03/11/2010 11:00:23 PM EST

Why I Don't Support This Administration Anymore

posted by Lunshbox

I need to explain why I don't support this administration anymore. I don't think I am the only one who feels this way.

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I have been challenged by a few people about my feelings on the administration. How could I, after pushing for this administration for so long, turn around and not support them anymore? It is simple, really. I think that everyone has “make or break” issues in their lives. In any given situation, there comes a point that you just have to say “I am done. There is nothing left for me to support.” Healthcare is my “make or break” issue.

I don’t think there is a need to explain why this is the issue on which my support hangs. I think a lot of my feelings go without saying. Suffice it to say, it is my issue. This administration came in to office on a promise that they would at least try to make things better. At every turn, they have proven themselves inept at passing what should have been, and still should be, easy legislation. Instead, they decided to kowtow to the republicans so that they could be seen as friends with the other side. Bipartisanship is not formed with a hand shake; it is formed with a bullwhip. You have to take bipartisanship, not ask for it.

However, democrat is as democrat does. Even with a majority, they have managed to lose sight of what the majority of the population wants. They were so interested in reaching out to republicans and corporations that they willfully forgot about the public. I take that back. I would go as far as to say that they are ambivalent to the public’s needs. That is why they lost in Virginia and Massachusetts, and that is also why they are going to lose a lot more in November.

I think you would have to be crazy to vote for a republican in this climate. So what do you do when the democrats turn out to be as bad as the opposition? I don’t know. I can only tell you what I am going to do. Nothing.

I will vote for progressives where I can, but I can’t vote for this absolutely weak president again. I will abstain from voting for president in 2012, unless there is a challenger to Obama that has a spine. It does not matter to me what legislation is passed after healthcare. It could all be bunnies and roses from now until 2012, but it doesn’t matter. I have principles on which I stand, and I am damn sure not going to move off of those principles for a gutless president and his corporatist colleagues.

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Why I Don't Support This Administration Anymore | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 hidden)
tim geithner and larry summers (none / 0)
I am not sure what his motives are other than he is a lying piece of shit. When you keep all the criminals from the Bush Adminstration and combine them with the worst left overs from Clinton's you create a fascist state.

and that is exactly what he did.

by sisco66 on 03/12/2010 06:19:03 AM EST

The people under the president (none / 0)
I agree that the choice to keep Bush-era alumni on board was disasterous. However, if you have a president who has the balls to actually lead his team as he needs them to be lead, then it isn't as big of a deal as it has turned out to be.

For example, if Geithner tries to hold back information about where Fed money is going, you pressure him. But only once. If he says no, you fire him. Not only do you fire him, you go on national TV, the newspaper, TYT, and other forms of media and explain that you fired him because he was lying to the public and was working for the banks. Then you dare the replacement to try the same thing. That is what a president with balls would do.

by Lunshbox on 03/12/2010 10:47:32 PM EST

[ Parent ]
jail (none / 0)
Good example, wrong guy. Tim shoud be in jail, if not in front of a firing squad. Emu is the guy to fire publically. The problem is that Obama appears to be as captured as the rest of them, and willfully so.

by sisco66 on 03/14/2010 09:39:33 AM EST

[ Parent ]
we all got scammed, by a very good liar. (none / 0)

Obama is a classic con man, he smooth talks, and parses his words very carefully, and it is so easy when you have just been through eight years of Bush/GOP.

Now Reality.

It is not just Obama, ITS THE WHOLE PARTY.

They are as corrupt and bought as the GOP, the only difference is the Dems are a bit smarter about not being as obvious as the GOP.

Do not feel bad, they fooled us all, because we WANTED to BELIEVE.

GOP = DLC with a few exceptions.

Best thing to do is not get worked up over this, it happens in all the time, it just takes time for things to de-evolve or drive a revolt to eventually replace the old rotten system.

Patience. Be Happy, enjoy you life.

 

 

 

by wowisdabomb on 03/12/2010 10:07:55 AM EST

Headquarters (none / 0)
Well, at least we have a headquarters for the revolution :)

by Lunshbox on 03/12/2010 10:48:20 PM EST

[ Parent ]
I agree and a question (none / 0)
I have been a voter for 40 years. I have always voted for a Democrat. For the reasons you outlined and their many other betrayals, I am so disgusted with Obama and the majority of the Democrats in Congress that, unless something changes, I do not think I will be able to hold my nose tight enough to allow me to vote for a Democrat unless he or she is one of the few who has demonstrated an actual commitment to promoting the welfare of the country rather than to just getting re-elected with campaign contributions from big business. I will, instead, vote for some third party candidate or no one at all. The only thing that gives me pause is the prospect of Republicans making the next appointments to the Supreme Court. Is the fear of a completely conservative court enough reason to vote for Obama and the Democrats in the face of their depravity and betrayals?

by Corpusless on 03/12/2010 10:08:26 AM EST

The GOP will just get us to the same place as the (none / 0)

Democrats, it will just not take as long.

The Tax cut bent GOP, will drive the country much faster into insolvencey, destroy the fabric of our infrastructure and create the very ooze needed to spur real change and revolt.

The democrats are a bit smarter, but will result in the same, more pathetic governance, as the GOP.

Trust me, would you rather have a festering wound or just take the cauterizing flame to it as painfull as that is?

The same results from both parties, just quicker with the GOP.

 

by wowisdabomb on 03/12/2010 10:49:55 AM EST

[ Parent ]
I disagree somewhat (none / 0)
I think the Democrats are a hundred times better than the Republicans. The Republicans have gone entirely insane; When Obama says he will do something conservatives supposedly like, he usually does it - like lowering spending or cutting taxes or coming up with a healthcare bill that is completely useless but is at least deficit positive.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are so far off the reservation, they rarely even have conservative principles. The ones who are not wild-eyed fanatics are so beholden to industry and the Republican establishment that they will *never* represent anyone, even the most conservative Americans. The Democrats still have the decency to pander to a fraction of actual Americans, if not the majority.

I said the Republicans are a hundred times worse than the Democrats. That said, the Democrats are a hundred times worse than a progressive independant. Because as the system is set up, the members of the major parties are entirely dependant on the party leadership, who are again dependant on certain industries.
The problem with the two party system is that it only has two elements. When both of them break, you're pretty much screwed.

The solution? Having media like TYT going mainstream to the point where a majority of Americans know they've been entirely disenfranchised. Until then, you're never getting enough voter support for campaign finance reform or an overhaul of the political structure.

If things are structured right, politics can work. There will always be dishonest politicians trying to trick you into voting for them, and idiots who do, but if you successfully remove the element of corporate funding, you'll at least have an opportunity.

by Sorenzo on 03/13/2010 10:55:10 AM EST

[ Parent ]
A great question (none / 0)
That is something that I haven't quite wrapped my head around yet. The problem with Obama losing the presidency in 2012 would be the ability of the republicans to railroad SCJ's through. You know as well as I do that the democrats wouldn't dare stop a conservative judge from taking the bench. Look at Alito and Roberts.

That is why I wouldn't be able to vote for a republican. I would just assume not vote than vote for a republican. I have been down that road before. I would have to see what the dynamics of the election was. I know for a fact that the republicans are going to have to put someone who is Palin^2 in the election just to get the republican vote.

by Lunshbox on 03/12/2010 10:53:55 PM EST

[ Parent ]
You think you feel stupid (none / 0)
I had already given up on both parties, and voted 3rd party several elections in a row.

I actually came back in from the wilderness to vote Democrat, because I thought it was absolutely crucial to drive the Republicans out.

And look what it got me.

by RedPossum on 03/12/2010 10:37:51 AM EST

Sadly, I agree, but... (none / 0)
Ok, I admit that things are not necessarily going the way I planned, either, but we are only 1 year (and change) into his term.  Things could get better.

I have seen small changes in the Democratic Party that give me some hope.  First, Obama is stumping.  His strength during the campaign was being in front of the people and that is what he is doing for Healthcare Reform.  You have to admit that some of what the Republicans were suggesting might actually good - buying insurance across state lines, for example.  I don't see a problem with that.  The problem is that the Repubs wanted to scrap everything just to see Obama fail.  But, I digress. 

What we were used during the campaign was full disclosure - Obama was always out telling his story and was unafriad to challenge the Republicans.  For a year now, he has sat and taken it.  But, like I said, he seems to be growing a set.  I think he made bad choices and there have been consequences - Geithner is the biggest one.  I am also disappointed that DADT has not yet been repealed.  That one frustrates the hell out of me.

But, among the Dems, I see other signs.  As I said in a previous post, Rep. Weiner is a bright spot.  He's intelligent and is not afraid to call people (Republicans and Fox) out on their lies and misinformation.  And, for as crazy and dramatic as he is, Rep. Grayson, is also acting in the best interests of the country and his constituency.

That being said, the larger class of Dems in the Congress need to leave.  They are too political and less "getting the business of America done" type of people.  I think they need new blood there - in mass numbers all at once.

Overall, the government is corruoted by lobbyists and special interests - which I think is the main cause of it's dysfunction, so seeing efforts to reverse the Supreme Court's decision is refreshing.

Anyway, I summarize by saying that I am not happy, either.  But, I want to still have a little hope that things could get better.  And, of course, I will remind you, that we (the voters) are the only ones that can really make that happen.

by TJD on 03/12/2010 12:07:43 PM EST

One year in? (none / 0)
I understand what you are saying, but the point I was trying to make is that healthcare reform is my "make or break" issue. Even if, after this pitiful excuse for a bill passes, Obama found a spine and a clue, I still could not vote for him again. Healthcare reform without a public option is not reform. If that is what gets passed, then that is where my support ends.

by Lunshbox on 03/12/2010 10:57:31 PM EST

[ Parent ]
You aren't alone. (none / 0)
But it's not just the corruption in the administration or in Congress.  Richard Posner, a judge on the 7th Court of Appeals no less, demonizes the desire for privacy as an illegitimate and immoral desire to conceal, opening the door to both government and corporations to more easily manipulate us.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says that God is not a religious concept, a blatant insult to atheists and agnostics, and allowing the use of schools to indoctrinate children into religion systems in order to more easily control them.  And the Supreme Court says that corporations should have the same rights as human beings even though they cannot, by their nature, have the same interests as human beings.

There are a handful of people in Congress who still have the interests of the people at heart, but they are a small minority.  Years of Republican and pseudo-conservative control of government have stripped the People of their control over their country, and enough Democrats have been corrupted to seal our fate.  Our educational system has been weakened to the point that a large portion of our population is easily persuaded to vote against their interests and to surrender their rights and power to a small minority of the very rich.

Things are going to get much worse before they get better.

by EveningStarNM on 03/12/2010 12:08:48 PM EST

where the hell you been? (none / 0)

kind of scarce lately huh?

 

Chris

by chrisandyasemin on 03/12/2010 01:45:00 PM EST

[ Parent ]
Small point (none / 0)
I agree with your post but your statement that a U.S. Court of Appeals said the concept of god is not religious struck me as curious so I tracked down the decision itself. It weighs in at a ridiculous 193 pages so I didn't read it all. In the first 7 pages, though, it seems to argue the pledge is constitutional because the Declaration of Independence says people are endowed by their creator with certain rights. By itself, pretty lame but I didn't read the remaining 186 pages. Anyway, on the seventh page it says, "Not every mention of God or religion by our government or at the government’s direction is a violation of the Establishment Clause." So it appears not even this panel is stupid enough to think god is just a concept by which we measure our pain. Here's the decision: NEWDOW v. RIO LINDA UNION SCHOOL DIST.

by Corpusless on 03/12/2010 04:52:42 PM EST

[ Parent ]
A small point in rebuttal. (none / 0)
It doesn't matter what the Declaration of Independence says.  It has no controlling authority in law.  It is not the basis for any law.

Our Constitution is what is important and, if you'll notice, the word "God" is not mentioned even once.  Nor is any reference to a "creator" or even to any spriritual concept other than in the First Amendment.

The judges on that court are morons, and dangerous ones at that.

by EveningStarNM on 03/14/2010 05:41:10 AM EST

[ Parent ]
Facing Reality (none / 0)
I understand when people say that its only been a year and change since Obama took office. The problem is that we do not see the man that we voted for. How does someone that claims to be for the people push for a bill that forces everyone to buy insurance that they can't afford? Where is the big financial reform bill that is suppose to control the bankers and corporations that are running wild? Its seems as though that, in America, your voice can only be heard by how deep you pockets are. I mean come on lets all face the facts here. We were owned big time. What I see so far is that Obama is Bush with a brain and finesse. Its time to see the truth and respond to it. Not with violence, ignorance, and fear mongering. We need to use the power of the vote. People forget how much influence that they have. If it wasn't for the ridiculous rhetoric and political peer pressure, this country would be completely different. Yes, it is time for bi-partisanship, but in congress, in the American people.  

by Charlie204 on 03/14/2010 01:58:29 PM EST

Why I Don't Support This Administration Anymore | 17 comments (17 topical, 0 hidden)
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