure you.

[Aerows]

11. It won't help him with independents

Because many of them and even many moderate Republicans are opposed to SS/Medicare cuts.

It's OUR money. It's not "welfare" or something for nothing - we've paid into it.

Wanting the benefits that you've paid into is not a "liberal" position - it's a sane one shared by many across the political spectrum. It's going to harm him with not only his base, but also with those that might have voted for him instead of some weak Republican candidate or a batshit one like Bachmann.

[Autumn]

12. It won't help him with us

nasty whiny progressives either.