The backlash against irrational criticism of Obama is building

[ProSense]

Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore

BooMan Vents...

The Peace Prize - Eugene Robinson nails it

The problem for the addlebrained Obama-rejectionists is that the president, as far as they are concerned, couldn't possibly do anything right, and thus is unworthy of any conceivable recognition. If Obama ended world hunger, they'd accuse him of promoting obesity. If he solved global warming, they'd complain it was getting chilly. If he got Mahmoud Abbas and Binyamin Netanyahu to join him around the campfire in a chorus of "Kumbaya," the rejectionists would claim that his singing was out of tune.

:rofl:

[ProSense]

1. No comment? n/t

[Pirate Smile]

2. Just Unrec's.

:)

[BeHereNow]

4. Word. n/t

bhn

[Zenlitened]

3. So is the backlash against rational criticism, unfortunately.

[ProSense]

5. Links? n/t

[mopinko]

7. to rational criticism? yeah, i'd like to see some of that, too.

i tell ya, my ignore list cannot get much longer. but still, it seems like it is every other post.

[QC]

6. That's been underway for a couple of years now. n/t

[bertman]

8. Thank you, Zenlitened. I got your back.

[AllentownJake]

25. +1

[donco6]

35. Yes, sadly. n/t

[spoony]

37. Yep

because they consider essentially all criticism irrational, aka "whining."

[bvar22]

39. +17

:patriot:

[Number23]

9. And I, for one, am damn glad to see it. And am particularly pleased that both sides of the

hate aisles are getting their asses chewed.

Happy to rec.

[JoeyT]

10. Recced

Though I'll add the push back against rational criticism has also been increasing.
It's gotten to the point any criticism of any policy is immediately hailed as "Wanting a pony" or something similarly silly.

Apparently even though we voted for him we're not allowed to be pissed he's a fan of the Patriot Act or had a homophobic pastor deliver his inauguration or isn't even going to attempt to get rid of scummy contractors like Xe/Haliburton/etc, or that he isn't exactly stopping the assault on civil liberties. He doesn't seem to be a big fan of privacy, warrants, or letting people have their day in court either. All valid criticisms, all going to get me accused of wanting a pony that will end in a car/ship metaphor.

Sure we're supposed to circle the wagons against the Republicans, but that doesn't mean we can't argue about stuff inside the circle. Unquestioning obedience to *any* leader is never a good thing. And that's exactly what some people are demanding.

*Edited because I tabbed out in mid-sentence to fact check and forgot to end a sentence properly.

[madfloridian]

11. Well, gee, is it okay to criticize policy?

Many of us are very upset about the privatization of public schools? Are we allowed to vent on that topic?

[liberalhistorian]

13. No!!!!! Sit down and shut the

fuck up and smile, like all good comrades should do! :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[flyarm]

32. +1+1+1+1+1!!!!

[ProSense]

19. Who said anything about it not being okay to criticize policy?

Criticizing policy is not the same as claiming that Obama is Bush III.

[madfloridian]

21. On education he is.

Unfortunately.

[ProSense]

22. Oh BS

WASHINGTON – The seven-year anniversary of No Child Left Behind is no cause for celebration. For the past seven years, NCLB has become a stand-in for real discussions about a robust education policy that prepares children for the 21st century.

The AFT wholeheartedly agrees with what President-elect Obama has said repeatedly about this law: that its goals-high standards, an excellent teacher for every child, and closing the achievement gap-are the right ones, but that schools need to be supported in order to make this happen.

The AFT looks forward to working with a new Congress and administration to ensure that this law is retooled and reauthorized to provide real solutions for closing the achievement gap. Focusing on collaboration with teachers, parents and community partners; building capacity; and creating community schools-i.e., schools that offer a variety of wraparound services, including tutoring, recreational and social service programs-are three great ways to start. If the law can reflect these ideas, then we can truly help all schools offer every child a rigorous, well-rounded education that prepares him or her for college, work and life.

link

[madfloridian]

27. The Bush plan is the same as Arne Duncan's.

You keep quoting that one union, but wrong is wrong. Union leaders cave all the time. In every field, not just teachers.

Gingrich is getting his dream come true.

Road Trip.

He is getting charters, merit testing, and much more. His words could be Arne's words.

Introduce competition among schools and teachers

We should apply the free enterprise system to our education system by introducing competition among schools, administrators, and teachers. Our educators should be paid based on their performance and held accountable based on clear standards with real consequences. These ideas are designed to stimulate thinking beyond the timid “let’s do more of the same” that has greeted every call for rethinking math and science education.
Source: Gingrich Communications website, www.newt.org Dec 1, 2006

Jeb is getting his dream come true. Watch this video.

Jeb on Morning Joe is so happy that Obama is taking on teachers' unions.

This administration is carrying through with the Bush plan, which is the DLC plan...for charters and merit pay for teachers. For privatization of our public education.

[ProSense]

28. You are using a Jeb Bush quote to support your point?

So Bush was adequately funding NCLB and addressing its flaws?

Good grief.

[madfloridian]

29. You did not read the links I provided. You defend them though they are wrong.

That is your right.

They are changing public education forever while our party is in large majority.

You approve, so be it.

[ProSense]

30. You quoted Jeb Bush to support your point of view: See even Jeb thinks Obama is like Bush. n/t

[madfloridian]

31. You care more about gotcha stuff than about Dems selling out on education

That is your right.

You have every right to agree that we need to privatize our schools.

I have every right to disagree.

You can nitpick away all day, but we are bringing Bush's education policies to fruition.

That is to our shame.

[donco6]

36. True.

Charter, charter, charter. Just like the Republicans - but even more so.

[subcomhd]

12. I like this part.

All I ask of those who voted for Obama is to not pile on him too quickly. Yes, make your voice heard (his phone number is 202-456-1414). But don't abandon the best hope we've had in our lifetime for change. And for God's sake, don't head to bummerville if he says or does something we don't like. Do you ever see Republicans behave that way?

Get Off Obama's Back ...second thoughts from Michael Moore

[JoeyT]

14. Do you ever see Republicans behave that way?

So we're taking our cues on rational political discourse from Republicans now? It'd certainly explain the people that go stark raving berserk every time someone disagrees with the President Obama about pretty much anything really.

[subcomhd]

16. Is that what you really think Moore's point is? nt

[JoeyT]

17. Then what is his point?

The Republicans should never be held up as a standard of anything but morally reprehensible behavior and I'm sure Moore agrees.
So what's the point of him pointing out they don't behave that way?

[subcomhd]

18. Pointing out republicans don't bail at the first disappointment

for their side in no way bestows upon them any sort of moral respectability. One can be, and many are, both morally reprehensible and also loyal to their repugnant cause and fellow shits.

[timeforpeace]

15. Calm? Levelheaded? Try SkinSoThin™, to work up a really good freak out about the little stuff.

[HamdenRice]

20. Irrational criticism hits the nail on the head

There are certainly valid criticisms but there are several head scratchingly irrational criticisms that are often repeated here.

For example:

Obama is continuing wireless wiretapping! Somehow a story about the Justice Department trying to shut down and investigate a remnant warrantless wiretapping program from the Bush administration morphed into a blogosphere rumor that Obama was continuing it even more aggressively than Bush!

Obama is continuing extraordinary rendition! Somehow a news item about a contractor/criminal defendant being arrested pursuant to a federal warrant in Iraq, and brought to federal district court in New York morphed into Obama continuing extraordinary rendition.

Obama bailed out the banks with trillions of dollars! Somehow, people have trouble with calendars. The bailouts occurred during the end of the Bush administration and Geithner's various TARP 2 proposals never got off the ground.

Obama is escalating the war in Iraq! As my post in GD-P today shows, the US is carrying out the biggest withdrawal of troops and materiel since the Vietnam war.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8701234#8701419

I honestly don't get it. Do people WANT or NEED to believe things that aren't true in order to criticize the administration for things they actually aren't doing?

[ProSense]

26. Thank you. Good post. As for the Bush III irrational claims:

a single-point to counter.

[Mari333]

23. I put my pom poms away in 1963

critiquing all presidents is a good thing.

[redqueen]

24. K&R!

Rational criticism is one thing.

Crap like 'they don't care about you, you fool! they just want to get rich!'... that's paranoid dumbassery. VERY paranoid, cause any time more then two people disagree with them, it's apparently perceived to be a 'group attack'... it seems funny most of the time... but really it's just sad.

[Riley18]

33. Hillary said she would throw NCLB out. Funding is not the issue when the

concept is deeply flawed. So far I don't see where funding has been increased anyway. It looks like a dream come true for Jeb and the rest of them.

[Scurrilous]

34. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Neecy]

38. Just a question

Why do you post these things in GD? Isn't there already an entire forum devoted to Obama, complete with hunky beach shots and endless snaps of Bo?

Just seems like spammin'....just saying.

[bvar22]

40. Today, MMoore is a hero of the "Centrists".

Tomorrow they will throw him under the bus with teeth bared hatred.
Just wait.

Capricious crowd those "Centrists".
I guess its natural to sway with the wind when there are no issues worth STANDING UP for, only adoration for a politician and a "Whatever is in The Middle is good enough for me!" political philosophy.

Different strokes....

[ipaint]

41. I'm with Greenwald on this.

In February, the Obama DOJ went to court to block victims of rendition and torture from having a day in court, adopting in full the Bush argument that whatever was done to the victims is a "state secret" and national security would be harmed if the case proceeded. The following week, the Obama DOJ invoked the same "secrecy" argument to insist that victims of illegal warrantless eavesdropping must be barred from a day in court, and when the Obama administration lost that argument, they engaged in a series of extraordinary manuevers to avoid complying with the court's order that the case proceed, to the point where the GOP-appointed federal judge threatened the Government with sanctions for noncompliance. Two weeks later, "the Obama administration, siding with former President George W. Bush, to kill a lawsuit that seeks to recover what could be millions of missing White House e-mails."

In April, the Obama DOJ, in order to demand dismissal of a lawsuit brought against Bush officials for illegal spying on Americans, not only invoked the Bush/Cheney "state secrets" theory, but also invented a brand new "sovereign immunity" claim to insist Bush officials are immune from consequences for illegal domestic spying. The same month -- in the case brought by torture victims -- an appeals court ruled against the Obama DOJ on its "secrecy" claims, yet the administration vowed to keep appealing to prevent any judicial review of the interrogation program. In responses to these abuses, a handful of Democratic legislators re-introduced Bush-era legislation to restrict the President from asserting "state secrets" claims to dismiss lawsuits, but it stalled in Congress all year. At the end of April and then again in August, the administration did respond to a FOIA lawsuit seeking the release of torture documents by releasing some of those documents, emphasizing that they had no choice in light of clear legal requirements.

In May, after the British High Court ruled that a torture victim had the right to obtain evidence in the possession of British intelligence agencies documeting the CIA's abuse of him, the Obama administration threatened that it would cut off intelligence-sharing with Britain if the court revealed those facts, causing the court to conceal them. Also in May, Obama announced he had changed his mind and would fight-- rather than comply with -- two separate, unanimous court orders compelling the disclosure of Bush-era torture photos, and weeks later, vowed he would do anything (including issue an Executive Order or support a new FISA exemption) to prevent disclosure of those photos in the event he lost yet again, this time in the Supreme Court.
In June, the administration "objected to the release of certain Bush-era documents that detail the videotaped interrogations of CIA detainees at secret prisons, arguing to a federal judge that doing so would endanger national security." In August, Obama Attorney General Eric Holder announced that while some rogue torturers may be subject to prosecution, any Bush officials who relied on Bush DOJ torture memos in "good faith" will "be protected from legal jeopardy." And all year long, the Obama DOJ fought (unsuccessfully) to keep encaged at Guantanamo a man whom Bush officials had tortured while knowing he was innocent.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/10/08/photos/index.html


"addlebrained Obama-rejectionists". Right.:eyes: