Salon - "New Obama strategy: Beat up poor people"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Wednesday, Feb 9, 2011 19:07 ET
How The World Works
New Obama strategy: Beat up poor people
To prove it is "serious" about the deficit, the White House proposes cutting a program that helps pay heating bills
By Andrew Leonard



http://www.salon.com/news/federal_deficit/index.html?story=/tech/htww/2011/02/09/white_house_picks_on_cold_poor_people

The Obama administration, reports National Journal's Mark Ambinder, will propose big cuts to a program that provides energy assistance to poor people when it unveils its suggested 2012 budget. "The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP," writes Ambinder, "would see funding drop by about $2.5 billion from an authorized 2009 total of $5.1 billion."

The news is generating a lot of outrage from progressives, in large part because of a paragraph that suggests that the White House wants to gain political advantage from being seen as tough on the most vulnerable Americans -- people who can't afford heating oil during cold winters.

It's the biggest domestic spending cut disclosed so far, and one that will likely generate the most heat from the president's traditional political allies. That would satisfy the White House, which has a vested interest in convincing Americans that it is serious about budget discipline.

Intriguingly, an updated version of Ambinder's piece changed the wording of the beginning of second sentence from "That would satisfy the White House" to "Such complaints might satisfy the White House." Do you suppose some of the unnamed sources who leaked this story to Ambinder gave him an earful after seeing just how angry the initial reaction to his infelicitous phrasing was turning out to be?

[ananda]

1. Just save all that war money by leaving the ME...

... and use it to help the poor.

[sabrina 1]

2. So, if Progressives were to demand cutting aid to the poor, the WH

would NOT be happy? They want to be 'seen as tough' on the most vulnerable people? What kind of sickness is that, if true? And to whom do they want to 'appear to be tough'?

But then again, why should we be surprised? This is the WH that is supporting a brutal torturer to become president of Egypt. The same WH that has denied justice to the illegally tortured under Bush and who intervened personally to prevent bringing the Bush torturers to justice?

So, they are happy when they make progressives angry? I guess they are hoping to get the Republican vote in 2012 which may very well happen since so many prominent Republicans appear to be very impressed with how 'tough' they are. Dick Cheney eg ~ that is an endorsement any decent person would not want, but this WH seems to have worked hard to get it.

[joentokyo]

15. Bullies are feaful that others

will find they have no real power, so they look for weaker people to fight with. That is why this administration is taking its orders from the Repulsivecons.

[joentokyo]

16. Er, make that fearful.

[somone]

3. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has no problem with dead peasants - whether in Afghanistan or America

War Is Peace

[Roci]

4. Cold hearted

“Cold comfort from a Man who is now as distant from the poor as he was in law school. He does not have to do this out of politics. This is being done by his own choosing. What good is tax money to the poorest of our people if they freeze to death, while putting nothing but miserly pennies into the pockets of the rich?

This is another chance for him to stand up and be President of all the people, especially those who need a voice the most. Will he take the chance? Will he stand up?
If he dares not, than even his greatest defenders must now fall silent in shame, over the Government of a man who cares only for the politics of the moment, and not a wit for those who find themselves in want thru no act of their own. If President Obama allows this, there is no stopping greed and evil in the Party of NO. You might just as well send National Guard troops to Boston and Chicago to bring everyone over 80 out of the houses, and down to the ends of their driveways,wh­ere they can freeze to death and be easily collected with the other refuse.”

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Obama's discovered the secret of bipartisanship

Just do whatever the Republicans want

Some might call it appeasment - but that assumes that Obama actually wants a different outcome.

[Lorien]

6. And yet we'll all be expected to vote for him next year

because "what choice do we have?" Screw that. I'll write in Elizabeth Warren or Dennis Kucinich. I don't vote for repugs or anyone who acts like a repug.

[midnight]

8. Elizabeth understands consumer economics and wall street economics....

She sure would give those silver spooned kids a run for their money.....

[midnight]

7. Time to retrofit homes of the poor and elderly with alternative sources of energy...

Create a work credit to hire people who want to work and use these homes to teach this necessary skill... Once this training is done and certification is complete these individuals can start their own businesses... and the govt won't have to pay unemployment or LIHEAP. It's a win win.... But this needs to happen and no more dancing around putting people back to work... or being able to keep the needs of the poor budgeted for...

[Trajan]

9. You forgot something ....

ANOTHER tax cut for the rich .... So they can create more jobs ....

[Radical Activist]

11. Already being done. That was part of the stimulus package.

This is one of those things people don't realize is happening because the blagosphere is too busy attacking Obama and ignoring the positive. If you call up your local body of government that manages LIHEAP it's usually the same people who administer home weatherization programs for low-income households. They probably hired new people to do the work last year as a result of federal grants Obama fought for.

[Radical Activist]

10. Do you suppose the story could have been bullshit to begin with?

How many times do people have to be fooled by this crap before they get wise? People leek these stories because they're campaigning for the outcome they want. How often do they turn out to be correct? Not very.

[sabrina 1]

18. How often? Far more often than not.

The Public Option rumored to be off the table. And it was. Over 200 concessions to Republicans on the HC Bill according to Obama himself. Not one to progressives.

Secret deals with the Pharmaceutical Corps.

Offshore Drilling (against it before he was for it)

Mandated Insurance (against it before he was for it)

Against Deficit Commissions because, he said, 'all they are is a stealth way around Congress. In my administration there will be no Commissions which meet in secret. Everything will be in the open before Congress as it should be'. But, once again, he was against them before he was for them.

His war on teachers. His assuming the power to order assassinations of U.S. citizens. His refusal to hold War Criminals accountable. His personal involvement in protecting Bush torturers from prosecution in Spain.

None of this is what we supported and there's more, every day it seems there is something else.

I don't know why you're worried, he'll probably get the Republican vote. He sure doesn't want the vote that put him in the WH and he's made that quite clear.

[Name removed]

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[PSPS]

12. "the president's traditional political allies"

It's the biggest domestic spending cut disclosed so far, and one that will likely generate the most heat from the president's traditional political allies. That would satisfy the White House, which has a vested interest in convincing Americans that it is serious about budget discipline.

I don't think so. Just who are "the president's traditional political allies?" From all indications, it's the republicans he's most allied with, both philosophically and politically. He's proposing this not because it will "convince americans" about anything. He's proposing this because, like other republicans, he believes in it. He's Clarence Thomas in the White House.

Obama is a charlatan.

[Betty]

13. saving 2.5 billion... what would that pay for in war hours?

seriously, I read that we are spending a TRILLION a year on "defense". 2.5 billion is chump change. Brilliant move on Obama's part, though, cutting something to prove he's just as heartless as the repugs. you know they will still complain, because it's not enough of a cut.

[MasonJar]

14. I knew W would be cruel and heartless. I was fooled into believing Obama.

Obama is worse than Bush because he ran on change. He lied.

[NorthCarolina]

17. This absolutely sickens me. Beyond redemption. nt

[Paranoid Pessimist]

19. President Obama is showing his untrue colors

Just because he's a (half) black man doesn't, obviously, have any sympathy for the underclass. Somehow I hoped he might way back when he was running for president. I voted for him hoping he wasn't too good to be true.

He's an amazing ringer. He got a huge youth/minority vote and sold everyone who thought he would be on their side down the river while feverishly kissing Republican ass. Just to sit there and allow Bill O'Reilly to dis him with interuptions during the now infamous Superbowl interview qualifies him as a leading candidate for Suck Up of the Century Award.

I'm glad I'm not black. All the president has to offer is skilled speechifying now being exclusively applied to dumping every good progressive idea this country ever had. The black anti-FDR.

This country may not survive his tenure, especially if re-elected which I wouldn't put past him (or us ).

I thought my cynicism and pessimism could not be trumped, but the ongoing Obama saga is breaking new sour ground.