A lot. Negative Obama stories don't get buried.

This article - specifically the title - again shows how messed up the MSM is.

"Depth of Obama Ties to Drug Industry" *sigh*

"But if it was a Faustian bargain for the president, it was one he deemed necessary to forestall industry opposition that had thwarted efforts to cover the uninsured for generations. Without the deal, in which the industry agreed to provide $80 billion for health reform in exchange for protection from policies that would cost more, Mr. Obama and Democratic allies calculated he might get nowhere." [I added the bold font]

"In the end, the White House got the support it needed to pass its broader priority, but industry emerged satisfied as well."

For better or worse, this is an example of compromise at work.

Agreed maphi.

HCR stumbled across the goal line, if Pharma had joined in on the attack, who knows if we would have gotten the baby step legislation that we ended up with.

Sad reality of DC politics.

Health care is like a car in the ditch.

Everybody agreed that having the car in the ditch was a bad thing and had debated for years - no - generations - that something had to be done to get it out.

There were lots of opinions about how to get it out and even which side to get it out on. {public option was the side that was not picked}

Finally, there were enough people willing to work really hard to get the job done.

I have never had to get my car out of the ditch, but am pretty certain that once it is back on the road, it might be kind of muddy and dented. It might be pointed in the wrong direction - need to turn 180 degrees.

But because it isn't perfect this does not mean you drive back into the ditch.

The ACA is not perfect - (understatement) - but at least it is a start!

Exactly, rollo and maphi. It was an example of Obama doing something he had to do to get action on an issue that is consuming the national economy and the press can see fit only to make it come out as some diabolical Obama Bilderberg-like paranoid-inducing act against the proletariat in favor of Big Pharma. Then, on another channel, you know which one, Obama's a big Socialist conspiring diabolical plans to destroy capitalism and put his big Mao-inspired thumb on the defenseless but hapless heroes of industry.

As Brad Delong says: "Why, oh why can't we have a better press corps?"

No. What is the matter with you people?

Saying he doesn't want to hire more civil servants is not saying he wants to fire them. For that matter Romney can't fire them, they're local. Aside from all that, he's right about WI, they had a vote and the only poll that matters said less Govt.

Do everyone a favor and quit putting words in Romney's mouth. It reflects badly here and just makes Romney look better. Honesty is the better policy.

@Shooter

I read this statement - "It's time for us to cut back on government" {Copied from the Romney quote in the article} - as a call for fewer civil servants, specifically Police, Firefighters and Teachers.

Obama said the problem we've got is that state and local governments are firing cops, firemen and teachers which is absolutely, positively 100% true, and that the federal government can help stop that. Romney was attacking him for saying that and saying "helleck no, we can't do that, "It's time for us to cut back on government and help the American people."

I'm sure you've got some brilliant right wing counter-factual parallel universe explanation for how that doesn't constitute an explicit endorsement of the firings of cops, teachers and firemen that's been going on for two years.

Maphi, think about that for a second. Do you really think Romney is going to advocate firing our most visible civil servants? Really? I don't think you do.

It's just a reflex to think the worst. This is no better than the "I like to fire people" brouhaha. It turns out everybody likes to "fire people", who aren't doing what's expected of them.

Shooter, he said "time to cut back"

That entails firing.

Aside from the fact that he just very explicitly did, you mean?

"[Obama] wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more fireman, more policeman, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It's time for us to cut back on government and help the American people."

I'm really not seeing how you can possibly interpret these two sentences any other way.

I'm really not seeing how you can possibly interpret these two sentences any other way.

I believe it's called willful ignorance.

Rollo,

Oh, it's much worse than that.

Of course it's worse, it's Shooter.

No, Romney was not misquoted by saying its good to cut local and state government spending by firing teachers, DMV workers, state bureaucrats, firemen, policemen, prison guards. Only by making the painful cuts today will the all too powerful unions realize that the tax payer is unwilling or uncapable of funding unsustainable wages, pensions and benefits. Only when governors, particularly dem govenors and mayors realize that the electorate is unwilling to keep raising taxes to fund pensions of public workers will the unions make substantial wage and benefits concessions which the private sector has done over the past two decades.

The tax increase which Brown is putting on the ballot in CA to raise sales taxes and income taxes for those making over $250K is needed to backfill a $65 billion unfunded Teachers pension liability. This is just for the teachers pension liability. How will the firemen, policemen, and prison guard unions' unfunded pension liabilities be paid for? Higher sales taxes and income taxes for every worker? There already is an exodus of businesses and unemployed workers from CA to states with lower taxes where businesses are being created. When the tax ballot measure gets defeated in november, Brown will have no choice but to make substantial job cuts which will force the unions back to the table and renegotiate their current contracts to keep more of their members on the payroll. Only then will the corruption cycle of union money to politicians who repay the favor with overly generous contracts be broken.

Gee, I wonder what happened to the pension fund? And are we supposed to put our faith in Wall Street for our old age?

I understand the unspoken implication is "privatization"? The unions negotiated for the pensions, which was put in hands of Wall Street. Private prisons, private schools, private libraries… that's what some folks are asking the People to do. How does it help anything to make these things "for profit"?

Sandy - A lot of shi* happened with enough blame to go around. However the global economy is in the crapper now. Traditional pensions negotiated by unions can not be funded. Thats what ultimately brought down the auto industry, the textile industry and steel industry. Even private non-union workers lost their pensions decades ago because they are unsustainable and were replaced by 401K's and IRA's. In order for government worker unions to maintain their relevance, they must accept a larger share and responsibility for their own retirement funding than they do now.

Hank, There is one thing that you seem to not understand or want to accept, it's a unions first priority in negotiations to get the best contract possible for it's representatives. The other side of the bargaining table should be your focus. Also think about the fiduciary responsibilities for the pension plans.

I would agree to renegotiate pensions but you really need to ask youself why? It's not the unions that are dragging everything down. Think about Wall Street greed.

Tom its not Wall Street greed. Its Union greed which causes state budget deficits. What does wall street have to do with strong arm union tactics and strikes by teachers and prison guards? Its the endless cycle of corruption between the unions money to elect politicians who reward the unions with favorable contracts. The other side of the contract negotiations were paid for by the unions Tom.

Didn't the banking crisis affect the pensions? I know when Enron crashed, our teacher pensions here in Texas crashed with it. Don't teacher unions negotiate for more than pensions. They negotiate for after school tutoring programs, keeping P.E and the arts in the curriculum, department budgets to buy teaching supplies, more technology for the students etc. Most teacher unions are not like the situation in NY where you can't get rid of a bad teacher. Here in Texas, we have no union power. Over 25,000 school employees have been laid off, over 11,000 of them teachers. 7,000 districts have applied for class size waivers. Think of teaching 32 six year olds to read and write all at the same time and still be held accountable for state testing. Think of having more kids than desks in your classroom. I have coached in an unairconditioned gym in Houston heat. I buy my own supplies, even paper. I hold a PhD, am a master teacher of 21 years and I make 56K/year. Every child in America needs a decent education and you act like we do not deserve a decent retirement.

After the pensions are done away with, what will they blame?

They will stand there scratching heads saying why are my customers not buying anything? Why are the students learning less and my children keep asking for money because their job pays so little?

I want to have goals worth achieving that with hard work, opportunity and guidance are attainable. Everyone wants the next generation to do better than the past one. It's American to root for success and provide tools necessary. Also having the role models in plain sight. These are worthy goals, cutting pensions because a corp or other entity entrusted Wall Street to make it grow. But it shrank, gee whiz… it was those unions and public employees' fault?

Jas - you are supporting my point here. Texas is a right to work state which means that every employee has a right to be employed regardless if one choses to belong to a union and can not be coerced or intimidated to join the union and it prohibits the requirement that employers deduct union dues from their employees paychecks. That's why your salary is half of what it would be if you taught in CA or NY. However TX does not have the massive unsustainable levels of spending that CA and NY have in large part due to the death grip that the Teachers and other public sector unions have on their paid for politicians. NY's Cuomo is making the tough cuts necessary to break this cycle and Brown will have to do the same after the CA electorate vote down his tax increases.

And the wet dream of Looneytarians.

They play to not play political games.

They play to be the adult in the room, so that just in case sanity returns to the world no one can point to them and say, "what was that crazy/immature/partisan stuff you said?"

But as long as we're a nation of idiots, by design, the pragmatism of democrats is useless.

It's no good to be the adult in the room, when you can't get in the room. Democrats need to just flat-out stop pulling punches, stop mincing words, tell it like it is. The press will do the stenography but it won't paint the honest picture of reality. So if the Dems paint the honest picture with their words, the stenography reports the honest picture. Democrats can't seem to learn this.

But it's totally worth it because it does so much to insulate them from "both sides are equally at fault" false equivalences by Broderite pundits.

That's not 100% true though, the few who've tried, Weiner, Frank, (name escapes me) that Floridian that said "GOP plan: Die quickly"-- when they try to paint an honest picture they get called meanies, and they're being disrespectful and bullies.

The GOP has really laid the groundwork for everything to go their way so the cries of liberal bias are too frightening for the media to avoid and too dangerous for the Dems to brush up against...

But it HAS to be sustained.

Look at the ridiculous, nauseating, obnoxious garbage that comes out of Republicans mouths. And the don't pay a price any more for it because it's expected that Republicans are going to be ridiculous, nauseating, and obnoxious.

Democrats just can't shy away from telling the truth in vivid ways because they got a little scratch when the press wasn't expecting to have to deal with it from a Democrat. They have to KEEP IT UP. The truth presented in memorable fashion needs to become the Democratic norm of getting its message out. And over time, that truth will win. Democrats can't just keep rolling themselves up in a ball everytime some obnoxious Republican alpha male bully yells boo. This is why they have lost over and over and over.

Democrats have to change this and there is no other way.

I have a photo of Mitt with a sheep, and he's not shearing it. Why can't this story get as much coverage as the stupid crap Reps. say?

I'm not sure what you're saying Steve but if it is to say that Democrats need to continue what they're doing, you are, to be blunt, wrong. Just wrong.

We have 20 years of evidence to show that, and in those 20 years, despite the results of repeatedly debunked and failed conservative economic ideas causing the mess we're in, Americans still buy into the stupidest and most dangerous ideas humans have ever come up with and which caused those problems (e.g., tax cuts pay for themselves, climate change is a hoax, regulation costs jobs, deregulation pays for itself, ...).

So if the Dems paint the honest picture with their words, the stenography reports the honest picture.

Oh please. We have the actual transcription of the actual words spoken by Romney, and even with actual stenography you all still get it wrong.

Let's be clear about this: Romney is rejecting the idea of saving the jobs of cops, firefighters, and teachers.

No it isn't. Obama said he wants more, Romney says he doesn't want more. Equating that to slash and burn civil service massacres is irresponsible.

This conversation transcends any specific instance.

Shooter, he didn't say he doesn't want more, he said it's time to cut back.

Equating that with the status quo is irresponsible.

Worse than irresponsible, it is a baldfaced lie.

Or blind sheep denial

"Blind Sheep Denial"...hmmm...that sounds like a kinky Blues singer!

Finally, we are talking about that sheep. HAH!

The goal of the modern wingnut is to suck today more than they sucked yesterday.

Of course. Here's what I said in another thread today (sorry to repeat myself). But ...

The Democrats SHOULD HAVE LEARNED BY NOW that the media is not going to paint an honest picture of reality; they are going to paint a false-equivalent picture of reality and engage in fake even-handedness. So, if Democrats want to get reality into the media they have to make statements that tell their story. The statements have to be made VERY, VERY BOLDLY and STRONGLY. They can pull no punches. Instead, Obama's campaign still won't even say the word "Republican." They say: "...tell Congess to act..." when they should say "...tell the fu king Republicans to stop obstructing efforts to put Americans to work..."

(OK, they could leave out the "fu king"; you get the picture.)

Democrats are whimpering, cowering, itty bitty scaredy cats in a nation that reflexively demands testosterone-driven, obnoxious alpha males. This is why they lose even when the public agrees with them on the issues. It's happened over and over and over and Democrats NEVER learn.

This is why they lose even when the public agrees with them on the issues. It's happened over and over and over and Democrats NEVER learn.

Can't argue with you there. Alan Grayson was a fighter. He is rare in the Democratic party.

We need more fighters!!! Democrats act, sound, and talk as if they sit around and watch day-time TV talk shows all day and assume that's what the nation expects in the public conversation.

Corporate media is corporate media, MSNBC included, along with NBC. Corporate media feeds at the corporate trough along with the bought and paid for politicos. Pundits are well paid and/or rich bottom dwellers, in large part.

Oooh! For what? :-)

Does this idiot think that firefighters ("fireMEN"), law enforcement (policeMEN) & teachers are NOT Americans? Really? Sorry, but "government workers" are people, my friend. Aargh!!!

onelatelori ... siamesee's post is what is known in these parts as "snark".

Corporate America, corporate journalism, corporate television news, Wall Street, the Tea Party, Fox News and Clear Channel radio, the Republican Party, and the Supreme Court are on one side of the aisle and Dems. are on the other.

If that was the implication that Romney was trying to make, it was completely lost on me with his broad and sweeping statement. So not only does he want to fire them, he wants to determine how many are needed at the local level?

Dude, I think you are in denial.

Considering populations continue to rise, in all but the most ruined of towns in America, it's safe to say that the need for cops, firefighters, etc. has only increased. If you don't believe that, ask the census.

Re: #2 - this is not the case in MI. The emergency managers can take away the city's radio station and sell the equipment. Not the license, but everything else can be EBayed or taken to the dump. Public and airwaves? That's not true anymore. Ask Benton Harbor.

Oh, you wonderful cockeyed optimist . . .Not in his world, they're not.

Because they don't have trust funds. Don't you know you can't be a US citizen without one? *tongue firmly in cheek*

MariaB, riddle me this: why aren't the voters of Wisconsin the American people too?

I never said the voters of WI weren't the American people. Romney OTOH has hinted that somehow firefighters, police and teachers are not American. Personally I can't think of anything more American than to be willing to run into a burning building to save lives. Or face off a criminal in order to protect citizens. Or someone who spend their own money to make sure their student have pencils and paper. All that is very American

are you under the impression the dems don't use the same divide and conquer strategy? because they do. really, could it be any more obvious?

intelligent political discourse should be free of accusation that lead to pot-kettle-black responses. sadly, there are so few differences between parties and politicians, the last thing needed is trying to make a point that the other side is just as guilty of. it is a pointless distraction that slows the debate on the real, meaningful differences.

finally, some sanity among madness. Obama, yet again, is kicking the can down the road. And, why is it everytime we talk about local government cuts, we refer to police, etc. There are many other public employees.

because mentioning police and firemen and teachers is much more of an emotional appeal to the slow-witted than saying we need less "assistant municipal sidewalk inspector" or "senior outreach coordinator for special services"

no one with two brain cells to rub together thinks we can continue to afford do-nothing public union padding "jobs" like these anymore, but to protect the gravy bowl, they will appeal to the emotional "cops and firemen and teachers" lie.