I liked the President's speech. Now it is up to the Democrats to get behind him.

[kentuck]

And present a clear and distinct message that opposes what the Republicans want to do. This is the winning political message. You have to stand up for what you believe in. The President has laid down the template for Democrats to work with.

[MineralMan]

1. Exactly. We need to stand with him on these issues.

We don't need to make it harder for him to get these things done. Fight Republicans, not the President!

[kentuck]

4. Yes...

But mostly, the Democrats in the House and Senate need to work with this message. This can unite the Democrats and that is all we need to beat those without any vision.

[Bluerthanblue]

8. agreed, this is vital.

I hope we can encourage them to do that!

[MineralMan]

14. Yes. We all need to be communicating with our legislators in

support of this, and in no uncertain terms. That's my job for this afternoon and down the road.

[Blue Owl]

2. The Prez has 80% of the country behind him

No matter what teabagging nonsense the M$M spews out.

[flamingdem]

5. We're very lucky considering how well the right does to attempt division nt

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. I believe people can see that Repubs are divicive only for their own benefit

and are sick of it.

[fredamae]

20. Yes, he does!

That's why I am going to continue my daily calls to DC Lawmakers, emails and letters too.

I'm In with this fight against the pub agenda.

[pinto]

3. Agree.

:kick:

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. Absolutely Utterly! This is the most important point. We CAN shout them down!

We shouted down Bush after he toured for SIX MONTHS trying to sell us on the concept of giving the Social Security money to Wall Street. We CAN shout them down again and again and again...

[Tippy]

12. Take it to the streets......and bring one of those mega phones

[RKP5637]

7. Agree 1000 +++ % n/t

[Tippy]

10. K&R...I am willing to work ....help elect him once again

[highplainsdem]

11. Agree. K&R. This was the speech I wanted to hear from him.

[Taverner]

13. We've BEEN behind him

I somehow think that's not the problem

[Fire Walk With Me]

15. We have to be, as Democrats, louder and more active than the "tea party".

[Taverner]

17. I dunno, I think we've been all that

And what happens? The news orgs do a report on a protest made up of 15 teabaggers and a pet schnauzer instead of 1000+ protesting in Wisconsin.

[Fire Walk With Me]

19. We can change that. We -are- changing that. Hang in there, it's beginning to work!

[fredamae]

21. Who cares about MSM?

If we haven't succeeded yet, then we ain't done :)

[kentuck]

16. It is of utmost importance...

That the Democrats in the House and Senate get behind this message and use it as a template in the next election and beyond. It is up to the Party to decide where we stand as a Party and which side we want to be on.

[former9thward]

18. Did he really have to praise Reagan for "saving" Social Security?

[nichomachus]

22. I like all his speeches

It's his actions that piss me off. If he'd only sync his actions with his pretty speeches, we'd be in good shape.

[Zenlitened]

23. Agreed. I'm assuming you mean the Dem *leadership* has to get behind him.

It will be interesting to see if Congressional allies have been brought aboard, with a clear plan for fanning out and reinforcing the message.

I thought the speech was refreshingly frank in describing what "they" want for America, versus what "we" want. It really is an us-vs-them situation, with stark, stark contrasts between what each side envisions for our country.

Yeah, the President slipped back into the bipartisanship kumbaya toward the end of the speech. That was inevitable, I guess. But I hope he and leading Dems really sink their teeth into the crucial point Pres, Obama made today: Our vision of what American can and should be is better than theirs.

...The fact is, their vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America. As Ronald Reagan’s own budget director said, there’s nothing “serious” or “courageous” about this plan. There’s nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. There’s nothing courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don’t have any clout on Capitol Hill. And this is not a vision of the America I know.

The America I know is generous and compassionate; a land of opportunity and optimism. We take responsibility for ourselves and each other; for the country we want and the future we share.

[Cowpunk]

24. Get behind what he said in the speech ,yes.

If they get behind him, they'll probably find themselves capitulating on every point he made.

[eridani]

25. It is up to the Democrats to hold his feet to the fire. What is with this "everything--

--is on the table" bullshit? Social Security and Medicare need to be OFF the table, period. Particularly when he refuses to use government power to knock down pharma prices.