Obama: Republicans are becoming 'unrecognizable'

[IDemo]

President Obama would much rather critique the Republican presidential race than the Democratic contest between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, arguing that the GOP is headed way beyond the political mainstream.

"To me, the relevant contrast is not between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, but (the) relevant contrast is between Bernie and Hillary and Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and the vision that they're portraying for the country," Obama told Politico in an interview.

Voters need to pay attention to "the degree to which the Republican rhetoric and Republican vision has moved not just to the right but has moved to a place that is unrecognizable," Obama said.

Obama told Politico the gap between Democrats and Republicans — on "everything from tax policy to immigration to foreign policy" — is as wide as he has seen.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/01/25/barack-obama-politico-donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/79289506/

[smirkymonkey]

1. Hear, hear!

[Katashi_itto]

2. Pity he didnt nail the Cabal to the wall with war crimes charges. We wouldnt be here.

[Yavin4]

6. And if he did that, his presidency would have been over before it even started.

It would torn apart his own party and we would have had a President Romney right now.

[Mira]

11. Well, as I see it a President can do a lot!

That famous first day in office he could have started in on those bastards (please pardon my verbal passion)

They needed to be investigated, tried, and either convicted or properly freed.
Not having done it leaves the Republican party members free (such as some of them have taken advantage of) to make statements about "I would waterboard, and more" - or - "making the sand glow after carpet bombing"
If we had made war criminals responsible for their actions and had officially stood up and said 'NO" we would have a different America today, also in the eyes of the rest of the civilized world.

I got three links today from someone in Germany, asking me to verify some of what is going on here --- they are aghast at Trump, Palin, Obama being blamed for improperly parenting Palin's wayward son, etc.
The whole world is watching.
Yet again.

[Hortensis]

28. "World's most challenging walk-and-chew-gum exercise."

Obama on the presidency. Oh, yes, the president is very powerful, but just a fraction as powerful as most people imagine. And that would be the case even with a congress that was not committed to a scorch-earth policy against the administration in office.

[Katashi_itto]

12. Yeah instead we have Trump with in reach of the Whitehouse if Hillary is the Nominee

[SoapBox]

18. Agreed.

RePuke and Baggers will turn out in droves to vote for any freak, as long as it's not her...Democrats and Independants across all ages will show in record lows because both choices are unpalatable.

[BeyondGeography]

13. Sanders isn't wasting his time on this issue

And neither should you.

[Katashi_itto]

15. Gosh, thanks for telling me how to spend my time.

Awful good of you. Must be all that forward looking stuff.

[Renew Deal]

23. Doubt it

It would probably have the opposite affect. That's separate from whether it was the right thing to do.

[BeyondGeography]

3. It's a good word

They're the freaks.

[Politicub]

4. K&r

[certainot]

5. of course on morning blow all they said was he

favored hillary

[jeff47]

7. Becoming?

They're the same people they were in 2007. They're just using fewer dogwhistles.

[pscot]

9. He's always had strange illusions

about the Repukes.

[joshcryer]

10. Ironically, perhaps, his uber bipartisanship may have helped their self-destruction.

If Trump winds up being the nominee, the party is doomed.

[pscot]

21. They were dead when he took office

Now they're the zombie party and probably unkillable.

[Pharaoh]

8. A polite way

to say, they're Fascists!!

[hollowdweller]

16. Disagree w/ Obama

Really always been the same party since Nixon or so. They have just got more up front about their prejudice and scolding tactics.

[jalan48]

14. Didn't the Republican's steal the 2000 election? Remember that fiasco?

I think they changed awhile ago.

[Pharaoh]

25. stole 2004 too !

[Martin Eden]

17. When Bush/Cheney left office I hoped the GOP would drift back towards sanity

Instead, they've galloped further into batguano crazyland.

[Punx]

19. Republican Leadership

Is no longer afraid, or no longer cares to hide what they really think. There are many reasons for this that could probably be an OP or series of OP's in and of themselves. I recommend Mike Lofgren’s and John Dean’s books for starters.

What little decency, or conscience they had left the party in the 80's, or perhaps early 90's.

[MynameisBlarney]

20. I disagree completely!

What they have already become is all too recognizable.
They're fascist theocrats.

[ananda]

22. Well, see ..

.. I think Obama is basically sympathetic with conservative, Republican values
for the most part. He of the DLC, Rahm Emanuel wing of the DINO party, like
DWS.

Thus, there is great irony here because basically, in Reeps, he wants to see the
best of the conservative values he upholds, which .. very sadly .. are also
corporate.

[hifiguy]

29. I agree.

He told us he was a 1980s repub and has largely governed like one.

[jwirr]

24. Good, and if you recognize that then think about something

else. If you sign the TPP you are handing these unrecognizable Rs just exactly what they want. Please take the time to think about that.

[Orsino]

26. Sure, if you're checking their portraits in the attic.

On the TV they still look okay.

[Wounded Bear]

27. Yep...

the real left-right battle is between Bernie and Hillary.

All the repubs offer is a battle between far right and farther right.

[Skittles]

30. I wish DUers would take a tip from Obama

and remember who exactly we are fighting against

[Dont call me Shirley]

31. But Rs are being elected because of DWS.