K&R if you're a proud liberal who's frustrated with Obama

[Newsjock]

Hey, two can play this game. :)

Yes, the president has some significant accomplishments. But he has fallen short -- way short -- in many areas that are important to liberals and progressives. "War" on "terror." "War" on "drugs." DOMA. Overwrought attempts at "bipartisanship" with a bunch of raving GOP maniacs.

He's the only president we've got, but we were hoping for so much more.

[katnapped]

1. Enjoy Sarah Palin as president then!

or something like that (as someone will surely be reminding us) :sarcasm:

[dionysus]

2. i don't think you'll find many people that are *totally* satisfied.

[Avant Guardian]

49. There are perhaps 6 in the whole country

And five of them post here ad nauseum.

[ProfessorGAC]

69. Winner of Dumbest Post of the Week

.

[DainBramaged]

75. You?

[ProfessorGAC]

122. That's It?

Look i don't care what anybody feels about Obama, or his policies. I know what i think. I know what i like, and what i don't like. If you are totally disssatified, fine. If you are totally satisfied, that's ok too. Life is a buffet.

But, to suggest only 6 people in the whole country are satisfied is completely stupid hyperbole, meant to elicit a response. Well, my response was that it was stupid.

I didn't think i needed to explain it.

[Avant Guardian]

127. How can anybody be satisfied completely?

'My healthcare plan includes EVERY republican idea'

My post was taking a stab at those who defend Obama no matter what. You know, the blind loyalists who find it impossible to critique anything he does, no matter what, ever.

[ProfessorGAC]

133. Don't Put Words In My Mouth

I didn't say that. I said anybody was free to think whatever they wanted to think. If that's what someone feels who would you or i be to tell them they can't.

And, i'd estimate it's still a lot more than 6 people.
GAC

[Avant Guardian]

134. No, I said it

You are correct, there are many, many blind loyalists. But do blind loyalists actually agree on a gut level, or is it just the blind loyalty overriding their objectivity?

[ProfessorGAC]

139. What Difference Does It Make?

That's the point you seem to be intentionally missing. People are free to make their own decisions as to contentment and satisfaction. If it makes them happy to be blindly loyal, that's their business.

Why do you insist that there is something intrinsially wrong with that? You may disagree, but that doesn't make one side right and the other wrong.
GAC

[DainBramaged]

128. No, you were the winner of the dumbest post of the week

[ProfessorGAC]

132. OK

GAC

[Le Taz Hot]

110. I disagree.

I think you've had WAAAAY dumber posts than this one. :evilgrin:

[ProfessorGAC]

121. Yeah, But Not This Week.

GAC

[Avant Guardian]

125. You got me there

*lol*

[Avant Guardian]

126. Perhaps

But some things are just too juicy to hold back!

[LoZoccolo]

50. Whenever I bring up bad things about Kucinich people are like "SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

I wonder how we could get people to be like that about Obama.

[Forkboy]

52. Always the victim.

[LoZoccolo]

55. I don't feel like a victim when my thread gets three hundred recs.

[Forkboy]

59. LOL...the only way you can get them.

Might as well post a poll on who likes fucking and breathing oxygen. :crazy:

[LoZoccolo]

56. I should add this for effect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgoqrgc_0cM

[Forkboy]

60. This one fits better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RupZKFq9-YE

[LoZoccolo]

61. I'll just leave this right here.

http://tinyurl.com/3ny5d36

[Forkboy]

62. Finally at your level.

[Le Taz Hot]

111. Really? I don't recall that post.

Perhaps you can provide a link. Thanks so much.


LTH

[LoZoccolo]

118. It might be against the rules.

If you could get a summary judgement from the moderators I might consider it, but I'm trying to not get as many posts deleted as I have in the past.

[Avant Guardian]

136. Translation:

No link forthcoming

[LoZoccolo]

140. Not for now.

[Zorra]

119. Try making a reasonable argument, and that might not happen.

Things like "Kucinich sucks because he's not pretty and believes in space aliens" won't get you too far when debating with progressive Democrats.

When progressives ask, "What is it about Rep. Kucinich's stances on issues that you so vehemently disagree with", that does not mean "Shut up!" "Shut up!".

Progressives are fiercely loyal to DK because he promotes progressive ideas and policies, speaks truth to power, and does the right thing even when he knows it may make him unpopular. That's called being an honest Democrat who exhibits integrity and courage.

"I wonder how we could get people to be like that about Obama."

Obama has to get progressives to be like that about Obama. You can't do it for him if it isn't real. It's not the man himself, he's very charismatic and likeable. It is his actions, not his words, that are the primary factor in how we perceive him as a leader. If he said, "I'm gonna make sure that we end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy", and then the next day is out publicly roasting Harry Reid on the WH lawn saying, "Harry, you either get this done for me, or I am going to feed your sorry barbecued ass to Bo in the morning!" and then Harry goes and gets the job done, we'll be cheering him on, thrilled about what a magnificent President we have.

The first and best way for the President to do this is to always keep his word, and be honest and transparent about what he believes and what he is doing.

The second best way is to fiercely promote progressive social and economic policies.

If he would do those things, he'd have a protective ring of progressives around him 10 miles in diameter at all times.

I'd crawl naked across a field of broken glass with a big smile on my face to have a President like that.

[WingDinger]

3. I was not a pollyanna liberal, believing the right wing when they said they too believed in hope and

change. And that he has not been transparent, as they truly expected{barf}. Anyone that believes, or believed that Obama is the silver surfer, or some superhero, immune to the inertia of the status quo, is as wet behind the ears as any teabagger.

I am proud to host a PRAGMATIST in the office, and will offer him the slack he needs to do what is possible. Sure I will push. But to call him a sellout, or no better than the alternative is rubbish. Furthermore, as he heaps political capital, and becomes more lame duck, and concerned about his legacy as pres, that is when our investment in patience will pay off. This is no time for any Dem to get pissy. Stop singin', and start swingin'.

[nevergiveup]

11. Well said

[WingDinger]

13. Wrote a song about it, and it goes like this

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WingDinger/40

[Avant Guardian]

135. There once was a man from Nantuckett...

...

[TheKentuckian]

34. If you were really pragmatic you'd know your fable never happens.

The impact period is usually the first 100 days or so. Certainly, the first half of a first term.

[Avant Guardian]

53. There is nothing 'Pragmatic' about shifting toward the problem (to the right)

Pragmatists shift AWAY from what caused the problem. You don't fix things by including what broke them in the first place. That is not pragmatic, that is just plain foolish.

[eridani]

71. The president helps to DEFINE what is possible by what he asks for

He has asked for far too little.

[KittyWampus]

4. You were hoping for a magic wand. Welcome to reality. I know it's alien to you but at least some of

us understand politics involves an OPPOSITION.

[obxhead]

30. Magic wand?

No, most of us never expected magical powers to flow from Obama's fingers while he fixed all the wrongs on the planet.

Many of us did however expect such an eloquent speaker to be able to use the bully pulpit to drive this country forward in a slightly progressive manner.

[mistertrickster]

38. Yup, agreed. He could at least TRY fer gosh sakes . . . nt

[Forkboy]

54. "politics involves an OPPOSITION."

Yeah, and when the Dems learn this we'll all be a lot happier.

[timtom]

76. Actually, we GOT a magic wand

with FDR

and JFK.

[seabeyond]

5. i am disappointed about some things. i am pragmatic. and i am not an idealist.

so i deal without throwing baby out with bath water or pretend obama is all fail

[mistertrickster]

39. Good thing nobody said that, huh? nt

[seabeyond]

73. lots of people have that view on du. has anyone said they want to throw baby out with bathwater

specifically? i doubt it.

[demmiblue]

6. Yes... especially in terms of public education. n/t

[rucky]

7. I rec'd both threads. n/t

[Marr]

8. I'm not disappointed, because I never expected any better from a Wall-Street vetted politician.

Remember the 2004 Democratic Primary, where Obama made his speech and was roundly hailed in every corporate media outlet for days as the "Democratic Party's new star"? That was when I knew he was just another butler for the same old interests.

Still, I must admit that he's been more aggressive in promoting the wealthy agenda than I expected. He's very good at setting up political cover.

[Chris_Texas]

64. Sad isn't it.

[peace frog]

112. Reagan was the "teflon-coated" president

and Obama wears the same protective garb. Neither deserve(d) it.

[Odin2005]

9. K&R

[qb]

10. K&R. Expressing our frustration is an important part of participating in democracy.

I hope our frustration grows loud enough to influence President Obama's decisions.

[xchrom]

12. knr

[Illinoisguy]

14. KNR - IMHO, Hillary would have

been a better choice, she would have fought harder for what she believes in.

[mistertrickster]

41. Heh, she believes mostly in her own career. Why can't we get a public servant anymore? nt

[bigwillq]

43. Hello.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[eridani]

72. True--too bad that she believes in the same corporatist agenda as Obama

In retrospect, her main advantage would have been truly understanding that Republicans want nothing other than to do her in.

[Exilednight]

78. You would of received the same results. Obama has adopted many of Hillary's stances. He took her

economic team after the primary was over and put forward her economic recovery plan.

We ended up with Hillary's HCR.

And last but not least, they had key differences on foreign policy, yet he appointed her SoS and adopted her foreign policy.

If you were a Hillary supporter during the primaries, you have nothing to complain about.

[JTFrog]

92. LoL.

Like when she fought for the IWR by interrupting Sen. Byrd's anti-war speech on the Senate Floor? She voted in line with the neocons on every major issue that affects most of our lives; IWR. Kyl-Lieberman. WFRA. Patriot Act. Bankruptcy Bill. Trade Bills. Silent on the Telcoms. And she wanted Greenspan to save us from our economic crisis. :eyes:



That said, she has been a great Secretary of State so far. :thumbsup:

[Le Taz Hot]

113. Hillary was Obama in a pant suit.

Please. Absolutely NO discernible difference between the two.

[peace frog]

114. Exactly.

Thank you.

[Eagle Mall]

138. now that is fucking Hillarious.

[Donnachaidh]

15. kickety kick kick

:kick:

[Romulox]

16. To me, I see an unbroken continuity in Presidential policy going back to Reagan.

To any impartial observer, President Obama has way more in common with George W. Bush than he has differences. And both are very similar ideologically to Bill Clinton.

[Lorien]

96. That's the painful truth of it. None of us pick the candidates. They are chosen

by the money class to maintain the status quo. Anyone who isn't focused on "teams" and personalities has figured that out by now. But how do we change it? That's the larger question that needs to be answered.

[Solomon]

17. LOL - This Thread -

:rofl:


Why does it bother some people so much that some people are okay with Obama?

And why torture yourself when this thread doesn't match the other one? Or will you be happy if it does? :shrug:

[JohnnyLib2]

18. As a proud liberal, I EXPECT to be frustrated with presidents!

Some more, some less. I think Obama got the position a few years too soon, experience wise, and here we are.

[Shagbark Hickory]

19. Obamas probably real popular with centrists and conservative dems.

[sufrommich]

20. And self identifying liberals. At 81% today.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

[Shagbark Hickory]

22. I bet Joe Traitorman is a "self identifying liberal" then again...

I think a lot of liberals, like many conservatives, have short memories.
The stuff Obama does to make us mad fades after a while, the economy starts to improve, bin laden gets killed and if it's timed just right, nobody will remember our other problems by the time the polls close.

[sufrommich]

26. Joe Lieberman has the lowest approval rating in congress.

So no, I don't think most liberals consider themselves in the Lieberman category.

[Shagbark Hickory]

28. I'm not making the case that they are. Just that I bet he prolly thinks he's a librul.

And he would've been in that statistic that you cited in that poll.

[sabrina 1]

68. But not with Independents or progressives.

[sufrommich]

81. Where is a poll that seperates liberals from progressives?

Obama polls higher with liberal democrats(90%) than he does with self identified moderate democrats (79%) or conservative democrats (70%).

[Name removed]

95. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sufrommich]

100. Well, she's polled her facebook friends. So there's that. nt

[SDuderstadt]

103. That's like walking into McDonald's and asking...

"does anyone here like fast food?".

[sabrina 1]

130. DLC = Liberal today.

Or 'new democrats' whatever that means.

He can win back progressives by fighting for SS and ending the wars eg. And by going after Wall St. as the recent by-partisan Senate Committee has recommended.

[Lorien]

91. that often quoted poll is bullshit. When pollsters call me and ask if I "approve" of

Obama I usually say "yes" because I know that they'll consider my disapproval of him a vote for the GOP, which is also BS but that's how the simple minded bean counters view the world. In reality I disapprove of most of Obama's actions in office and will not vote for him again (I'll vote for someone who behaves like a Democrat instead). My informal poll of my 670 Facebook friends tells me that 0.05% of liberals approve of Obama's performance in office.

[sufrommich]

98. Yes, no doubt your poll of facebook friends is much more

scientific than Gallup or any of the other pollsters . If you've ever been polled you would know that they ask your political affiliation too. Which would reflect that you are liberal and disapprove of Obama, why you would think that would be registered as a " vote for the GOP' is beyond me.

[Renew Deal]

25. As well as liberals.

That's why he has 87% dem support.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Renew Deal]

31. Good luck with that.

:hi:

[Zorra]

21. I expected little, and got much less. Maybe his 2nd term will be better. nt

[donheld]

23. Anybody who says they are not at least somewhat frustrated with Obama is

a liar. Michelle Obama is probably Frustrated with him at times.

[Renew Deal]

24. One of the arguments about unrec was that it would end these types of threads. I knew that was wrong

Stuff that's popular on DU will remain popular. Unrec can't do anything about that.

[krabigirl]

27. K & R. But I never really expected too much in the first place tbh.

[stranger81]

32. Kicking. [n/t]

[ProSense]

33. Yeah, it's

even more frustrating when people say nice things about him.

Obama Steps Up to the Plate Bigtime

[OhioChick]

35. K&R n/t

[sita]

36. Another way to play this game

is to say "K & R if you're a proud moderate Republican who loves our President!" ;)

[mistertrickster]

37. Yeah , he bailed out big corps. . . but public option, close Gitmo,

end tax cuts for the rich, employee free choice act, increase taxes on cap gains?

You know all the stuff that his former base really cares about because it's important to the working / middle class?

Not so much . . .

[Lydia Leftcoast]

40. I always knew he was no progressive populist, but damn, he's more

conservative than Nixon or even Clinton.

I feel sorry for people who still think he's a liberal. If he's a liberal, then the term no longer has any meaning.

And as for the 81% of self-identified "liberals" who support him, it depends a lot on how the question is phrased.

If it's "Are you glad that Obama won instead of McCain?" then I'd be in that 81%.

If it's "Is Obama the best president of your lifetime?" or "Do you approve of most of what he has done so far?" then I'd be in the 19%.

[mistertrickster]

42. He TALKS like a liberal, he ACTS like a moderate Republican. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

44. And I believe what people do, not what they say

:-)

[jtrockville]

45. My sentiments exactly.

[Renew Deal]

46. More conservative than Clinton?

The same Clinton that didn't put up a fight over DOMA? The same Clinton that allowed the banks to be deregulated? Bullshit

[Lydia Leftcoast]

47. The Obama who expanded the war in Afghanistan and keeps troops and mercenaries in Iraq??

The Obama who let the most conservative Dem senators take the lead in the health care bill and twisted the arms of the progressives instead of taking the conservatives to the woodshed?

The Obama who appointed only Wall Street pirates as his financial advisers?

The Obama whose entire Cabinet is made up of centrists and conservatives?

The Obama who never met a Republican position he couldn't "compromise" with?

The Obama who signed a financial "reform" bill that refuses to tackle the question of usury?

And maybe I missed the part where he urged the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall and actively worked with sympathetic Congresscritters to make it happen?

The Obama who allies himself with the school privatizers?

[Avant Guardian]

57. Oh, yeah, Obama is far more conservative than Clinton

I don't recall Clinton giving the republicans any tax cuts or handing corporations the future of healthcare in America. Nope, Billy boy did none of those things.

[Lorien]

97. Well said Lydia!

:thumbsup:

[mochajava666]

108. Well said

[hfojvt]

48. so far we seem to be losing

22 recs is not a very impressive total compared to 200+ for the other one. Then again, I did not unrec the other one and this one is perhaps getting unrecced.

[Demonaut]

51. I friggen love the guy, so I'm not gonna recommend

He's done a great deal of good these last two years, kinda sick of peeps not giving him credit for fixing a great deal of the shit he was dropped and the forces against him

GO BAMMA!

[Lorien]

94. Can you list the actions that he's taken that you "love"?

Just, say, a dozen actions that he's taken in the past two years that you consider "good".

[Demonaut]

117. sure but this a link so some items are short, when your done contact me

so we can go over specific items in depth....I'll be testing you

http://www.blueoregon.com/2010/12/obamas-accomplishments/

Arts and Culture

Increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to the highest level since 1992.
Created an artist corps for public schools.
Championed the importance of arts education.
Promoted cultural diplomacy.
Banking and Financial Reform

BROAD POLICY
Established the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and reform.
Established President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans.,
Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.,
Dodd-Frank (DF) Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the biggest financial reform law since the Great Depression.
Managed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
Assigned a Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Act of 2009.
Pension relief Act of 2010.
Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act.,
Played a lead role in G-20 Summit re: financial crisis.
Reformed deferral rules to curb tax advantages for investing overseas.
Established new offshore investment policy that promotes in-sourcing.,
FUNDING
Cut salaries for 65 bailout executives (Pay Czar).
Banks have repaid 75% of TARP funds, bringing the cost down to $89B as of June 2010.
Closed offshore tax safe havens, tax credits for corporations
TARGETED ACTIONS
Created the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor stability of the financial system and individual firms (DF).
New requirements for reporting financial data (DF).
Created self-funded Office of Financial Research (OFR) to collect information from financial firms (DF).
OFR employees must wait a year before working for certain financial firms.
Provided for orderly liquidation of financial companies (DF).
Limited trading activities of banks (Volcker Rule) beginning 2 yrs after passage (DF).
Swaps Pushout Rule prevented federal assistance to swaps (including derivatives) traders (DF).
Derivatives must be traded transparently through a clearing house (DF).
Defined the amount and nature of assets required to meet capital requirements (DF).
Originators of asset-backed securities must retain 5% ownership/risk (DF).
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (DF).
Stronger client fiduciary duty for broker-dealers (DF).
Higher standards for securities advertising and disclosures (DF).
Expanded “insider loans” (DF).
Higher standards for sytemically important ($50 billion assets+) institutions, including annual stress tests and restrictions on bank acquisitions (DF).
Executive compensation must be determined by an independent committee (DF).
Issued compensation guidelines for bank executive salary and bonuses.
Financial agencies must establish Offices of Women and Minorities to promote more diverse hiring (DF).
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act.,
Credit CARD Technical Corrections Act of 2009.
Established a credit card bill of rights.
Reformed credit card swipe fees.
Created new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud.
Congress pursued Goldman Sachs for securities violations.
Permanently extended Research and Experimentation Tax Credit for domestic investments.
RESULTS
(Treasury) Sold 1.5 billion shares of Citigroup at a profit.
G-20 summit produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis.
Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals.
Financial reform has ‘strongest consumer financial protections in history.’

Civil Rights

FUNDING
Provided $12.2 billion in new funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act though the American Recovery and investment Act.
TARGETED ACTIONS
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; Instituted equal pay for women.
Presidential Memorandum extending benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. ,
Presidential Memorandum protecting gay and lesbian partners’ visitation/healthcare decision-making rights (4/15/2010).
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act to include gender, sexual orientation and disability.
Supported the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT).
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act.
Established White House Council on Women and Girls (Executive Order 13506 ).
Financial agencies must establish Offices of Women and Minorities to promote more diverse hiring.
Increased minority access to capital.
Pushing through settlement in the black farmers lawsuit against USDA.,
Signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Increased Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities (Exec Order)(celebrating 20th anniversary of the ADA).,
Commerce, Trade and Technology

BROAD POLICY
Promoted internet freedom as part of U.S. foreign policy.,
Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009.
Satellite Television Extension Act of 2010.
FUNDING
Expanded loan programs for small businesses.
TARGETED ACTION:
Small Business Act.
Small Business Investment Act.
Proposed tougher meat industry antitrust rules.
Denied federal contracts to tax delinquents.
Appointed the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer.
Established Federal IT Dashboard.
Modernized the USA.gov portal to connect people to the services they require.
Launched the National Export Initiative, with the goal of doubling US exports by 2015.
Provided National Export Initiative/Progress report and named President’s Export Council.,
Launched piracy crackdown.
Conservation

BROAD POLICY
Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Amendments Act of 2009.
Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.
North American Wetlands Conservation Act.
Stewardship of the Ocean (established National Ocean Council ), our Coasts and the Great Lakes (Executive Order).
Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance (Executive Order).,
Established partnerships to share environmental technology with other countries.
FUNDING
Increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Increased funding for national parks and forests.
$175 million of ARRA allocated for water conservation, $135 million of that in the West.
TARGETED AREAS:
Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic.,
Expanded access to places to hunt and fish.
Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration (Executive Order).,
Led effort to phase out whaling.
Pursued a wildfire management plan.
Encouraged more controlled burns to reduce wildfires.
Ordered removal of more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires.
Economy

BROAD POLICY
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA): a $789 billion economic stimulus plan.
US auto industry rescue plan.,
Start-Up activity now higher than it was during the dotcom boom.
Created task force to fight deficit.
Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009.
Temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.
FUNDING
Increased minority access to capital.
$26 billion aid to states package (Aug 2010).
TARGETED ACTIONS
Raised the small business investment limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009.
Created an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes.
Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act – establishes a Federal “Do Not Pay” list.
Extended and indexed the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch.
Adopted Economic Substance tax doctrine.
Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits.
Economy grew 5.9% in 4th quarter.
U.S. Economy: Manufacturing grew by most since 2004.
U.S. GDP up 3.2% in first quarter.
Consumer spending showed biggest rise in 3 years.
Orders for most durable goods rose.
Wholesale inventories and sales rose in March.
$26 billion state aid bill triggered a surge of private municipal investment.
EXHIBITS – THE STIMULUS ONE YEAR LATER:
Success of the stimulus–how do you illustrate ‘could have been worse’?
Distribution of ARRA funds by year.
Need for financial education: Investors who act on their own do worse than T-bills; market timers earn negative returns.
Consumer debt patterns (revolving and non-revolving) through end of 2009.
Growth of the national debt from 2000-2009.
Bar chart showing increases in national debt by President (since Carter).
Pie chart: 2009 annual deficit contrasting large Bush tax cuts and relatively small ARRA.
THE LEGACY: AUGUST 2010
The Economy Has Been Growing – seasonally adjusted change in GDP by quarter 2007-2010.
The Private Sector Has Begun to Add Jobs – Monthly change in nonfarm employment 2008-2010.

Employment: Jobs

BROAD POLICY
Jobs for Main Street Act (2010).
American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010.
National Export Initiative
FUNDING
(DOL) Dedicated $100 million in Energy Training Partnership green jobs training grants.
(DOL) Dedicated $150 million for Pathways Out of Poverty green jobs training grants.
$33 billion-dollar jobs package (March 2010).
$26 billion aid to states package (Aug 2010).
$5,000 tax credit for every new worker.
New Health IT Workforce Grants (ARRA).
TARGETED ACTIONS
Job training programs in clean technologies for displaced workers.
Green Vet Initiative to promote environmental jobs for veterans.
Financial agencies must establish Offices of Women and Minorities to promote more diverse hiring (DF).
Recruited math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession.
Initiated a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses.,
Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliations or contributions.,
RESULTS
CBO found 3.7 Million jobs created by stimulus (May 2010).
Job loss exploded under Bush, improves under Obama.
682,370 jobs created under the Recovery Act Between January 1 — March 31,2010.
New jobless claims tumble.
March payrolls surge by 162,000 US says .
March jobs data showed biggest growth in three years .ref
U.S. economy added 90000 jobs in April .
Jobless rates dropped in 34 states and DC (AP).

Energy: Old

BROAD POLICY
Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions.
Created Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage.
Set national standards for fuel economy and first ever greenhouse gas emission levels for passenger cars and light trucks.
Set smog limit: new strict proposal to replace Bush-era rule (EPA).
Regulated greenhouse gases for large industrial sources (EPA).
Raised fuel economy standards.
Required states to provide incentives for utilities to reduce energy consumption.
Allowed states to enact tougher fuel efficiency standards than federal standards.
Established Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.
FUNDING
Pledged more than $8 billion for new nuclear reactors.
Tax breaks to promote public transit.
TARGETED ACTIONS
Dismantled the Minerals Management Service, cutting ties between industry and government.
Reengaged in global warming and greenhouse gas emissions talks.,
Offered 17% U.S. emissions cuts at climate summit.
Pledged 28% cut in federal greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Expanded greenhouse gas reduction targets for Federal operations -13% reduction from indirect sources by 2020.
(FTC) Toughened anti-greenwashing rules.
Instituted “Cash for Clunkers” to spur auto sales and promote fuel efficiency .,
Ordered inspections of mines with poor safety records.
Closed loophole that allowed drilling in Rockies without environmental review.
(EPA) Sharply limited mountaintop mining.
(EPA) Announced historic plans to regulate coal ash.
Required electric utilities to produce 20% of their electricity demand from renewable energy sources by 2020.
(EPA) Limited mercury emissions.

Oh yeah...he found Osama on edit


Remember there will be a test once your done

[Forkboy]

58. Hard to say I'm frustrated by him because he's what I expected him to be.

When Repubs screw us the Repubs cheer. When the Dems screw us the Dems cheer. In both instances someone is being screwed, but we cheer for whichever one has the letter in front of it that we agree with. I'm frustrated that we as a nation keep settling for less than we have to, and are even to the point where where we seem to like the reach around we get while we're being fucked.

Obama is a politician, better than some, worse than others, but totally what his record indicated he would be. All the populist talk on the campaign trail was just that, and it's what almost all people do when they run. That's why we need to go by previous votes, bills written or co-sponsored, etc. That's where you learn where someone is going to take us, and Obama had a trail to look at. Between that and his books it was pretty clear he was a Third Way type of guy, which isn't my cup of tea, but which some others find awesome.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

82. +1!

[Name removed]

63. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[hailhydra]

65. I'm such a Left-Leaning Liberal...

Obama is simply too moderate for my tastes.

[Raine]

66. K&R!!! nt

:kick: :thumbsup:

[sabrina 1]

67. K&R

[panzerfaust]

70. Sadly, he did not ...

[bighart]

74. I think policy should be in the best intrest of the majority.

[Exilednight]

77. K&R

[ThomWV]

79. K&R

[Joe Bacon]

80. Kicking this

Because this Federal Employee really appreciates the pay freeze. Too bad my rent isn't frozen, too!

[Iggo]

83. These threads (both kinds) are the EXACT reason unrec exists. (n/t)

[madokie]

84. Unrec'd because I'm not

Hows that grab you?

[snot]

85. K&R'd.

[mmonk]

86. Me as a former state delegate for Obama.

I would never have gone this route if I could have seen into the future. The usage of an economic team that has brought us to crisis, dismantling education and teachers union, continuance of unchecked surveillance of American citizens, protection of previous crimes related to the Constitution and due process rights, extension of the Bush tax cuts with an additional cut to the funding mechanism of social security and medicare, abandoning the idea of a public option, etc..

[Name removed]

87. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[lightningandsnow]

88. It's possible to like someone and be frustrated with them...

Or disapprove of some things they do.

I posted in both threads. :hi:

[Upton]

89. K&R

beyond frustrated....I'm just extremely disappointed..

[BlueIris]

90. Frustrated isn't the word.

But there are some advantages to my situation. I'm prepared for the inevitable--when his Administration crashes and burns. Won't be surprised when it happens and will have already processed my feelings of misery and regret when it does. I really pity those who have not yet taken these steps; they are not going to be happy when it all falls apart.

[sendero]

99. Obama has slowed the rate of the country's decline..

... by 1%. Yippee. Anyone who thinks I'm scare of Palin or Romney or any of those idiots, well, just tell me how it's going to be that much different. It's not.

The economy is swirling the drain as we speak, it will be heading down the pipes any month now and it really won't matter who is president.

[hifiguy]

93. Count me in

:kick:

[barbtries]

101. yes.

too much war, too much poverty and unemployment...yes, yes yes.

i also k&R'd the thread that said i like him. because i do. it's just, damn, i wanted to love him. i think i wanted him to be FDR. so that's on me. i can support his holding the office of the presidency without supporting every action taken or not taken by his administration.

[Le Taz Hot]

102. K & R

[The Backlash Cometh]

104. I wonder how many people voted for both straw votes?

Me! Me! Me!

Progressives have to convince the masses before they convince Obama.

[BlueMTexpat]

105. U/R. I am now and have been a proud liberal for nearly all of my 67 years.

Yes, I naturally get frustrated when what I had hoped for doesn't happen. Who doesn't? But I do not blame all my disappointments on President Obama. What I get more frustrated with are posts like this. Do we ever learn?

I never expected that President Obama would be as liberal as I am. After all, I paid attention to what he posted on his campaign site and, based on what I learned there, he was not my ideal candidate. My ideal candidate was not in the running. But I am pragmatic enough to believe that MY ideal candidate would not have been someone else's ideal candidate. President Obama was a solid candidate ways and is still an excellent choice, not simply as a non-McCain or non-Repub alternative. President Obama is also a good, intelligent man who was handed the worst US economic situation since the Great Depression and two wars which never should have been begun, in addition to years of deregulation of Wall Street and corporations and financial inattention to the social and educational systems as well as infrastructure in the US - all caused by short-sighted backbone-challenged politicians in BOTH parties.

He then chose the worst Chief of Staff ever, IMO, in Rahm Emanuel. That choice ensured that short-sighted policies on the part of Dems would continue so as to help lose, for the most part, the Congressional mandate Dems had won in 2008. Had the President been a bit more experienced at the national level, he might not have made that particular choice, which I believe inevitably led to others that have not worked out particularly well. IMO, he seems to have learned from some of these early mistakes. In some ways, things have improved. In many more, they have not. However, I have absolutely no doubt but that if he had not won in 2008, everything meaningful to me as a liberal would have been much, much worse ... if it even existed at all.

I see the glass as more than half full, but with the potential for filling. That is what I hope and work for.

What do you hope and work for?

[disillusioned73]

106. k&r

:dem:

[Jakes Progress]

107. K&R Nice guy. Not up to the job.

[fascisthunter]

109. K&R (nt)

[truebrit71]

115. K&R

.

[Raffi Ella]

116. I'll kick but I'm not gonna recommend.

It's a given that you won't be totally satisfied; It's impossible for him to please everybody. But! He's a sane Democrat and there's only been a few of them in office in the last 40-50 years-

Secular America needs to get to the polls around the country and vote in people from the ground up that will allow Liberal America's Voice to be heard.

But I do understand the frustration with him. Especially when We had The White House altogether. We're gonna get it back in 2012 and try again.
:dem:

[RyanPsych]

120. I think it is possible to support a Democratic president

while constantly striving to pull him to the left. We can support him as our president while still being pissed off that he isn't nearly as liberal as we wanted (or the country needs). In essense...it is up to people like us- the politically invested- to work within the system to pull him closer to our side (via donations to progressive candidates, protests, speaking up at town halls, blogs, petitions, etc.) The Democratic party is what we make of it. (Although I know we still have to compete with the overreaching dollar of the corporate world)

[dangin]

123. SCOTUS

What's the difference between Clinton, W, and Obama?

Other than the wars that should end now, we're still paying for Vietnam for christ's sake, but in our day to day lives, what's the difference?

Not counting W's IQ.

The supreme court. Bush was the worst supreme court appointer in half a century. Sandra Day O'Conner screwed america royal with her lame retirement to spend time with a husband who was already gone to effing alzheimers. I know this disease on a first hand basis, he was gone, and she should have stayed. Saying she wanted to be replaced by a republican president is idiocy, as there is no similarity between W and Nixon on social issues. Nixon had no moral majority/crazy christians influencing the party back in the day. Not like now.

America desperately needs to keep democrats picking the SCOTUS until the balance is back in our favor. Can you imagine Obama losing, and RB Ginsburg dying afterwards?

I hear montreal, quebec and vancouver are really quite nice. I'm betting I'll be at vancouver if the court goes more crazy than it is now. Let's all send high fat food gifts and tons of cigars to Scalia and Thomas. Alito and Roberts seem healthy, but those two fat effs. Let's love feed them along the road to diebetic comas.

[JDPriestly]

124. He has fallen way short.

The list of errors and wrong policy turns is long, very long.

We are still fighting two wars without raising taxes. He had a Democratic Congress the first two years, and I still did not deal with the two wars/low taxes for the rich problem.

Now we are being told there is no money for social needs.

That is bad planning and bad policy.

It's like telling your kids there is no money to pay the doctor because you spent it on fighting your neighbors.

Obama has had plenty of time to at least address this issue with the voters.

And that is just the simplest thing that he has handled badly,

[Lucian]

129. K & R.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

131. Beyond frustrated --

and on to "sicked" on a few issues. :mad:

[Eagle Mall]

137. Hope you all really enjoy the next 6 years of President Barack Obama!

;)

[Dappleganger]

141. K&R

[TriMera]

142. Too late to rec, but I can kick. n/t

[shanti]

143. k&r

fwiw