Congratulations President Obama, you did what 8 years of Bush could not

[EvolveOrConvolve]

You removed any hope that I had left for our country.

[MADem]

1. Jesus, you give up easy. nt

[EvolveOrConvolve]

3. Sadly, no

That's what's so disheartening.

[gateley]

5. It's like you're leaving during the 4th inning because your team is down

a couple of points. You KNOW the outcome!

You know it ain't over 'til it's over. Snap out of it!

[EvolveOrConvolve]

7. I wish that were so

The 4th inning was probably the Nixon years. We're in extra innings now and our closer just walked out on us.

[gateley]

28. Don't agree, but I like the analogy! nt

[Dept of Beer]

10. The team apparently is the 1918 Black Soxs.

[SolutionisSolidarity]

34. It's like you leave when you realize that your star players are throwing the game.

If Obama does this, then at least we finally and unequivocally know where he and the Democratic Party stand. That's a valuable service, so we should be grateful to Obama for that.

[MADem]

12. I think you lack stamina and fortitude.

Things weren't too sanguine during the Nixon years. I didn't give up then. Reagan wasn't a cakewalk, either. But hey, whatever--grab your ball and run along home.

[Drale]

11. Its sad isn't it

It seems as though the Republicans have finally succeeded in what they have been trying to do for decades, stop the left from voting. You might as well close your DU account and never post here again if you ever plan on not voting because by not voting you throw the entire political process out the window.

[MADem]

17. Yeah, but tell that to the OP--he might not read it in your reply to me! nt

[Drale]

22. It was actually more of a general reply to anyone who's thinking about not voting. /nt

[Bake]

49. No, Obama gave us up.

In the interest of being "bipartisan" with a party that has no interest whatsoever in being anything but partisan.

We've been sold out. FDR and Truman are rolling over in their graves.

Bake

[MADem]

52. Were you an Obama supporter during the election?

I paid close attention to what he said as a candidate. He was pretty careful to parse. Clinton parsed too, but she caught shit for it, and Obama didn't.

That's usually a clue, when the language is a bit tortured. I don't think Obama sold us out, though, even though he wasn't my first choice for the office. He's doing the best he can with a divided legislature.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. I wish I could recommend your post 1000 times. MEDICARE AND SS ARE UNTOUCHABLE. nt

[gateley]

6. Sarah, he hasn't touched them! I THINK he's just talking about

shaving costs, NOT benefits, and if he goes after the benefits, the House won't support it!

They ARE untouchable but they haven't been touched yet! Just hang on!

[Fearless]

9. By getting rid of COLA you cut Social Security.

[Liberal Veteran]

14. AFAIK, nothing has been cut yet.

I haven't even seen a proposal dropped onto Congress for discussion at this point. For all we know, this a trial balloon to fire up the base.

[Fearless]

21. And if it is should I respond differently?

[ingac70]

15. They didn't "get rid" of COLA...

http://www.ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/2011cola-pr.htm

Thanks for playing, though.

[Fearless]

18. That is what is being discussed... among other cuts actually.

[EFerrari]

13. Yes, he has touched Social Security. Remember, he put together a "holiday"

from putting into it when he agreed to extend the Bush tax cuts.

[gateley]

32. Actually, no, but I'm sure you're correct. I meant THIS

time around, but that's even MORE reason not to do it.

I am SO against touching anything that might affect what a person receives, but I'm also hopeful that since this is such a hot topic for ALL Americans, they may back off (both Obama AND the Republicans).

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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

[gateley]

30. Pelosi (and the majority of Americans) agree. nt

[bhikkhu]

35. Both require actual management over time - "untouchable" things fail by themselves

If you look at the history, ( http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2006/506/infocus/p15.htm is a good source of information) the programs have had regular changes made to them over time, which generally reflects good stewardship - people in government doing their job. Even the Reagan administration managed to strengthen the program long-term.

Long-term, its always based on projections and assumptions, many of which are bound to be wrong. The program needs to be responsibly managed, and if they become untouchable or are just left to autopilot, they wind up broken down off in the weeds somewhere, no longer working.

The possible change that everyone is so upset about today is simply the use of a different formula for cost of living increases - not actually a cut, but potentially a slowing down of increases. That's not good, but we may as well admit that the current CPI adjustments have been a scam for many years.

Moving to another formula is no barrier to also switching to a real set of inflation numbers as a basis as well? Or it would be easy to see how that might be accomplished after the fact, if the will or knowledge existed to actually improve something.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

37. They should NEVER EVER EVER be mentioned in a talk about 'cutting,' period. nt

[bhikkhu]

38. It wasn't Obama who talked about "cutting", "slashing" or anything else

I believe it was a WAPO reporter citing an anonymous source.

You could get into an area of definition like in the debt ceiling negotiations, where closing a loophole or anything that increases revenue is equivalent to raising taxes, and any adjustment to SS, even if its to fix something innocuous or change how something is accounted for, if it technically leads to less money flowing out, could be called a "cut". To some extent, it depends of the opinions you bring.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

43. If that's true, then someone from the WH needs to deny that. The fact they're not....

leads me to think it's true.

If someone lied through their ass about me, concerning something THAT IMPORTANT, I'd instantly deny it. This does not involve a birth certificate. This involves people's WELL BEING. The WH needs to deny this if it's a lie, but I'm beginning to think it's not.

[Solomon]

46. I wish you would stop with the "has to deny" business.

Should you have to go around denying everything somebody else said about you?

Prove a negative prove a negative prove a negative.

Hope you never get on a jury.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

48. Yes. If it's something huge and reflects VERY badly upon the person.

To not do so, would be to admit the statement is true. He needs to TELL his base that he 'WOULD NEVER DO THAT.' When I hear him say that, I'll be calm.

[gateley]

4. What did he do? What DIDN'T he do? I must have missed the vote.

[Liberal Veteran]

8. See what you get for not upgrading to that higher tier broadband connection?

I must confess, I too have an internet connection that only works for current and past news coverage. I just can't afford the kind of internet that delivers news from the future to my desktop today.

I feel like such a luddite.

[tammywammy]

20. heh n/t

[MADem]

23. Ha ha ha ha ha! Geez, I want one of those, too! nt

[Fearless]

25. Nancy Pelosi has already drafted a statement denouncing cutting SS...

If that isn't proof enough that it is actually on the table... then what do you want?

[jefferson_dem]

31. Yeah! The poster's pc didn't even come equipped with a crystal ball...

like yours did. What a lamer.

[Number23]

39. Best. Post. Of the WHOLE Day

:toast:

[LiberalAndProud]

27. Social Security is on the table.

It is now and will be from now on part of the budget process. It should not be. There is no reason for a Democratic President to place it there. No reason. It is there.

For all that you say that nothing has been done yet. The fact that it is part of the negotiations is despicable.

gately, I want to love him. I want him to be the best President ever. I just don't agree with his decisions here. I can't agree. And while we can listen to all the soothing talk of how it won't be as bad as all that, we shouldn't have these concerns. If a good economy is all about confidence, this isn't the way to achieve that. It simply isn't. This is truly frightening. The Republicans know this. They pushed him over the line and it seems that he's stepping over without resistance. It's not a good thing politically. It's not a good thing economically. It is not a good thing.

[polmaven]

47. Of course it should be on the table'

Strengthening it by raising of eliminating the income cap and/or imposing means testing for the level of benefits is absolutely worth discussion.

[mzteris]

16. ofo. n/t

[Bonn1997]

24. Well put

[bhikkhu]

26. Sorry to hear you were such a pushover!

But I hope you stick around to hear how things go, after all the hair-trigger exploding heads have had their say on the misinformation of the day.

[Change Happens]

50. lol...

[Marr]

51. How are those fixes to the healthcare bill coming along?

Remember all that shit about how it didn't matter that the public option was left out, because they'd "fix the bill" later? 'Just be calm', the apologists said. 'Have some faith', they said.

[jefferson_dem]

29. Awww...

And he did all this ... (whatever he did) ... just to mess with you too. Sucks, eh?

[unkachuck]

33. "You removed any hope that I had left for our country."

....amen, brother....right now, he may have the Democratic nomination, but be he ain't no Democrat....and Democrats vote for Democrats....

[lib2DaBone]

36. Obama was always aligned to the Koch Bros.....

..a sad joke on the American People.. meet the new boss......

[ClarkUSA]

41. Oh, is that why they have pledged $80M to Republican groups to defeat Obama next year?

:sarcasm:

[Hand_With_Eyes]

40. Sadly ironic

[Kahuna]

42. Don't blame the president. Blame VOTERS. Elections have consequences.

AS does pouting and sitting out elections.

[MADem]

53. Well, what can I say about this post...

It's the second best post in this thread, right after the higher-tier internet one!

I'm one of those "Vote or Shut Up" types, myself.

[robcon]

44. I am very optimistic about my country. I'm proud of President Obama.

His accomplishments are tremendous.

[Ganja Ninja]

45. If you had any hope after Bush's second election then you were a dreamer. n/t