An open letter to the "vistors" at DU who are "scared" to death of Obama and the economy

[Peacetrain]

The time to be scared was 7 years ago.

A little hisorical perspective first. The last administration took a balanced budget and surplus in the annual budgets (the the national debt would still be growing, it was at a much smaller rate, and in fact they turned off the debt clock in New York).

They grew the budget and the government 12% above even the military needs of 2 wars.

Speaking of wars, they hid those incredible costs by never putting them in the budget and funding by emergency add ons. They never said no and never looked back at one.. count that..not one, congressional add on or piece of pork pushed into a budget... NOT ONCE.

They pushed through the largest entitlement program since FDR, but it was an entitlement programs for the drug companies because they added we could not as a government negotiate for lower drug prices as the military does.. Think about that my visitor friend.. You oversaw the largest entitlement and let me add.. UNFUNDED program since FDR.

That was the time to be afraid, because we all knew, and you did too, that when the Bush administration would be over, no matter what party got the Executive Branch, this would be what we would be facing.

So here we are, now is not the time to be afraid, or pray for failure of your President. Now is the time to dig in, nothing is as simple as you want it to be.

The CNBC squawk on the street types, gave you erroneous advice 6 months ago, they want it fixed with a snap of the fingers.. you know it cannot be like that. So no one is asking you to be a Democrat or be part of the Democratic Party.

But we are asking you to deal with reality as it is.. Now is NOT the time to be afraid. Man and Woman up my fellow Americans.. and that is you too visitors to DU.

[Political Tiger]

1. K & R !

:fistbump:

[Me.]

2. To Put It Simply

Get a grip and give the guy some time. It will take more than seven weeks to fix seven years of damage.

[omega minimo]

3. and some visitors seem to be "scared" of

solar energy and organic food............... :yoiks:

[Enthusiast]

9. Solar energy and organic foods

are characteristics of communism.


















:hide: :rofl:

[omega minimo]

13. Right on, comrade dude.

:yourock: :grouphug:

[LWolf]

4. Why do people come to DU

to make speeches to assumed "lurkers?"

Or do you really see many DUers who are "scared to death" of Obama or the economy?

[pnwmom]

5. Of course some freepers lurk here, just as some DUers lurk there. n/t

[LWolf]

7. Waste of time and energy, imo. For either side. nt

[lamp_shade]

6. Example: My elderly father is a Democrat... has voted Democrat all his life. However,

he watches FOX news (doesn't get MSNBC and has always hated CNN for some reason). He watches it because years ago his Republican SIL told him that it's the best news source. Dad believed him because he just doesn't know any better. I scold him constantly to stop watching that shit.

My point? He's "SCARED" of everything.

[bananas]

24. I've seen this happen to several Democrats, too

We had to talk someone down after he watched too much FOX news.
I notice it in myself if I watch, it's very effective propaganda.

[Kalyan]

8. post is in the wrong place ...

post is in the wrong place ... i don't know of too many DUers who don't understand this situation. This post might be more relevant in a conservative blog that i used to visit for fun - http://www.americanthinker.com

After a couple of weeks, i learnt that visiting the site drained me of all my positive energy & filled me with anger and stopped going there. Wonder if they are still around and how they are coping up with Obama as POTUS

[raccoon]

10. K&R. nt

[Butch350]

11. At last, their eyes opened.

[acmavm]

12. Maybe you can't tell 'fear' from 'concern' for throwing good money

after bad.

Another shitty thread telling people what to think.

So, when we elected Obama I guess that means we were no longer to question the policies (some of which suck big time)or his appointments (some of which suck even more) coming out of this administration? Last time I looked all kinds of people elected Obama, democrats, independents, republican (yes! some crossed over), greens, etc. I wonder if they know that they're supposed to check in with you in order to get their list of what concerns are allowable and what aren't?

You'd better be hiring some enforcers because I think a hell of a lot of people are like me and they you can go pound sand.

'Visitors' indeed.

[QC]

15. We need a STFU Forum. Or maybe GD: Bullies & Cheerleaders.

[acmavm]

20. I agree. Because that's EXACTLY what I would have told the OP.

I am so sick of being told what I can talk about and what I can't.

This place sounds like that website that cannot be mentioned. Can't talk about shit if one of the Bots don't like the subject.

[Peacetrain]

26. so what part of my op did you feel bullied by?

the historical perspective?

[acmavm]

28. You don't bully me at all. I'm just sick of idiots who sound like

the ditto heads.

Don't talk about this, don't talk about that.

edit: What is it that people like you are so damn afraid of?

[Peacetrain]

29. So who told you not to talk about what??

You have me at a loss here girl.. I am not sure what you are talking about..

[acmavm]

30. You are telling everybody to shut up. But you're doing it

disingenuously.

<snip>

An open letter to the "vistors" at DU who are "scared" to death of Obama and the economy
The time to be scared was 7 years ago.
<snip>

No, we'd all better be scared to death. As fucking scared as we were when this whole debacle was revealed.

And we'd better be afraid, very afraid, of the guys doling out our money. Some of the things they've done are insane. Like rewarding the same lawbreakers over and over (AIG for example). Nope, we all better be sitting on the fricking edge of our seats because the only people who are benefitting are the people who robbed this country and several other blind.

[Peacetrain]

31. Well you are wrong..my op was for those who lurk in here and visit and

do not even post. I am not scared. I have been run down by the runaway train of the last 7 years of economic gamesplaying.. the damage is done.. I am not afraid of what will happen, because it HAS happened.

Now you want to discuss the issues with me, I will be back in about 5 hours, and will be glad to sit and give my perspective, and listen to yours.

But I am not scared. Not a bit. Can't do anything from fear, fear freezes you in place. I am not sitting on the edge of anything, I have been knocked off that edge. I am climbing out.

By the way... Western Iowa here.. take care Nebraska, I will check back later and hope you to talk to you more about the economy .. I am not the enemy :)

[jonestonesusa]

22. Amen - is there something wrong with an attentive public

and constructive criticism? As much as knuckleheaded Bush policies on every front ravaged the finance and fiscal systems, he didn't do it alone. We need real debate and real paradigm shifts in our economic thinking, and opposition voices always have a role in democratic governance. I supported Obama because he can be part of a major policy shift, and I still think he can be. But not with Tom Daschle. Not with escalating the war in Afghanistan without a full policy reassessment and clear strategic goals (which he appears to be moving away from now, and I think that's great).

People have fears about the economy because it's struggling right now, with the economic team's prediction of recovery by Christmas not as likely as it seemed a month ago. I understand the need for significant public sector spending at this point, but we darn well better have a robust discussion/debate on what to spend on, how much, and when. How much more will the big banks need? What about the automakers that are teetering on the edge? What tax reductions/rebates work best for stimulus, and have we provided enough for energy, infrastructure, and other investments in a new economy? Plus, we all know that the real unemployment rate is significantly higher than 8.1% due to the funny math that gets us that figure, and state budgets are tighter than tight.

So, people are engaged and paying attention, and expressing skepticism when it's warranted, and that's how it should be. The _lack_ of attention and skepticism on the public's part got us here. There's nothing we need more than the public to keep its voice, especially the left, in my opinion. There's a chance now that our voices will be heard and we can go forward in a better direction.

[Peacetrain]

23. Interesting response..

Did you bother to read it, or just have a knee jerk..

[vaberella]

25. People like knee jerk better....n/t

[Peacetrain]

27. You know there are medications for that restless leg syndrome I have heard

:)

[vaberella]

32. True, the knee jerkers will claim they can't afford it because Obama doesn't instill single payer.

[jonestonesusa]

33. I did read the OP...

but it was ambiguous. It was hard to tell if you were addressing left wing or right wing critics of Obamanomics as deployed so far. I agree that the CNBC perspective goes over the top, but from my own left-of-center perspective I also wonder what is the right mix of tax cuts for short-term stimulus/infrastructure spending/bailouts because the stakes are very high. With your clarifications, it sounds now that you were wanting to aim only at the right of center criticism, but the OP read to me like a broader brush.

[Peacetrain]

34. Well jonestonesusa, I do not know how I could have made it any clearer who I was addressing

I had "visitors" to DU in the header... in the body of the OP I pointed out that "no one was trying to get them to become democrats or join the democratic party"..

Seriously, how much clearer can that be, as to whom I am addressing. The DU is a democratic activist post site, so how anyone who is a member of DU could be confused at who I was addressing.. is confusing to me..

I visited DU for years before I joined as did my son.. and a gazillion other posters.. We are not in here alone.. :hi: at the gallery.

And my I stand by what I said.. I was much more frightened 5 years ago, and terrified 2 years ago, because I could see what was headed towards us.

I have been hit by that mack truck, and now well once you have been hit, there is no fear of what is going to happen,, it has already happened..

I don't think anyone really has the definitive answer on what is the right mix of cuts, spending, bailouts.. I am sure there will be a lot of tinkering to try and fine tune..

This time next year we should know if it is going to work or not..

[Cha]

35. Boy, are you paranoid..the OP

wasn't even talking to you.

[acmavm]

37. And no one was talking to you. So your point is?

[Cha]

38. Oh, the point was you're paranoid..

hope you get better.

[Alcibiades]

14. Let the free market work

The economic mess that has been created by trickle-down economics, deregulation and globalization is too big to be solved by the means we have seen employed to date.

Declare a jubilee, zero out the balance sheets, and start all over, this time with credit unions instead of big banks.

[wiggs]

16. I have a conservative friend who is "deeply disappointed" in

PObama for allowing a budget with earmarks. Nevermind that dems and republicans negotiated this budget over the last 6 months and agreed to the particulars in december...forget that the stimulus bill had NO earmarks...forget that many earmarks aren't bad and many are defense related...ignore that 6 of top 10 (and 3 of top 5) earmark senators are republicans and that the per-senator earmarks amounts are nearly the same between dems and pugs...nevermind that the number and value of earmarks is approximately one third that of the last gop congress...and don't think about Obama only being in office less than 2 months...and that he didn't promise earmark elimination, but did promise earmark reduction...

...doesn't matter. Facts don't matter. Criticism during a disastrous 8 years was absent from the RW...now their scrutiny, expectations, impatience, demands for dem performance are through the roof. Progress doesn't matter, any shortfall in goals is total failure.

This meme of failure, betrayal, and disappointment (after just weeks in office) is being pushed relentlessly on TV and radio. This is what we can expect...and it's only one of many ways I see dems as different from today's conservatives.

[Cha]

36. I know..

"This meme of failure, betrayal, and disappointment (after just weeks in office) is being pushed relentlessly on TV and radio. This is what we can expect...and it's only one of many ways I see dems as different from today's conservatives."

I'm so tired of defending Obama to people who should know better than to let the corporatemediawhoredom do their thinking for them.

[knixphan]

17. K&R!

[liberal N proud]

18. K&R

[butterfly77]

19. Kick &Recommended!

[Wapsie B]

21. Fear sells.

Just like those who told us of impending doom with Y2K some people need fear to sell things. Take the gop for example. Where would they be without fear?