The Republican National Committee is excitedly sending around this clip today, showing 17 seconds of a speech President Obama delivered to supporters in Oakland on Tuesday. Some of the RNC's media allies are already on board with the attack.
For those who can't watch clips online, the clip shows Obama saying, "Just like we've tried their plan, we tried our plan -- and it worked. That's the difference. That's the choice in this election. That's why I'm running for a second term."
The idea, apparently, is for voters to recoil at the notion that the president believes his economic plan has "worked." I appear to be in the minority, but I happen to think this is true -- the economy that was hemorrhaging jobs is now adding jobs; the economy that was shrinking is now growing; the stock market that was headed into a death spiral is now headed up; an auto industry that was on the verge of collapse is now thriving, etc.
That said, it's obviously a contentious point, and the economy is not yet close to where it needs to be. But as Dave Weigel noted, the significance of the RNC's gambit isn't a debate over the efficacy of Obama's policies, but rather, the Republicans' bad habit of wrenching quotes from context.
In this case, here's what the president actually said: "I'll cut out government spending that's not working, that we can't afford, but I'm also going to ask anybody making over $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rates they were paying under Bill Clinton, back when our economy created 23 million new jobs, the biggest budget surplus in history and everybody did well. Just like we've tried their plan, we tried our plan -- and it worked. That's the difference. That's the choice in this election. That's why I'm running for a second term."
He was comparing tax policies -- Clinton-era tax rates vs. Bush-era tax rates. The RNC simply omitted the part of the quote that makes clear what the president was talking about. Weigel accurately calls this "insanely misleading."
That's true, but let's also not lose sight of the larger pattern.
As we discussed last week, at this point in the race, Republicans aren't just occasionally taking Obama quotes out of context; they're actually building their entire 2012 campaign strategy around sentiments the president didn't actually say. I've honestly never seen anything like it.
Let's start a running count:
1. The Romney campaign took Obama out of context in its very first television ad of the race.
2. When the president told business leaders that U.S. policymakers have been "a little bit lazy" when it comes to attracting businesses to American soil, Republicans took that out of context and launched a series of attacks.
3. When Obama said private-sector job growth is "fine" relative to the public sector, Republicans took that out of context, too.
4. Obama said public institutions help businesses succeed, and Republicans continue to take that out of context.
And 5. Obama said Clinton's tax policies were better than Bush's, which the RNC is taking out of context.
Remember, in theory, none of this should be necessary. If the president were the radical leftist his attackers make him out to be, Republicans wouldn't have to resort to cheap garbage like this. They'd be able to use real Obama quotes and real Obama policies.
Instead, we're left with ridiculous tactics that treat voters like idiots.
Leave a Comment:
Republicans must own the various fact checkers and reporters must be told by their employers not to ask the obvious questions. Otherwise the Romney campaign couldn't get away with this stuff.
The Southern Traitors have been lying for 350 years, it's in their DNA.
can they even count that high?
Again, it's hard to make Rmoney look even remotely viable without telling enormous and blatant lies. I don't envy his campaign staff, I can only lie for moments at a time and then there's the guilt thing. The antonym to Rmoney is truth.
Reps seem to be really good at only showing what they want. It's like when some of them preach from the Bible they put several sentences together from a passage to make it sound how they want. When you read the entire passage it doesn't mean that at all. Churches are guilty of this as well. They must love the cut, and paste feature as much as the filibuster.
It's probably why it's second nature to them. If they can do that to their holy book, they can do that the President of the United States.
What a bunch of hypocrites.
Funny how having a mainstream media that no longer thinks it's job includes holding politicians to account for ads doctoring an opponent's speeches to make them seem to say something the speaker didn't really say results in more ads doctoring an opponent's speeches to make them seem to say something the speaker didn't really say.
You've hit the nail on the head, but why are so called journalists not doing the most rudimentary research on this? If they are, why aren't they reporting it. It's Goebbels' Big Lie strategy, and someone besides us should bring it into the public forum.
I would like let America know that President Obama's jobs vision is working just be patient. I just got a full-time job in the government working as a contractor for EPA. I am a senior and retired for 5 yrs. and went back to work full time. I want to make a suggestion to prove how many people have found jobs. Rachael, would you ask all the people who have found jobs to tweet you on Facebook or Twitter and that would be the truthful number of jobs found to increase the numbers for the economy of people who are actually working. SD in MD
Obama said "I hate
what the Republicans are doing toAmerica!"Gee, this is easy!
lol
You have a job at Fox news if you ever want to sacrifice your soul for money. ;)
They used to have souls?
I found a comment on Kevin Drum's blog about "Lying for the Lord." Supposedly, it's a Mormon belief that if you are doing the Lord's work, it's OK. BTW, they also think the US presidency is a theocratic position.
http://www.mormonwiki.org/Lying_for_the_Lord
No wonder they are all teapubs.
I don't like stigmatizing someone's religion, but if that's true, it's terrifying. POTUS must protect freedom from religion, as well as freedom of religion.
2 plus 2 = 5
Bloomberg endorses Scott Brown over Warren's own "You didn't build that" speech.
Bloomberg Gives Support to Massachusetts Senator
By DAVID W. CHEN
Published: July 26, 2012
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, stepping into one of the most closely watched races of the year, is throwing his support behind Senator Scott Brown, a Massachusetts Republican who is facing an energetic challenge from the Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren.
Connect with NYTMetro
Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for news and conversation.
Mr. Bloomberg, a political independent and billionaire who has stayed out of this year’s presidential race, will hold a fund-raiser for Mr. Brown, offering him a valuable endorsement as he seeks money from New York’s deep-pocketed donors. The fund-raiser, on Aug. 15, was first reported by Politico.
Mr. Bloomberg is a Massachusetts native, and he has occasionally inserted himself into the politics of his home state. In 2009, after the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Mr. Bloomberg endorsed a Democrat, Alan Khazei, for the seat. Mr. Khazei was defeated in the Democratic primary by Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, and Ms. Coakley was then defeated in the special election by Mr. Brown.
Mr. Bloomberg’s spokesman, Stu Loeser, said the mayor had chosen to support Mr. Brown because of the senator’s “tough stand” on gun control. He praised Mr. Brown for opposing a “national concealed-carry reciprocity amendment,” which would have required states to honor concealed-weapons permits issued by other states.
“The biggest reason the mayor is supporting Senator Brown is the senator’s help on one of our biggest gun issues: opposing concealed-carry reciprocity that would let people with gun permits from rural states like Arkansas and Kentucky carry hidden handguns in New York City,” Mr. Loeser said.
He added, “If you take a tough stand and buck party orthodoxy that helps the city of New York, the mayor would like to support you.'’
Mr. Brown’s spokeswoman, Alleigh Marré, welcomed Mr. Bloomberg’s support.
“Mayor Bloomberg is a true independent who always puts progress over politics,” Ms. Marré said. “That’s Scott Brown’s philosophy as well, and he is honored to have the mayor’s support.”
Mr. Bloomberg has long been a supporter of more restrictive gun laws, and cofounded, with Thomas M. Menino, the mayor of Boston, the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Mr. Bloomberg has been particularly outspoken about gun control in the wake of last week’s mass shooting at a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colo.
Mr. Bloomberg has also been a staunch defender of Wall Street, and Ms. Warren, a bankruptcy expert whose advocacy helped inspire the establishment of a federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been critical of the industry’s conduct.
Asked about Ms. Warren’s stance on Wall Street, Mr. Loeser did not address the question directly. Instead, he said: “If people say the challenger is better on x, y or z, it’s not a question of whether they are or aren’t. We tend not to entertain the hypothetical over the real.'’
Humpty Obama had a great fall and all the kings horses (democrat symbol jack@ass) and all the king's men, couldn't put Obama back together again after the "You, you didn't build that" speech. Totally desperate dudes....... just look at the number of blog subjects here on TRMS over that ONE subject line! For weeks now too. Yup, your desperate.
Eli breaks them outta the huddle as they come to the line of scrimage and an already (Obama) New England defense is weary and "deperate" for a stop here. Oh yea, the anology works perfectly.
What are you even talking about?
dunk ... He just likes to get on here and prattle on about things he doesn't know much about. And, like the rest of the Cons who come on here, puts in lots of extaneous links to lying, spinning conservative media. Just ignore him. The rest of us do.
Bloomberg is an Independent, he has the freedom to support who he wishes.
I'd rather an Independent with balls speak up with support for who they would like to see win, instead of listening to the the cowering idiots the Republicans and Democrats have turned into, supporting "one of their own" because they fear the wrath of -insert lobby- may jeopardize another term in office.
People who blindly follow the party line, are blind, indeed. You believe yourself to think they support your views, but, you are wrong.
They don't care about you, they don't care about this country, and they certainly don't give a rats ass about your opinion.
Free your mind, you'll be better off.
By Charlie Daniels | July 20, 2012 | 16:16
7789 21Reddit1 209
A A
Mr. Obama,
You recently made a statement to the effect that, ”If you have a business you didn't build it, you had help" inferring that the federal government helped build our businesses by virtue of paving roads and building bridges and keeping the nation safe from foreign invasion.
First of all, Mr. Obama, if I'm going to take advice about business it will not be from somebody who has had absolutely no business experience like yourself.
Secondly, Mr. Obama, I vehemently disagree with your premise.
Where was your government when I spent as much as 16 weeks away from my wife and infant son to get a business started?
Where were you on those cold winter nights when my old bus broke down in the middle of nowhere and we had to scramble to make the next show, nobody from the government came along to give us a ride.
Where was your government when I had to borrow money from a bank to make my payroll?
Where was your government while I was digging out of a two million dollar debt, playing every smoky beer joint I could to keep from losing everything I owned?
Mr. Obama, I want to make you aware of a fact. It is the federal government's responsibility to build roads and bridges and keep the nation safe. That's what the federal government is supposed to do, not create an entitlement society that is totally unsustainable and pile up debt that we can't pay.
And who do you think paid for those roads and bridges in the first place, and have been doing it for 200 years before you were even born.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓
<script language="javascript" src="http://adserver.adtechus.com/addyn/3.0/5235/1131671/0/0/ADTECH;loc=700;cookie=info;target=_blank;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]"></script><noscript><a href="http://adserver.adtechus.com/adlink/3.0/5235/1131671/0/0/ADTECH;loc=300;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]" target="_blank"><img src="http://adserver.adtechus.com/adserv/3.0/5235/1131671/0/0/ADTECH;loc=300;key=key1+key2+key3+key4;grp=[group]" border="336" width="280" height="0"></a></noscript>
The citizens of this nation do not need to pay more taxes, the federal government needs to stop spending money it doesn't have and has to borrow. Because the truth of the matter is that no matter how much taxes the government collects, things are only going to get worse because you'll only spend it and demand even more.
Mr. Obama you have divided this nation by making the have-nots believe that anybody who has been successful has done so at their expense, that anything they've accumulated has been stolen, not earned. That hard work and risk had nothing to do with their success, they’ve just been lucky and should give a big part of what they earn to the government to pass on to those who don't even try to be successful.
Look at what’s going on with the many black Americans who have put their hopes and complete confidence in you and voted overwhelmingly for you. The unemployment rate is 14 percent and the unemployment among the young African Americans is something like 40 percent. Is that what hope and change is all about?
Look at what's happening in your hometown of Chicago where the murder rate is through the roof.
Do you think your baseless rhetoric about the unfairness of the successful in America is going to help soothe the situation?
Have you ever considered reaching out to them, instead of fanning the flames?
Mr. Obama I don't think you like America very much. I think you'd like to redesign it from the ground up, to turn it into a lazy, unproductive, secular, socialist society.
Well, that just won't flush in a lot of ways, the most prominent being that when all the productive people have given up and stopped trying, when all the investors stop investing, when 80% of the population is living on government hand outs, your government is going to run out of money and this nation will sink into chaos.
But Mr. Obama, I’m beginning to think that's what you want.
My help cometh from the Lord who made Heaven and Earth. Not the government who made debt and class envy.
Now that's a slam, dunk, by Charlie Daniels.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/charlie-daniels/2012/07/20/charlie-daniels-column-mr-president-when-it-comes-business-you-have#ixzz21kXwckxT
Do you think Romney is going to do better? And this is a serious question, I would like to know if you think that Romney will fix the economy, all the tax cuts came from Bush and look where that took us, 12 years later...
I guess Pattie? Paddie? Patty? Paddy? is just keeping with the all-out-of-context, all-the-time theme of the topic. Not much else he can do with the weak sauce he brings.
That's President Obama. You can continue to call him Mr. President for the next four years too.
Charlie Daniels doesn't know business from a hole in the ground, and obviously hasn't been paying attention for the past 4 years if he thinks the president hasn't been reaching out.
I'm writing a new song, it goes something like this…
"Charlie needs to pull up his bigot britches' and get off the bull@!$%# bandwagon."
Or maybe something like this…
"Don't take your dumb to town, Chuck."
"Leave your dumb at home Chuck."
"Don't take your dumb to town".
(this is the part where the fiddle comes in)
Take your opponent's greatest strength and use it against him--Obama is an excellent speaker, so build you campaign on his "flubs"(even if you have to fake the 'flub'!) How Rovian!
...but if the tactics work, then voters ARE idiots. I think the Romney campaign is counting on it.
Obama on the economy: ‘We tried our plan — and IT WORKED!’
Some of you actually agree. Here's my SINGLE question to you. Given the following evidence that Obama's plan "worked," what would the following metrics and facts have had to have been for Obama and you to confess,
"IT FAILED!" Just replace the HISTORICAL numbers and facts with YOUR numbers that would have caused you to declare, "We Failed!"
1) Corporate Earnings Show Recession May Be 'Fast Approaching'
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48259674
2) US poverty on track to rise to highest level since 1960s: 45,938,000 on Foodstamps.
http://news.yahoo.com/us-poverty-track-rise-highest-since-1960s-112946547--finance.html?_esi=1
3) Spain Fears Send US Treasury Yields to Record LOWS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48279904
4) US Economy Going from Bad to Worse: Roubini
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48281577
5) The Hill Poll: Majority of voters blame president for bad economy
http://thehill.com/polls/239377-the-hill-poll-majority-of-voters-blame-president-for-bad-economy
6) 780,000 More Women Unemployed Today Than When Obama Took Office
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/780000-more-women-unemployed-today-when-obama-took-office
7) The Housing Market's New Problem? Not Enough Homes to Sell
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/home-front/2012/07/20/the-housing-markets-new-problem-not-enough-homes-to-sell
8) Obama effort spends more in June than it takes in; Obama Paid $93k for Half-Empty Stadium Kick-Off Event
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-paid-93k-half-empty-stadium-kick-event_648848.html
9) African-American jobless rate surges to a Whopping 14.4%
http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/06/news/economy/black-unemployment-rate/index.htm
10) $1,300,000,000,000 annual deficits and a staggering $5,300,000,000,000 added to our National Debt in JUST 3.5 Years -- and Obama wants EVEN MORE power to borrow!
http://usdebtclock.org/
11) Who knew NOT WORKING could be MORE hazardous to America's health than Working, under Obama's regime.
8,753,935 Workers on Disability Set Another Record in July; Exceed Population of 39 States!
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/8753935-workers-disability-set-another-record-july-exceed-population-39-states
12) Manufacturing growth slowest in 19 months: Markit --
Financial information firm Markit said on Tuesday (7/24) its U.S. "flash" manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index for July FELL to 51.8 from 52.5 in June. July marked the fourth consecutive month of slower growth and the sector's weakest showing since December, 2010.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/24/us-usa-economy-pmi-markit-idUSBRE86N0SP20120724
13) Official U3 Unemployment: 8.2%; U6 Unemployment 14.9%. 12,555,000 Americans Officially Unemployed; 23,037,000 ACTUALLY unemployed.
http://usdebtclock.org/
14) Obama Bailed-out at Tax-payer expense GM Net Income for 1st quarter 2012 was $1,677,000,000 LESS than 2nd Quarter 2011, and is forecast to be 51.9% LOWER in the 2nd quarter 2012 than the 2nd Quarter 2011, 29.1% lower the 3rd quarter than the 3rd quarter 2011, and 17.% LOWER for fiscal year 2012 vs. Fiscal Year 2011.
Amount Tax-payers LOST on GM Bailout thus far: As GM shares achieve record low, taxpayer loss on bailout rises to over $35,000,000,000! Share price trading at $18.95, down 51% from its high of $38.67 on January 27, 2011
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ae?s=GM+Analyst+Estimates
Short of Armageddon and the Apocalypse what would it take to rouse Liberal/Progressive/Utopian Statists from their Stupor and Kick this Peter Principle Failed POTUS out of office once and for all!?
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obama-on-the-economy-we-tried-our-plan-and-it-worked/article/2502981
The Boehner economy of 2012 is a scandal and is what the country gets with a GOTea House obstructing every attempt to solve the problems 30+ years of failed conservative ideas and policies have caused. Just like Boehner and McConnell wanted it. Republican obstruction at funding the public sector is costing 2 percentage points in employment. It's a scandal that's too huge to fathom in terms of human misery.
Boehner's obstruction => Boehner's economy and unemployment of 2012
and you expected him to be able to fix everything with a magic wand with this filibustering congress? you should not be blaming him, you should be blaming the inattentive, whining, complaining 112th congress......get on THEM to ACTUALLY get their work done ON TIME. watch the first segment of TRMS from last night (7/25) called Worst. Congress. Ever. it'll bring everything in a new light.
Wow, Joe Richards-6462100, you didn't even read the article!
Excellent Job Joe Richards. It couldn't be any clearer. Tha facts are clear and concise. President Obama's economic plan has FAILED.
The folks here and on TRMS will try to redirect you to recognize the false premise, it's all the fault of a Republican Congress. If so, then all the failures of GW Bush fall at the hands of a failed Democrat Congresss, don't they.
No, this IS Obama's Economy's failing. That IS The True Light!
Great job Joe Richards.
It's an old troll tactic: overwhelm with a Gish Gallop of unrelated nonsense. Most everybody will not have the patience to go through and debunk each item for the logical fallacies and out-of-context-ness that they represent so the troll goes off thinking he got a "win" when he actually accomplished nothing.
I challenge Joe to choose one item at a time, and debate it here. Are you intellectually man enough, Joe? I don't think you are.
You do know that Obama was talking about Clinton era vs Bush era tax rates, right? Not the economy in general? Becuse that would be obvious if you read the entire quote, helpfully provided here by Mr. Benen, as it was the entire point of this post you are now commenting on.
I mean, to not know that, or assert anything to the contrary, would be either monumentally stupid or willfully dishonest, so I...ummm...right. Nevermind. Forgot who I was talking to.
Better trolls, please.
Even given the fact Troll Joe decided to pontificate off-topic, he made his shot by chosing to do so in a very cowardly way. Let's see Troll Joe pick a single topic and try to defend it. C'mon, Joe. I don't think you have the intellectual stones.
Joe Richards
Troll (Honest Dissenter) tactic Number 1 Just present the FACTS.
Hope those who disagree with you have the (patience) maturity to review each item contained in your research and then consider them on the merits of the presentation.
This takes constraint, the opposition must have the reasonable discipline necessrary to absorb the presentation and accept or reject what they agree or disagree with.
Some, no matter how convincing your evidence, will resort to a "sore loser mentality", slip into denial and simply vilify you for your input or efforts.
It's the old fashioned well utilized mechanism here as described by Karl Marx, "allienation" and "vilification". That or they simply employ dismissive and vulgar reactionary slander/language to corrupt what you've presented here.
Example: Here are the facts, th AL East Standings. Who is the best team according to record. Who is the least affective team according to record.
Objections: 1) Where did you get this some Yankees leanings web site?
2) I don't have to time to review all this material. (dismissive)
3) It doesn't matter, all this material is unrelated nonsense. It's illogical and out of context crap.
4) You didn't prove anything, you didn't win. (means hey I want MY participation trophy)
5) You've made of fool out of them so they further challenge you to disgrace them to a greater extent. Then dare you! Blufing that you won't try them.
How silly.
Here's the facts: The NY Yankees are the best team in the AL East today.
Obama's economic plan has failed.
Period. Results, You LOSE. See below for yourself.
If you debate, careful to keep the person in front of you. By the looks of that avatar he may not just be into making "pyramids" (credit that save to maphi)
American League
EAST
W
L
PCT
GB
HOME
ROAD
RS
RA
DIFF
STRK
L10
POFF
NY Yankees
59
39
.602
-
30-17
29-22
470
390
+80
Won 1
5-5
93.4
Tampa Bay
51
47
.520
8
28-25
23-22
409
396
+13
Won 2
5-5
23.3
Baltimore
51
47
.520
8
23-24
28-23
398
455
-57
Lost 3
5-5
5.2
Boston
49
50
.495
10.5
25-28
24-22
485
451
+34
Lost 1
4-6
20.0
Toronto
48
49
.495
10.5
25-22
23-27
478
470
+8
Lost 2
5-5
11.5
Now we get to look at elongated East Division American League standings. I guess that's an improvement over taking in the pathetic ramblings of the trolling, diaper-wearing Pattie? Paddie? Patty? Paddy?
You might have a point, if Congress had let Obama's plan come into play. Since they didn't, and you know that, you're full of Irish @!$%#.
Of the all the links,i think only one is worth wasting time on,because at least it's substantive.The rest are mainly political nonsense spewed by a loon engulfed in a tiny shell of shallow ideology.
So i saw this
First you should take this as a rule of thumb.never listen or read CNBC's analysts.They are really bad "all" the time. By the way,they predicted 7of the last 4 recessions correctly.You should have had the courtesy to say Patrick Allen was the author of that link.
So in a nutshell what Dr.Roubini what saying, is that Austerity and Short-sightedness are the obstacles,that the world economy is facing.
Dr. Roubini's predictions are essentially of two types,internal forces(US markets,Housing,fed,Politicians) and External forces(Eurozone crisis,China's slowing growth,Strong dollar,etc)
You can deduce it from summary:
So where it gets interesting is-- what are his solutions to avoid this mess?
Well glad you ask!
He offers 3 pillars for growth and prosperity:
1) a 5 year government jobs program at $240 billion per year or $1.2 trillion total
2) restructuring of "debt overhang" afflicting banks and homeowners due to the housing bubble. Banks are presently bankrupt as market-to-market pricing has been suspended.
3) "Pillar 3, global reforms that can begin the process of restoring balance to the world economy and can facilitate the process of debt de-levering in Europe and the United States.
You can read Nuriel's article from the New American foundation of October 2011
I don't think Conservatives like would like these(especially the first one),because it goes against all the crazy things Republicans and their governors have been preaching.American is in a poor condition,in part due to ridiculousness of austerity that states and local gov'ts have been pursuing.
Please,Please try to read and do additional research on your own,before throwing stuffs the way you did.
And lastly.Obama is the President of the United States of African Americans.You should know better.
OK now i'd love for you to lay down Romney's Plan for the things enumerated above.
Thank you.
Don't choose it for him, kyyaham. Make Troll Joe the Coward choose his own off-topic issue and argue it.
Oops!!
I'am sure if he was focusing on African Americans issues like
High incarceration,Low graduation rate,laws patterning to drugs,Institutional discrimination,cultural biases towards and from this group,you'd be amongst the first to chastise him for that.
I'm just giggling about the weird use of Marx (I've read a lot of nonsense about Marx over the years--this is the nonsensiest) in the same post as pages of baseball box scores. But I'm crying on the inside.
Joe Richard, I suggest you read the whole article before posting. It's about Obamas words being taken out of context, in the exact way you just did. What Obama was refering to when he said our plan worked was the tax rates under Clinton, vs the tax rates now due to the Bush Tax cuts. Our economy was much better off in the Clinton era, and Obama is suggesting returning to those tax rates.
Thats what he was talking about when he said our plan worked.
I appeal again to everybody to contact the most high profile reporters and organizations about their false equivalency and fake-even-handedness. E-mail them, don't just provide comments in comment sections. And irritate the living shhit out of editors, too.
Well considering the fact that. What he said wasn't about the Economy. And was about Tax Policies. You wrote all that crap. For no good apparent reason.
Obama's stimulus plan worked to the extent that it could have given that Republicans 1) wouldn't allow it to be as robust as it should have been; 2) didn't allow him to fine tune it once it was implemented, and as the extent of its effects were known; and 3) constantly lied about its impact, minimizing the public perception of its benefits.
Yes, the stimulus should have been three times as big. It should have focused exclusively on infrastructure and aid to states/cities/counties. The 40% that went to tax cuts (at Repub insistence) was largely a waste and should have been eliminated. However, given the magnitude of the problem and his limited ability to put countermeasures in place, it worked fairly well.
You actually have to look at what congresses do and don't do, not just note whether or not their majorities are of the same party as the president. It's not even a close call, here. Boehner's debt-ceiling threatening House and a filibuster-everything Senate are as much to blame as anybody (and far more than the Obama administration).
Sorry--meant for a different thread.
Actually, your comment is relevant given what I wrote. I don't think it's out of place at all, dunk. It isn't just a matter of having enough Dems or R's. Especially in the Senate, their individual political leanings make a difference. The fact that there weren't 60 progressive Dems in the Senate affected what Obama could put in his stimulus bill.
And the failure of the Republican led House to act these last two years explains most of the problem that Obama has had in tinkering with the original stimulus, adjusting it to a recession that was deeper than he originally estimated. Obama's not a dictator. With Boehner and McConnell stopping him at almost every turn, there's relatively little he can do.
I'd like to see a video of the statements, and the subsequent Republican edits, and close it with a screen: "Republicans think you're stupid."
We now have ample instances and evidence that Mitt Romney is afflicted with THE INCURABLE MALADY called "BLUNDER LIPS". I would love to see a special RACHEL segment ON THIS with the emphasis stating "HOW WOULD YOU LIKE FOUR YEARS OF THIS CLEARLY NATION-DAMAGING PRESIDENTIAL INFIRMITY"? Your vote matters MUCH in this regard. With each BLUNDERING BOO-BOO, Romney would visit MORE and MORE DEVASTATION on our world-wide reputation. FOUR YEARS OF IT!!!!!
This is always the Republican rhetoric, and the sad thing is they believe their own lies. Romney does not release his tax records and they call it a "breach of privacy." Obama doesn't release his college transcripts and they call it "dishonesty." There is nothing this man can do, he can be crucified for the sins of America, and they will still call him out on it. This election is really @!$%#ed up. Just because they aren't blatanly calling him the "n"word (although I have seen tea bagger signs that do!) doesn't mean they are not thinking it. Bachman's stunt against Huma Abedin is high school style bullying, and the fact that people still support her truly sickens me. Is this what is to be expected? 50's style politics where members of the Govenrment are called out on a black list, or better yet, thrown into the fire. We live in a country where it is ok to for religious christian fundamentalists to protest the funerals of fallen soldiers, but the President of the United States cannot tell rich people that everything that they have achieved is in part thanks to the country they were born in and thereby need to contribute to. Sickening to watch!
Unfortunately, Ms. Maddow, they are treating conservatives exactly how they should be treated. Whenever I try to speak with people who think Obama is a Muslim or some other ridiculous ideas, they try to say I'm brainwashed. I laughed on the inside, but it's not a happy one, but a sad one. We've had a Do-Nothing Congress because of these people.
I never believe anything I hear in a political ad, if I'm listening, especially if they are using video of the president talking.
Somebody needs to start reading every word of the President's speeches, to make it harder to take his words out of context, without making it look like a Letterman spoof. What if he had said something like, "President Clinton followed our economic plan, and it worked. Bush used the same plan Romney supports, and we had a recession"? Tie himself to Clinton and Romney to Bush, every single time. That's something people can understand!
It would make no difference if each word in the President's speech were edited and re-edited to insure nothing could be taken out of context. These people would still create their own editing...if the President said "The sky is blue", they would say he was calling the sky a Democrat thereby insinuating that God was a Democrat and so on.
You're right, JOJO, but why make it easy for them? That one was a slam dunk!
your the one that sounds desperate - and twists the truth you are laughable .
the big problem here is that most republicans are idiots and buy all this stuff.
If Obama were a radical leftist imposing radical leftism on the country:
1. Radical leftists wouldn't be mad at him.
2. There would be no health insurance companies after the ACA went into force.
3. Assault weapons and large magazines would be restricted.
4. The stimulus would have been above a trillion.
5. The large banks would be broken up and several bankers would be serving sentences.
6. GWB and Cheney would be serving sentences.
I could go on, but is it really necessary? Its not going to convince a single repugnicon anyway.
Hey IrishPat7, that too is out of context. Government and its spending increase under Bush for eight straight years to include the Iraq, Afgan and covert war against Al-uida his administration and congress decided to defer for future generation to pay. Your statement "The citizens of this nation do not need to pay more taxes, the federal government needs to stop spending money it doesn't have and has to borrow," is so true. However, it wasn't an issue when Bush was in office was it, nor were you and people like you even remotely concerned. You cannot undo is three years what Bush and teapub cronies did to the country over eight years. However, the country is headed in the right direction. But like take your track and see that roads, bridges and all the other things the government is supposed to do doesn't get done, because taxing the middle-class will only get the government so far. Hell, lets do away with taxes period, and see were this country end up.
This is probably just my twisted personal sense of humor, but the part of Charlie Daniel's comments about "where were you when my old bus broke down in the middle of nowhere" reminded me of Monty Python's 4 Yorkshire Men skit.
You can imagine one of those characters responding, "you had a bus? We only had a horse and it broke it's leg so we had to shoot it. There we were stuck in the middle of a swamp," [no paved roads, because we're not acknowledging any help from government, although even the Romans had roads], "and we had to swim to the next stop."
And then the next person would say, "You had a next stop. We didn't even have a next stop. There weren't any towns to go to" [remember no government aid, local or otherwise, not even a fellow human being]. "We had to swim through the swamp to find even a fish to listen to our woes... let alone help us to fix what broke down, etc."
And yes, I'm exaggerating, but at some point people do benefit and use government services. Maybe they get enough of an education so that they can get a job or write to express themselves. Maybe because we have sanitation measures in place, people have longer life expectancy than in other countries where there is no such infrastructure. Maybe we have enough of a stable economy that we can have saving accounts instead of hoarding our money in mattresses or dealing with hyperinflation.
It's to everyone's credit that they keep going in life despite whatever obstacles they face, such as broken buses. And that individual will to get through things will always be the heart of success and deserves credit, but at some point we benefit from others' efforts, whether they directly intended it for us or not.