Obama Versus The Left

Fox v. henhouse - Obama compares the lefty activists to the birthers, saying both groups are lowering the tone in Washington.  He's half right!

President Obama told Senate Democrats he wished "left-wing groups" would back off. 

A White House official who was in the lunch tells POLITICO: "The President discussed how the current tone and culture in Washington made it more difficult than it has been in the past to work in a bipartisan fashion. In particular, he singled out Republican Senators who are trying to work in a bipartisan fashion even in the context of a vocal minority in their party who doubt that the President was born in the US. In this context about the less productive tone of the debate in Washington, he said he didn’t like to see 'left wing groups attack fellow Democrats.'" .

I want fulmination and denunciation of this gay-bashing, Bush-endorsing faux Democrat, and I want it now!

JUST THINKING OUT LOUD:  As a nice bipartisan gesture that would take some of the heat off of those moderate Republicans trying to work with the President while getting screamed at by the birthers, shouldn't Obama ask the State of Hawaii to release all of the documentation supporting the short form summary we have seen?

That would elevate the tone in Washington and improve the prospects for health care reform, yes?  Hmm, which side am I on...

Comments

[clarice]

I'm adopting a new penname FEDUP DEM for use on all the usual boards.
Your friend,
Moby Jane

[bad]

"I personally support people doing what they want to do," Clinton said, and people seemed to believe his apparent change of heart.

I believe him too. Who wouldn't?

[Porchlight]

"lowering the tone" = "disagreeing with Obama's proposed policies"

"work in a bipartisan fashion" = "work toward passage of Obama agenda"

I really don't get why this guy's rhetoric is supposed to be so sophisticated and subtle.

[bad]

Well, if anyone understands the concept of "lowering the tone" it would be the Ibamas.

[narciso]

Right, just like he said, no one should go after a Candidate's family (just the Democrat's designated blogger, another malcontent, and the entire local state party
up there)What part of 'get in their faces' did I miss?

[clarice]

SOS--I am having trouble with instapundit's site today. It freezes up whenever I try to click on a link. Is is just me?
I spent 2 hours yesterday with an IT guy cleaning up my computer--did we do something to cause this?

Thanks.

[verner]

Oh BS. Some focus groups just said that nobody believes that he's a moderate pragmatist anymore. This is just for show.

He's an aout and out Marxist. They're allowed to lie, it's in the playbook. Always watch what he does, not what he says.

[bad]

Clarice, I'm getting a "500 error" message when I try to go to Instapundit.

[clarice]

Thanks, bad.

[clarice]

If anyone has his email addy it might be a good idea to alert him. I had a similar problem with his column at PM--I was able to click thru to a link but then the clink froze. There's a bug on his site.

[Ranger]

Clarice, I'm getting a "500 error" message when I try to go to Instapundit.

Posted by: bad | August 05, 2009 at 11:07 AM

I had that exact same problem a couple days ago, but it works fine for me today.

[clarice]

**Link froze**

[Jane]

I'm getting the 500 message too. I'll email him.

[Ranger]

BTW, totally off topic, but I think we now have a way to expressly compare Obama to Carter. TM should start an "America Held Hostage" day counter for the US hikers being held in Iran. Let's make sure everyone sees that Obama is just as lost as Carter was in dealing with Iranian hostage takers.

[Jack is Back!]

Glenn's email is [email protected]

And I too am getting the 500 message. I hope their euros instead of dollars that I won.

Also, I can't get Rantburg and I suspect it is blocked by my Belgacom server. Hate site you know since they are critical of Islamic extremist who want to kill all non-believers and make women wear burkhas.

I am getting a feeling over here that the honeymoon with Europe maybe over. They still like Clinton and he has certainly taken the burnish off of Barry by bringing home Al's girls. In fact, my father-in-law has asked me today if Clinton can know run for a 3rd term. I told him not unless he divorces Hillary. He didn't understand.

[Ranger]

Well, Instapundit just crashed for me too. It was working fine just a little bit ago.

[Extraneus]

Obama knows he missed a major Sister Soljah opportunity with his buddy Gates, and is itching to find another one.

Not a real one, of course. Just one he can get some independents to believe.

[Ranger]

Yes, Gates was a perfect opportunity for Obama, and he blew it. Especially since Gates was a friend of his. What he should have said was:

'I know this man, he is a good man. But, you can't obstruct a police investigation, even if you're tired, even if you're in your own house, you need to co-operate with the police when they are doing thier job.'

Obama could have turned the whole thing into a pitch for Porkulus, too:

'Let's remember, police have one of the most dificult jobs in our society, and that is why I have worked so hard to keep the local police forces of America fully funded during these dificult economic times...'

Given that he really messed up what could have been such a positive for his polls and turned it into a negative, why do people think this guy is a "good politician"?

[Theaetetus]

Obama wants his Healthcare now, but he made a fundamental mistake by not getting rid of the Lobbyists before he attempted any systemic change in the tone.

Get the moneyed interests out, now matter their speciality. That's the message from the Left, and the Diametric Republicans are snacking on the roadkill they made of the Nation.

[Ranger]

Well, Instapundit is back up on my computer. I have a feeling it is a problem with the host rather than the individual site. I had a similar problem with The Corner yesterday.

[Neo]

made it more difficult than it has been in the past to work in a bipartisan fashion

For Mr. "Post-Partisan" Hope&Change, this is admission of failure.

The Left wing groups are making so much noise that those "back room" deals can't be kept in the back room. And after months of hearing how Republicans are killing themselves trying to obtain purity ... well, bipartisanship is definitely not purity, so obviously the shoe must now be on the other foot.

[Theaetetus]

Will Obama enable more Bushshit like this..?

"A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia. The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company. The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."

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Jeremy Scahill: The private security company, facing charges in a US court for killing and injuring Iraqis, is attempting to silence its victims and their lawyers.

In their testimony, both men also allege that Blackwater was smuggling weapons into Iraq. One of the men alleges that Prince turned a profit by transporting "illegal" or "unlawful" weapons into the country on Prince's private planes. They also charge that Prince and other Blackwater executives destroyed incriminating videos, emails and other documents and have intentionally deceived the US State Department and other federal agencies. The identities of the two individuals were sealed out of concerns for their safety."

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Whatever charm Bill Clinton has, does anyone else have anything close to what he's got?

The man is amazing. He can play politics with gays by using them to help himself and the gays will forgive him as if he never believed what he was doing?

I used to think the homosexual lobby was quite rigid, but they now appear to be more pragmatic than President Clinton.

[Theaetetus]

Any 'Christian' Crusaders here?

[boris]

They're all invading Assclownistan. Better get back there right away!

[narciso]

Somebody tell these people that Jonas Hodges on '24 isn't real, maybe they're covering up the fact that the ammunition
found at Al Nisour square, was that used
by insurgents, a year and a half later.

[Rob Crawford]

Who's responsible for trollbuster? I owe them a lot of thanks.

[Rob Crawford]

Oh, and folks, remember that for a Democrat "bipartisan" means "they do what we want".

[RichatUF]

Get the moneyed interests out, now matter their speciality. That's the message from the Left, and the Diametric Republicans are snacking on the roadkill they made of the Nation.

Ha. As if "Americans for Health Care Now!" isn't a moneyed special interest. And an thanks for spamming the thread with some garbage about Blackwater. They must be doing a great job if the leftists are helping their Islamist allies in sacking them.

[Neo]

CNBC reported that Bill Clinton et al were flown out on one of those “evil” (oh so evil) corporate jets. This one owned by Dow Chemical. So evil are these jets that it forced the House to buy 3 of their own.

[Theaetetus]

"some garbage about Blackwater."

Yes, it is garbage, but not the kind you think it is.

[Neo]

Isn't this Obama admitting that the only path forward is the Senate Finance bipartisan bill ?

[Semanticleo]

My imaginary son was refused employment from Blackwater because they found out about my NAMBLA membership. And when I talk about the roadkill the RePUKes made of the Nation, I'm talking about my favorite source of factual news, wingerz.

[narciso]

The first allegation is clearly ridiculous, smuggling guns into Iraq, that 'a coal to
Newcastle' situation,' but it's typical of this type of story. THey let Iranian Guard like Mr. Farhadi out, but they go after
Blackwater and the US military

[RichatUF]

The Nation has had a hard on in going after Blackwater since they were first formed. That they finally found some "sources" and have an administration friendly to their worldview is par for the course. The story is fiction but the Administration and the Nation will get as much milage out of it as they can-can't have anyone thinking that they can defend themselves against Islamist or Marxist terror.

[RichatUF]

I don't recall Obama coming to the defense or aid of Lieberman when a "tiny group of vocal activists" drummed him out of the Democrat Party.

And yea-Obama is back in Indiana yammering on him Das Capital interperation of the economy. I'll see if I can find a transcript. He is getting applause for electric vehicles (too bad Buffet builds those sorts of batteries in China). "Invest" in innovative technologies...green jobs

[Neo]

Boxer says she can tell that they’re fakes, because they’re too well dressed.

This proves it for me .. the Code Pink and MoveOn.org folks just have no fashion sense whatsoever.

[clarice]

They're clapping because he brought a $2 billion giveaway for them..Santa comes to town.

[Porchlight]

Why does he always go to Indiana to make his irritating sales pitches?

[RichatUF]

He will then travel to Monaco RV in Wakarusa to speak about the economy, including funding and projects of the Recovery Act. The Wakarusa event is NOT open to the public

He is such a coward.

Green jobs and the "created or saved" jobs makes a re-appearence. He is talking about some sort of R&D tax credit and health insurance reform (and we will pass it by the end of the year). Heathcare "crisis"?

[RichatUF]

Porchlight-

It is easier to sucker people after they have been suckered before. Indiana has a lot of RV factories-the people working at those plants won't have jobs next year thanks to Obama's agenda. And they clap and clap.

[Porchlight]

Thanks, Rich. I wonder if his strategists also consider it a bellwether state - like if he can sell Indiana, he can sell the rest of the country.

[PeterUK.]

A bit like lowering the tone in a brothel.

[PD]

Indiana has a lot of RV factories-the people working at those plants won't have jobs next year thanks to Obama's agenda.

Actually, they might. I understand some of those who've already been thrown out of RV jobs have been put to work cleaning up local parks.

Nice! Who wants a private-sector job, anyway?

[narciso]

You know this gets embarassing as they applaud the ending of their way of life, is there something in the water in Elkhart. I really shouldn't fault them too much, yet another former party chair, Cardenas is endorsing Crist over Rubio, although he's not being too pushy about it.

[GMax]

Man that Babs Boxer sure can spin one hell of argument, cant she? Well dressed means not homeless picked up to be bussed in to a faux grassroots deal? And Reagan is from Calif so ????? ( WTF was that about?).

Thank god these are the spokespersons that Ds pick, if they could make better arguments they might persuade people to not oppose policies that are stupid and self defeating on their face. As is, not a chance.

[bad]

The AP is reporting we can all be greener by peeing in the shower.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[RichatUF]

PD-

I'm looking for a transcript because I only caught a few snippets. But it appears that he was selling the re-tooling money (battery grants? some 2.4 billion sprinkled in Michigan and Indiana?) and that one of the RV manufacturers is using the money to hire back about a dozen people to tinker with battery manufacturing.

He did tick off the usual list: green jobs, jobs "created or saved", health insurance reform, healthcare crisis...

The audience was pre-selected.

[RichatUF]

Porchlight-

Interesting point. Never thought of it that way.

[bad]

Did you get to be a part of the townhall if you ratted on your neighbor?

[GMax]

So normal citizens exercising their first amendment rights are "manufactured" but an Obama speech to a preselected audience is what? Dont tell me I already know.

Animal Farm warned us about Newspeak.

[Parking Lot]

((Let's make sure everyone sees that Obama is just as lost as Carter was in dealing with Iranian hostage takers.))

Ranger it's not really comparable because 0 has terrorist pows he can use as bargaining chips --- and he does.

I wonder what ransom he paid to Norko to get the journalists freed.

[PeterUK.]

"Ranger it's not really comparable because 0 has terrorist pows he can use as bargaining chips --- and he does. "

He does indeed. "I'll release six highly trained terrorists if you release three backpackers".

If Obama had been running WWII,the entire Axis military would have been back under arms by 1946.

[RichatUF]

LUN for the stocking stuffers that Obama Claus brought.

[Captain Hate]

Man that Babs Boxer sure can spin one hell of argument, cant she? Well dressed means not homeless picked up to be bussed in to a faux grassroots deal?

LOL @ Box-of-Rocks talking about "well-dressed"; this from the thing that Laura Ingraham calls "the chimney-sweep" because of the drab tweed suits that she wears when the weather gets as cold as her nether parts.

[PD]

LUN for the stocking stuffers that Obama Claus brought.

But Obama doesn't want to run the auto industry. Right.

[matt]

lefty groups like the House and Senate leadership?

[jean]

I think I'll e-mail Sen.Boxer and ask what is the appropriate attire for demonstrating?I'm attending the Sept 12 demonstrations and want to look my best

[Jane]

LOL Jean,

Make sure you let us all know!

[PeterUK.]

How does Obama propose the electricity for these new batteries is to be generated?
Picky I know. And where is the network of charging points? Oh yes,how will these highly toxic batteries will be disposed of?
Will the proportion of drivers who forget to recharge their batteries be the same as those who forget to put petrol in their tanks.. If they do stop,how can you go for a can of electricity at the next gas station?

[matt]

we already gave the Iranians back the Quds scumbags we held in Iraq, so what's our bargaining chip now?

It seems there was no quid for our quo.

[matt]

PUK;

more to the point, where is the massive increase in electricity generating capacity that will be needed to charge those batteries?

It's funny, because when GM came out with the EV 1, California put in hundreds of charging stations, usually in the best parking spaces, all over the state at malls, parking garages, etc. They have pretty much sat empty for the past 15 years. They took the last EV 1 off the road perhaps 3-4 years ago.

Now, I am going to bet the voltage/wiring configuration for the new models will require a complete tear down of the old charging stations.Man, can government waste money.

[narciso]

Come on Matt, you know the MEK in Kurdistan will serve the same function. Peter you concern yourself with minor details like where will we get the electricity for the battery

[RichatUF]

matt-

Iran can get the Charlotte Hezbollah cell out of jail. The ones convicted in 2002 not the ones just arrested.

Still no transcript, but the factory he spoke at was bought by Navistar recently, the company that builds the MRAP.

[jean]

Now I am broken hearted .I asked a fine Sen like Boxer for advice and all I got back was a Dear Friend e-mail.

[PD]

I think I'll e-mail Sen.Boxer and ask what is the appropriate attire for demonstrating?I'm attending the Sept 12 demonstrations and want to look my best

Perhaps you would wear one of those shirts advertised in the sidebar that says "With a shirt this AWESOME who needs pants?" I imagine that would get people's attention. :-)

[GMax]

Yeah Come on Matt

You have told ignored the great psychic benefit that the lefty legislators ( include RINOs here) and their supporters got from this. That was worth so much, that a little theivery from your wallet is not a concern.

[Jane]

You know this whole "orchestrated mob" meme was really well crafted. Yesterday even Dick announced that all the protests were "organized". I can't imagine where he got that unless someone sent him an email. He's always about 5 miles behind the curve.

I attempted to disabuse him of that notion so he finally declared that anyone who attends has to be organized enough to attend - or something like that.

[PD]

re: Orchestrated mob. Durbin, Reid, Pelosi are all out trumpeting this. I notice that not one of them has shown a shred of evidence for it.

This is really infuriating. Elected official are treating a portion of the electorate with contempt, merely for exercising their constitutional rights and disagreeing with them. "If you disagree with me, you don't count. You have no brain of your own, you're merely a tool of insurance companies. You are second class."

These people are unfit for office.

[Dave (in MA)]

A little early in the day for the trollpuppets.

[PD]

Not only has none of them shown a shred of evidence, I haven't seen a single journalist call them on it.

C'mon, it's not a hard question: "Do you have some evidence to support your statement?" Media folks, do your job.

[Dave (in MA)]

I think I'll e-mail Sen.Boxer and ask what is the appropriate attire for demonstrating?Boxers.

[royf]

Jane I would think it comes from the DNC through the JournaList. But that is just a guess, but whenever the meme is so consistent I think they have to be considered.

[matt]

Isn't the current national leadership clique an orchestrated mob?

[Rob Crawford]

C'mon, it's not a hard question: "Do you have some evidence to support your statement?" Media folks, do your job.

If they did their jobs, they'd be out of them.

[RichatUF]

Finally, a transcript.

See, I don't want to just reduce our dependence on foreign oil and then end up being dependent on their foreign innovations. I don't want to have to import a hybrid car. I want to be able to build a hybrid car here.

I don't want to have to import a hybrid truck, I want to build a hybrid truck here.

I don't want to have to import a windmill from someplace else, I want to build a windmill right here in Indiana.

Good grief.

Energy innovation, health care and education -- these are the pillars of the new foundation that we have to build. This how we won't just rescue the economy, but we're going to rebuild it stronger than before.

More base-superstructure.

And the truth is, it can be easy to lose hope, especially when you see a lot of folks out there who failed to meet their responsibilities, from Wall Street to Washington.

Can be easy to grow cynical when you see politicians say one thing and then do another, or say one thing and then do nothing; when you've seen decades of broken promises and broken politics. But this is a rare moment in which we're called upon to rise above the failures of the past. This is a chance to restore that spirit of optimism and opportunity which has always been central to our success.

We've got to set our sights higher, not lower. We've got to imagine a future in which new American cars are powered by new American innovation, a future in which cities that led the global economy before are leading it again, a brighter future for Elkhart, a brighter future for Indiana and for the United States of America.

How many RV's did Elkhart export before $4/gal gas and $5/gal diesel? How many were they able to sell because of securitization? How many were they able to sell because of demographics? But don't worry government healthcare and windmills will bring those good jobs back.

[Ralph L]

I saw a new Obama sticker on a Prius today:
One
Big
Ass
Mistake,
America

[RichatUF]

Jane-

Shocking that people would "organize" in protest of the Democrats' agenda. It is almost as if community organizers were bringing in citizens to speak truth to power. The audacity.

[narciso]

There is a touch of humor, in the LUN, about
Richard Wolfe, being to toxic to anybody at his new public relations job, couldn't happen to a nicer weasel.

[Captain Hate]

Durbin, Reid, Pelosi are all out trumpeting this.

To call these idiots the 3 Stooges would be an insult to the actors, who probably developed at least some of their lines independently. I heard Les Nessman Reid this morning in his irritatingly breathless voice making some sports analogy and my reaction was "WTF does this talking worm have as far as experience in anything more strenuous than online blackjack?"

[Bill in AZ]

((I don't want to have to import a windmill from someplace else, I want to build a windmill right here in Indiana.))

T. Boone Pickens has a few for sale...

[Jane]

Jane I would think it comes from the DNC through the JournaList.

Yeah but that's not where Dick is getting his information. It seems to me it had to be in the Worcester telegram and Gazette (a subsidiary of the NY Times) or on ABC local news at 6:00AM. So the reach seems pretty far very quickly.

I'm not infuriated about this talking point. I assume it will backfire in administration's faces. 52% of the public are against Obama's health care agenda. If those 52 % aren't protesting they are thinking about it. And this sort of baloney will piss them off.

[Paul in NJ]

The link you're sporting for the "short form summary" is a 404. Got another?

[clarice]

Here are the DNC talking points re the healthcare protests:
http://dnc.org/

How many will be cut and pasted into your local newspapers? And why the heck keep paying for what you could read online at the DNC site for free?

[Tom Maguire]

The link you're sporting for the "short form summary" is a 404. Got another?

Baffling - it works fine for me (I am using Firefox 3.0)

Anyway, it is the Snopes site:

http://msgboard.snopes.com/politics/graphics/birth.jpg

[Haumea]

" TM should start an "America Held Hostage" day counter for the US hikers being held in Iran."

Heck, how about one for all the citizens of the US, in the US?

[matt]

wasn't Obama a community organizer/ Aren't we just following in our dear leader's footsteps, after all?

[glasater]

On Wednesdays after the tv show Special Report you can go online and watch a half hour show Brett B does with the panel of the day plus adds a couple of reporters.
People can write comments in a running sidebar section that Brett watches and I think has someone watching on another computer.
None of the comments coming in were complimentary to Obama.
The question did come up on Zero's appearance at Elkhart and whether the audience was pre-selected.
Major Garrett said it was an open audience. But from my watching his speech and the response from the people in attendance it just makes sense that only 'friendlies' were allowed in.
Plus, Major G--when asked about the WH's reaction to 'disruptive' townhall folks--said that they were pleased to point out this basically unreasonable and negative reaction to the healthcare bill--the cynical snots.

[Gmax]

This is a WH that scripts everything. Lynne Sweet said her question was not known in advance, but I dont believe her. And although Major Garrett is pretty good, I am going with he spoke about something that he was unaware, and the scripting and preselection was done when he was not allowed anywhere near the magician setting up the trick.

[glasater]

Gmax-

Lynne Sweet was standing up before Zero even called on her. She knew she was going to be called on and he was almost certainly aware of the 'area' of the question.

And you are likely correct on the Major front. Those WH reporters have got to pass around the current gossip running I think.