Is complaining or criticizing Obama helping the Republicans?

[CreekDog]

What if you oppose continuing our actions in Afghanistan and Iraq? Can you criticize Obama without being told you are helping the Republicans?

What if you support the right for gays to get married? can you not criticize Obama for his opposition without being told you are helping the Republicans?

What if you oppose expansion of nuclear power? If you criticize these actions while encouraging far more liberal alternatives, will you be told you are helping the Republicans?

What if you oppose the changes the Education secretary is carrying out or encouraging in public schools? If you criticize these actions while encouraging far more liberal alternatives, will you be told you are helping the Republicans?

2 questions in conclusion:

1) If you cannot criticize Obama on an issue hoping that the policy will be changed without being told you're helping the Republicans --what option does a person have if they want to advocate for more liberal policies than are currently being supported or pursued by the Administration? Do such people just sit out activism until the president is a Republican?

2) If you cannot criticize Obama on a policy that is less Democratic or liberal than the party is at large, at least not without being told you're helping the Republicans, then does that mean while Obama is President, any policy he supports that is more conservative than mainstream Democrats is effectively on hold while he is President?

[leftstreet]

1. Is Obama complaining and criticizing Democrats helping Republicans?

:shrug:

[readmoreoften]

4. +1

[DJ13]

5. +2

[emilyg]

+2

[Kurovski]

21. +3

[myrna minx]

25. +4

:hi:

[Kurovski]

26. +5

:hi:

[myrna minx]

27. Trying...not...to...hyjack ...thread... for... personal... reasons...

It's good to see you. :hi:

[Kurovski]

34. Well. personally, I don't think there's enough complaining & criticism of thread-jacking.

I'll bet YOU were born in Kenya, too! :bounce:

[Pryderi]

2. Swallow your anger. Need help? Let me massage your throat. SWALLOW IT!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Structurally impossible.

[randr]

6. Keeping a critical eye on my candidates and letting them know

when they disappoint me is one way I am different from the average Republican.

[Starry Messenger]

7. Am I helping along Republican policies by staying silent when Dems are executing them?

By 2008, the right-wing couldn't find its ass with two hands and a road map. We had a chance to really do some shit. I didn't realize that the stuff that we'd be (mostly) doing was furthering along right-wing economic and education plans. That, to me, is helping the Republicans. I know that criticizing these actions on a message board isn't really "helping" anything at all, but I just want people to know that we noticed.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. Put it this way: The Republicans fumbled the ball and the Democrats snatched it up and ran

toward the Republican goal posts.

We are the crowd standing at the side lines yelling "You idiots! You're going the wrong way!"

Problem is, this isn't a fucking Jerry Lewis movie.

[DearAbby]

16. Standing Applause

:applause:

[Bandit]

8. Is Obama helping the Republicans?

:shrug:

[Little Star]

9. That would be a better question.

[Scuba]

11. +1

[jannyk]

Yeah, verily!!!

[Solomon]

12. There's a huge difference between criticizing and just bashing

everything he does or doesn't do. Particularly bashing him for something that's not on his plate in the first place.

There are lots here who lodge legitiate criticisms. But there's also a crowd here who just seizes on anything to bash.

Besides everybody gets their say. No one is stopping anyone from criticizing or bashing. Some people disagree.

I find it fascinating that the left wing says he's republican while the right wing says he's a radical socialist.

Hyperbole on both sides.

[CreekDog]

14. Yeah but my experience here has been, someone else criticizes him 100 times, then I did it once

and suddenly, I'm "bashing".

i've found little discrimination here between 1 time well-reasoned criticism and just plain old "never liked him to begin with," that some (but few) posters clearly hold.

[Lyric]

20. I think some people resent being called "bashers" when they aren't doing or saying anything

that they didn't do or say when Republicans were the ones in office. Did we have legitimate complaints THEN..or were we just a bunch of Bush-bashers? The double standard is ridiculous. Some people apply the "basher" label to just about every criticism that's more forceful than a vague, polite sentence or two.

[CreekDog]

22. that's exactly what i was getting at

:hi:

[Homer12]

13. The Dif between the right and the left

Thank god we critisize Obama. We don't follow lock step, like lemmings off the cliff.

[JoePhilly]

15. Sometimes yes ... some times no,

On Afghanistan, no. The GOP wants Obama to stay forever, Obama wants to leave in a responsible manner, some on the left want to just leave.

On Gays ... does DADT not matter? The Obama administration will not defend DOMA ... does that help the GOP??

Nuclear Power ... As a candidate, Obama said nuclear power is part of the total package. Most Americans agree. Its not the focus, but we can't just turn it off either.

Education ... the reality is that the variations at the state level are far more important than those at the federal level. The DOE should be setting some standards but not all of them. Criticize away.

Last point, criticizing a specific policy does not "hurt Obama" ... claiming that something that an unnamed Obama official said proves that Obama is a corporatist, does.

[old mark]

17. K&R- THe republicans already hate him and won't be affected by anything we say...

Do you honestly think they care what we say here? They are too busy trying to be meaner than the next guy, getting drunk and fucking sheep.

mark

[sabrina 1]

18. I think a better question is

Should we more concerned about party politics than we are about the direction this country is going in?

If the people do not express their disagreement with policies because they are trying to protect a political party, but that party is supporting policies that the people actually voted against, then nothing will change. And that is what both parties are counting on and have counted on and is the reason why policies of war and economics and other policies that are destroying this country, have not changed much, if at all.

We can keep on defending things we do not agree with because our party is in power if we wish and nothing much will change.

It's like a see-saw. When the other party is in power, we get to speak out against their policies.

When our party is in power, we remain silent even when they are doing the same things.

These tactics ensure that there will always be half the country supporting, either by their silence if they are Democrats, or by their vocal support, if they are Republicans, the status quo.

For the people this is disastrous, but for the powerful, it is a perfect system.

But if people on both sides were to set aside their party loyalties and focus on the issues, then the people would have some power.

That is what is happening in Wisconsin. And that is what the powerful are afraid of.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

19. Frankly, the Republicans have their own problems

and I'd say that they're more likely to have a crack-up than we are at the moment. The Republican 2012 Presidential primaries are going to be anything but pretty.

As to the specific content of your post, no, I don't believe that criticism of Obama hurts him but we need to really be organizing more at the local level and get a Congress that can give President Obama the kind of legislation we want him to sign. He can say all the right things and propose all the right kind of legislation but unless he has a Congress to give him it, it's not going to make much difference IMHO and we'll still be here next year and (probably) the next four years arguing and complaining about what he has done or hasn't done and why or why not. IMHO what we need the most is a 24-7-365 on-year, off-year progressive mobilization effort in order to thwart the GOP and move the country more in a progressive direction. The reason that the right wins and we lose more often than not is simply because they are always organizing around some issue that is important to them and they are out there making calls, faxing, e-mailing, and otherwise making more noise than we are- at the right people (i.e. Congress, state legislators). We'd all be a lot better off if we not only criticized our leaders but then we need to actually DO SOMETHING about it! For instance, if people think that Obama needs to be primaried, fine, but then they need to take the next logical step and announce their candidacy or get an actual candidate to run against him. :shrug:

[devils chaplain]

23. It's one thing to criticize and complain...

..and it's quite another to actively work against.

[treestar]

24. Yes.

No one party is going to do all you want; therefore singling out what you don't like and emphasizing it will only split Democrats, which in turn helps Republicans.

It happened to the Republicans when they nominated people so far to the right, like Christine O'Donnell, that they handed a seat they could have won to the Democrats. Whoever spent time complaining that Gramps McCain was too liberal may have gotten some inroads, but it only helped the Democrats.

We just have to tolerate the party doing some stuff we don't like, or we'll get Republicans. Politics is not the place to demand it all. No one ever gets it all.

[TBF]

28. "We just have to tolerate the party doing some stuff we don't like" -

this is what is wrong with this country - people fall for drivel like this.

No we don't have to "tolerate" this crap. We can fight back.

[treestar]

30. "Some" stuff

there is no large entity of people who will agree on everything.

therefore you will always be "fighting back" and never get anywhere.

If you joined the Green party, you'd have infighting there, too.

[TBF]

32. I'm not talking about joining parties. nt

[Fumesucker]

31. That's right, we should never speak up when we think the Democrats are in error..

It only helps Republicans..

:eyes:

[Chris_Texas]

29. Criticizing Obama IS criticizing republicans.

[earthside]

33. Zing! n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

35. Thank you. That's the first thing that came to mind

when I read the thread title.

[CreekDog]

36. whoops!

:rofl:

[Toucano]

38. Exacto! n/t

[TBF]

39. Snap! K&R nt

[toddwv]

37. There's nothing wrong with criticism.

Unless all you do is complain.

Nobody is perfect. No political agenda is pure. Compromise is a necessity.

So criticize. Complain. But if that is ALL you do, then yes, you are helping the Republicans.