Hard lesson in reality: Obama is not so great
December 7, 2009
(My response to the following on Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-brenner/health-care-reform-the-en_b_382596.html )
I admit, I got caught up in the hype. I believed, hoped. And I voted. He’s a great speaker- I’ll give him that. I expected Obama to come in blazing- even Bush didn’t seem to have a problem getting his agenda passed.
I never anticipated the resistance from other Democrats! His lack of leadership on health care has infuriated me. Why he didn’t meet with all the Dems and pointedly say, “Look, here is what we’re going to do with health care. You are going to back it up and vote for it and we are going to pass it and if you have a problem, you suck it up because you were elected to represent the people and the people want health care reform. If you give me a problem, I will make your life very difficult, but if we do this, you will reap the benefits.”
There should not have been this lengthy, drawn-out time for “debate” and town halls and letting the Republicans lie and mislead and sour positive reform. The fact that even if this pathetic excuse for a health care bill passes, it is so watered down and worthless, it can only make things worse, further demonstrates what can happen when you allow the very industry you’re trying to reform, have center stage.
I am changing to Independent and I don’t even know what that fully means, but I do know I cannot align myself with a party of failures any longer.
December 7, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Funny, what you wish Obama would do is exactly the sort of autocratic, “Imperial Presidency” that you all on the Left kept complaining that President Bush was engaging in…
December 7, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Yes, I know. I never thought I would have been one to argue for that kind of policy-making, however, it seems obvious that bipartisanship is about as realistic as Rush Limbaugh and Rachel Maddow hooking up.
December 7, 2009 at 6:29 pm
RE:you suck it up because you were elected to represent the people and the people want health care reform.
Wrong on 1 count while ignoring the other. I think it is safe to say we need health care reform. I believe most Americans “get it”. The ignored part is that we don’t want this version of health care reform.
What we have here is half the country is determining what health care will be for the other half and trying to shove it down their throats.
RE:you suck it up because you were elected to represent the people and the people want health care reform. … “Look, here is what we’re going to do with health care. You are going to back it up and vote for it and we are going to pass it and if you have a problem, you suck it up because you were elected to represent the people and the people want health care reform. If you give me a problem, I will make your life very difficult, but if we do this, you will reap the benefits.”
Naive… at best.
RE:There should not have been this lengthy, drawn-out time for “debate” and town halls and letting the Republicans lie and mislead and sour positive reform. The fact that even if this pathetic excuse for a health care bill passes, it is so watered down and worthless, it can only make things worse, further demonstrates what can happen when you allow the very industry you’re trying to reform, have center stage.
That’s called Democracy, hon. What you want is a kingdom. It works for you right up to the point where a new king comes in and you find you don’t like crap being shoved down your throat.
RE:I don’t even know what that fully means
No comment.
December 7, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Just remember that Bush faced the same sort of partisanship during part of his tenure as POTUS, plus a vastly less fanboyish media, and he responded much as you would have Obama do — and I bet you hated that.
I know that I did – because I knew it would set a precedent for a future that would include Leftists in the White House, a future that was easy to predict given Bush’s unpopularity and the reactionary nature of the electorate.
December 7, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Bill Ayres was recently quoted as being disappointed in Obama’s recent decision on Afghanistan.
What these idiots fail to realize is that when becoming a candidate, they get access to more information than when they were a Governor or a senator. When they become POTUS they suddenly gain access to highly classified data which, more often than not, convinces them about their convictions on the issue, or changes their mind.
It’s part of that journey from becoming naive to enlightened.
December 7, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Yes, we do need health care reform, and you are right that this is NOT the version we want or need. However, it’s not about any one group determining health care for another group. It’s about allowing everyone to have access to some form of health care period. I work 2 jobs, but there is no way I can afford health care. There is no reason for the system we have right now. No one is trying to “shove” health care down anyone’s throat. I think this “mandate” is horrible and only benefits the insurance companies. The quality of health care will not go down- it’s the same doctors, same hospitals, same medicine, but at much lower cost. Every other modern country in the world has managed to do it and there is no reason whatsoever for us to not have done it.
No, I don’t believe that’s how democracy works. It wasn’t as though health care reform was a surprise as soon as Obama was elected. It was his platform for election and the debate should have been going on then if people felt so strongly. In a democracy both sides should have equal time to voice their objections and suggestions, but what ensued was complete and utter chaos. 70% of the politicians knew nothing about the details of the bill or information on their own districts as to how many people had health care, etc yet they rambled on about “death panels” and illegals getting health care. The outright lies and misleading information was out of control. The democracy part was the election. Once elected and with a majority, yes, they get to do what they want and yes, it sucks for the other party, but that’s why we have elections every 4 years.
And to admit not knowing something does not make a person weak or ignorant. It’s those who pretend to know or ignore the truth that are truly stupid. I have just started following politics and I do research and fact-checking before I form opinions or take action. As I said, I don’t know fully what it means to be Independent, but I know I am not happy with the Democrats, so I am exploring my options.
December 7, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I was not following politics as much back then. The first time I voted was in 2004 and I did not vote for Bush, but the only times I remember being strongly opposed to Bush was re: the Iraq war and Katrina. As I said, I wasn’t following politics back then. I didn’t have as much of a personal stake in things- or wasn’t aware of it- then. In fact, because I was here in NYC @ the WTC for 9/11 and happened to move to New Orleans in 2003 (so I got hit with Katrina), I was trying my hardest to avoid all things political because it triggered Post-traumatic Stress issues for me. I am frustrated with this country in general right now.
December 7, 2009 at 7:13 pm
[...] noticed this trend, but this one singular post by a random blogger, july7nyc, in response to this screed at HuffPo summed up the situation perfectly and eloquently. I admit, I [...]
December 7, 2009 at 7:17 pm
july7nyc,
I can completely understand your reluctance to engage on the topics. My apartment was just a couple of blocks from WTC and I lost friends in the Pentagon hit.