So, we're losers, are we...? The Obama administration shows its true colors...

yeah, it's more glenn...

You may think that the reason you're dissatisfied with the Obama administration is because of substantive objections to their policies: that they've done so little about crisis-level unemployment, foreclosures and widespread economic misery. Or because of the White House's apparently endless devotion to Wall Street. Or because the President has escalated a miserable, pointless and unwinnable war that is entering its ninth year. Or because he has claimed the power to imprison people for life with no charges and to assassinate American citizens without due process, intensified the secrecy weapons and immunity instruments abused by his predecessor, and found all new ways of denying habeas corpus. Or because he granted full-scale legal immunity to those who committed serious crimes in the last administration. Or because he's failed to fulfill -- or affirmatively broken -- promises ranging from transprarency to gay rights.

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But Robert Gibbs -- in one of the most petulant, self-pitying outbursts seen from a top political official in recent memory, half derived from a paranoid Richard Nixon rant and the other half from a Sean Hannity/Sarah Palin caricature of The Far Left -- is here to tell you that the real reason you're dissatisfied with the President is because you're a fringe, ideological, Leftist extremist ingrate who needs drug counseling:

The White House is simmering with anger at criticism from liberals who say President Obama is more concerned with deal-making than ideological purity.

During an interview with The Hill in his West Wing office, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs blasted liberal naysayers, whom he said would never regard anything the president did as good enough.

"I hear these people saying he’s like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested," Gibbs said. "I mean, it's crazy."

The press secretary dismissed the “professional left” in terms very similar to those used by their opponents on the ideological right, saying, "They will be satisfied when we have Canadian healthcare and we’ve eliminated the Pentagon. That’s not reality."

being categorized as a member of the "professional left" is a new one for me... while i tend to identify more with the left, progressives and liberals much more than i do with the right and conservatives, i am well aware of serious failings in all of those groups... if pushed, i would describe myself more as being passionate about social justice, respect and tolerance for everyone, with a strong bias against greed, fear-mongering and endless war...

glenn continues...

Perhaps one day the White House can work itself up to express this sort of sputtering rage against the Right, or the Wall Street thieves who destroyed the American economy, or the permanent factions that control Washington.

[...]

[I]f anyone needs to be "drug tested," it would be those denying that many of Bush's most controversial policies and actions have been embraced in full by Barack Obama.

i don't know what the obama administration thinks it's doing talking trash like this but whatever support yours truly might have been able to muster for obama's declining fortunes is now gone... may god have mercy on our souls when we wake up the morning after the november election and see what fresh hell has overtaken us...

"professional left," indeed...!

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I refuse to support ANY candidate or ANY party that does not forcefully address our constitutional crisis

the various posts and comments here yesterday on cindy sheehan's banning from daily kos seem to have generated a fair amount of discussion on what i consider to be a very central issue, namely how can people concerned about the terrible state of our nation come together to do something about it without becoming mired in partisan politics...

commenter betmo...

i just got in a world of crap for pointing out the hypocrisies of the left. a fellow blogger got in a world of crap for pointing out that one particular blog uses similar propaganda techniques as the neo cons to promote fear. we both got raked over the coals hard. i don't care which side of the aisle you are on- if your interests lie with saving this country---and saving the planet- then we can fight side by side. if you are interested in promoting party politics as usual, you need not apply.

my thoughts in response...

i couldn't agree more... while i totally understand and to a large extent agree with those who believe that, unless the dems stick together, we might not be able to remove the criminals from the white house and congress, i have no desire to substitute those criminals with different criminals who are better at play-acting their concern for the commonwealth and the constitution... it's high time the american people got shoe-leather honest and recognized that by abdicating our rightful role in our country's governance, we've allowed the foxes to rule the henhouse and we simply can't tolerate that any longer...

hell, i don't want to see a nader spoiler open the door for another bush-type president, but i also realize that lock-step support of a one-party ticket is asking to be charmed into allowing ourselves to be robbed rather than being robbed by decree...

i'll tell ya what... i'm DELIGHTED to be having this kind of discussion because i believe it's PRECISELY the kind of discussion we ought to be having...

it's clear as hell to me that the bush administration's shredding of the fundamentals the united states was founded on only happens to be the most overt, brazen, and egregious in a series of presidential administrations that traveled the very same road, and all of them have done so with our implicit, if not conscious, consent... the cornerstones of our nation, as enshrined in the declaration of independence, the constitution, the bill of rights, and all the other constitutional amendments, supported by years of judicial precedent supporting those fundamentals, are our sine qua non... it is those combined principles, values and beliefs that embody any and all hope for our future as a nation, and they are systematically and deliberately being negated... i have now reached the point where i simply cannot support ANY candidate or ANY party that does not, cannot or will not stand up and forcefully address that crisis...

i'll re-post what i told a woman with the john edwards campaign when she called me for a donation in early june...

i said that i see the united states in the middle of the worst constitutional crisis of its history and that i am not hearing ANY candidate calling it for what it is... [...] i said that unless and until a presidential candidate stands up and calls it for what it is, and starts talking about what WE can do to set things right, he or she will NOT get my support... i asked her to please pass that along to edwards, which she assured me she would... then i said that, when edwards decides to step forward on that issue, to please feel free to get back with me...

they still haven't called me back...

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Good for you, BooMan

i'm obviously not alone in my viewpoint... always nice to know...

I don't support her threatened campaign against Speaker Pelosi but Cindy Sheehan is welcome to post her thoughts here [Booman Tribune]. Daily Kos seems to be incapable of co-existing with anyone on the left that doesn't automatically show fealty to the Democratic Party. It's becoming a nation of Paul Begalas.

and furthermore...

It's a mistake. Who cares if she wants to promote a third party campaign? Argue on the merits. Pelosi won her last election with 84% of the vote and I think the green did better than the Republican. Pelosi isn't going to notice anyway.

and even a lot FURTHER-more...

As for Sheehan, let me make two points.

1. She isn't going to even make Pelosi break a sweat. She should have picked on someone that might actually have to worry, like Ike Skelton or something. It doesn't matter whether she runs in the primary or the general. She'll have no effect on the outcome. And if she has any effect at all, it will be a positive effect.

2. Trashing her and forbidding her from discussing her campaign is just weakening your community and causing scads of people on the left to feel unwelcome.

Dumb and Dumber.

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After posting about Dem lackeys and enablers, here's two more

here's somebody else in the democratic leadership supporting infrastructure who refuses to entertain the notion that the vast majority of the american people don't agree with his bullshit, but is definitely not going to let THAT FACT stop him from smearing it all over the walls... nor will it stop the consistently bushco-enabling wapo from headlining it on page one...

William A. Galston of the Brookings Institution, a Clinton administration domestic policy adviser and an early opponent of the Iraq war, said his party should note that voters appear just as worried that Democrats would withdraw from Iraq too quickly as they are concerned that Republicans would stay there too long.

"I think it's important to distinguish between the desire to bring this agony to an end and the consequences of bringing it to an end in the wrong way," he said. "I can't prove this, but I believe Democrats will be held responsible if they are seen as advocating a course of action that doesn't take the consequences of failure into account. We cannot afford as a party to be either silent or blithe about the consequences of rapid withdrawal."

there's an even more insidious line of crap embedded in this front-page story...

[T]he war is not the only area in which the candidates are at opposing poles of the debate. On issues such as taxes and spending, health care, and education, candidates are mostly taking their cue from -- or trying to cozy up to -- their respective ideological bases. In doing so, they risk embracing positions that could complicate later efforts to win the support of independent voters, whose votes will be crucial in November 2008.

read the above carefully... what picture does it conjure up...? that's right... two fringe groups, one parked on the far left and the other parked on the far right, both labeled as "ideological bases" with this vast white space labeled "independent voters" in between... this completely fails to take into account that the vast majority of that white space just so happens to support the very positions that are being ascribed to the far left fringe, however, no surprise to anybody, it's the "activists," as always, who are the ones making the most noise... seriously, i don't know how out of touch it is possible for mr. galston and the washington post to be and to still be citizens and residents of the united states...

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No, it's not a "funny thing," nor is it in the least bit surprising

while paul krugman is absolutely correct (behind the nyt firewall) in his appraisal, i'm surprised at his surprise...

[A] funny thing has happened on the Democratic side: the party’s base seems to be more in touch with the mood of the country than many of the party’s leaders. And the result is peculiar: on key issues, reluctant Democratic politicians are being dragged by their base into taking highly popular positions.

the democratic leadership (including many dems who aren't) is part and parcel of the same military-industrial, super-rich, take the money and run (and the ordinary joes be damned) gang that's been running things in the u.s. for years... there's zero incentive (read: $$) to take the national common good into account, none, and the only reason they're doing it now is to preserve the appearances of being at least minimally responsive to the national mood... the dems have perpetuated the myth of being the "people's party" and it would look more than a little suspicious if they flipped us off entirely... and, if you want to hear how they REALLY feel about being pushed this hard, you only have to turn to their paid lackeys and enablers, folks like james carville and terry mcauliffe, who make no secret of their disdain for what the "average" american thinks and continue to peddle hawkish, out-of-touch drivel...

(thanks to mcjoan at daily kos...)

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Big Tent Democrat is pissed off with Obama

i have to agree...

Look at what one of his key advisors Samantha Power said:

I got to talk a little bit about it with Samantha Power, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author on the subject of genocide and an informal advisor to Mr. Obama's campaign who is helping to write the speech. "We're going to hear something very unusual on the left, which is a genuine pride in what America can be again," she told me.

That is outrageous! This is Obama and his campaign in a nutshell - 'look how great I am, I am not like those other Dems who hate America, religion and Republicans.'

yes, that IS outrageous...

i was just now commenting on larisa's blog... she's traveling in a 3d world country and experiencing a fair amount of anti-american sentiment, and i was reflecting that i get the same here in argentina... however, as always, when i show warmth and goodwill and a willingness to accept people as they are, people almost never fail to reciprocate... folks are still very warm to the american PEOPLE, they just don't care for our government, and who can blame them...

i happen to care very much for my country and hate to see what a relatively small group of criminals is doing to it... i don't spend most of my waking hours blogging because i hate the u.s...

obama had better get a goddam clue... he's already lost me...

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Oh, how painful it is to so fully agree

would that this wasn't true...

norman lear at huffpo...

We lefties, we Democrat/Liberal/Progressives, do not yet get it. With all that is going on, unbelievably, the shit has yet to be scared out of us. We have not yet accepted that our way of life is seriously threatened -- and that we have a country to save. We are mired in what will "they" think? They've succeeded in making us feel weak where we're strong and doubters simply because we apply reason.

It will take the left to right this ship of state. That won't happen until we lefties get it. We get it, and fiercely, unapologetically, declare ourselves, to save our country and our asses.

i've been banging this drum so loud and so long, i'm starting to annoy myself... ah, well... the subject is simply too incredibly important to not make a big noise about...

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Murtha: “They’re striking out because they have no answers”

not only do they have no answers, they also have no public support... and, if the public really grasped the fact that petraeus' plan calls for ten more years, what precious little support is left would evaporate...

For all of President Bush’s vows to pursue his policies in Iraq, Mr. Murtha argued, “They can’t continue this direction.

“They can say that, just like they said they weren’t going to fire Rumsfeld two weeks before the election,” he added, referring to the dismissal of Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary immediately after the election. “But in the end, you can’t sustain a war if you don’t have public support.”

Of Mr. Cheney’s remarks, Mr. Murtha said, “They’re striking out because they have no answers.”

the above is from the nyt, which attempts to describe murtha's struggle in gaining support for his plan... the wapo has a similar article, altho' in best wapo fashion, it's considerably more negative toward murtha, starting with the headline and hitting full stride in the second paragraph...

Murtha Stumbles on Iraq Funding Curbs

Democrats Were Ill-Prepared for Unplanned Disclosure, Republican Attacks

[...]

[A] botched launch by the plan's author, Rep. John P. Murtha (Pa.), has united Republicans and divided Democrats, sending the latter back to the drawing board just a week before scheduled legislative action, a score of House Democratic lawmakers said last week.

to further cement the bias of the article, it persists in spreading the myth that those who are against the war are part of the far-left crazies...

The strategy he would craft was designed to calm the nerves of the party's conservatives by fully funding the war, while placating the antiwar left...

c'mon wapo... insinuating that over two-thirds of the u.s. population belong to the "antiwar left" just doesn't fly...

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The Democratic party's "left wing"

today's wapo showcases a lengthy, front-page article on how the crazed lefties are attacking poor bay area democrat, representative ellen tauscher, and how the party's "left wing" is destroying democratic "moderates..."

...the grass-roots and Net-roots activists of the party's left wing had already settled on their new enemy...

how dare you, wapo, characterize me that way...

yes, i'm grass-roots, and, being a blogger, i guess i'm net-roots too... but i don't consider myself a member of a "party" nearly as much as i consider myself a u.s. citizen who is hugely concerned with what's happening to my country... i have zero time or patience for any elected official who can't stand up and forcefully speak out against it, and, unquestionably, that puts me in opposition to a shamefully high percentage of those in both parties who claim to represent the electorate, but in fact are enabling the actions of a criminal administration bent on accumulating absolute power... just because i happen to care deeply about the principles upon which the united states was founded and am taking the time and energy to put those beliefs out there on a daily basis, does not make me the subversive, left-wing nutcase that you imply... admittedly, you try to soften your stand later on in the article by saying this...

...the Democratic takeover has energized and emboldened the party's liberal base...

i will cop to being a liberal, and, de facto, that probably puts me in the camp of the "party's liberal base..." however, i wouldn't go so far as to say i'm "emboldened..." on the contrary, i'm probably more discouraged right now than i was BEFORE the november elections... the wapo captures precisely why i feel that way by - cluelessly - revealing tauscher's modus operandi...

She said she doesn't trust anything the Bush administration says, but it's the administration in power. "I want to represent my constituents, so I have to work with this president," she said. "I'm a pragmatic person. I don't have the luxury of saying, 'I'll come back in January 2009 and try to get some work done.'"

like so many of her erstwhile colleagues, tauscher doesn't get it... there IS no "working with this president..." dealing pragmatically with the bush administration has already pushed the united states to the brink of a dictatorship... we can't afford an ellen tauscher any more than we can afford a hillary clinton or a joe lieberman or a joe biden...

there's another thread running throughout the article that makes both markos and moveon into kingmakers... if you read daily kos regularly, it is transparently clear that markos is anything but, nor does he have any ambitions in that direction... and moveon is one of the least centrally-directed, most grass-roots driven organizations i have ever seen... while the wapo has at least begun to grasp a smidgen of the fact that there are no "leaders" in this grass-roots, net-roots driven revolution, they still want to play the celebrity game... i can tell you that markos, for one, ain't playin'...

[Markos is] often portrayed as a raving ideologue, but he's really a savvy strategist; he has no problem supporting conservative Democrats in conservative districts, such as new Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.). But he sees no need to tolerate a DLC type in Tauscher's district, where Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) received 58 percent of the presidential vote in 2004. And he said that primaries are the only way to force incumbents with safe seats to pay attention to constituents.

"We're creating real democracy," he said.

read that last quote carefully, wapo... "real democracy..." think about it... it's THAT concept that has the democratic leadership scared to death... and i would appreciate it if you would cease characterizing those who are working to save the united states from a criminal administration as left-wing loons bent on wiping out any hint of "moderation..."

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