State Of The Union thread

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Obstructionists? The Republicans can't be blamed for the failures of the Democrats to get anything substantial accomplished this last year. Even if every last Republican said "NO", it wouldn't have mattered.

Well, the current filibuster rules sure make it much, much easier to say NO to everything, which is exactly what they've done since he's taken office...

It's not like when Senator Stackhouse got up there and read from a cookbook and read Johnny Appleseed on The West Wing to filibuster for the funding of autism research....

All they need to do is threaten to filibuster, like Liebermann did, and without the supermajority, that's all they need to do to.....

[LoungeMachine]

Great episode....

How many recipes can there be?

[jhale667]

The guy you voted for twice said "There oughta be limits to free speech". And then he made fascist laws that did exactly that once the Supreme Court put him in office.

Further proving with that STATEMENT alone (never mind the despicable actions that followed) he showed himself to be the OPPOSITE of an American "patriot". What a fucking joke - cloaking himself in the Flag while destroying our freedoms.

Whatever a "free speech zone" was supposed to be, you don't see them anymore, do you? Shit, you have lunatics with assault rifles showing up to see the current President. That guy would have been arrested within 10 miles of a Chimp rally.

SO TRUE. Tell me if any a**hole would have attempted that at a Chimpy rally they wouldn't STILL be in GitMo classified as an "enemy combatant"? Please, I dare ya.

Actual free speech should never be restricted. Corporate money is not speech. Corporations are not persons. And Opie Roberts was never qualified to be on the Supreme Court.

Exactly, exactly.

[kwame k]

I thought the speech was great overall and Obama is finally taking the gloves off. What amazed me about the speech is he seemed to piss everyone off equally....Dems and Repubs alike.

He stated his successes and acknowledged his failures. I loved the part about vetoing bullshit bills that cross his desk. Was that geared to Health Care Reform or just a wide brush stroke? Time will tell......Saying he hated the bailout and going after the Supreme Court was spot on. Hitting the Repukes as whinny do nothings was a great political jab.

[FORD]

He stated his successes and acknowledged his failures. I loved the part about vetoing bullshit bills that cross his desk. Was that geared to Health Care Reform or just a wide brush stroke? Time will tell......

I was wondering the same thing. If he can veto a bullshit financial "reform" bill, then I would expect him to do the same with a bullshit health "reform" bill.

In fact, he DID say so in a previous speech. Couldn't tell you which one, off the top of my head, but my photographic memory remembers the exact words "the bill I sign will have a public option".

[kwame k]

I was wondering the same thing. If he can veto a bullshit financial "reform" bill, then I would expect him to do the same with a bullshit health "reform" bill.

In fact, he DID say so in a previous speech. Couldn't tell you which one, off the top of my head, but my photographic memory remembers the exact words "the bill I sign will have a public option".

Nice to see him firing a warning shot across the bow.....Now if Reid and Pelosi could grow a fucking pair we'd be alright.

I liked how he jabbed at the Repubs and rightly so....they have no ideas of their own and seem to be only interested in hamstringing the Demos, at the cost of the American people.

When Obama or actually Rahm Emanuel went for the kill when the Repubs where on the ropes and weak. They took the key Repubs out of play by offering positions in the WH and bullied their way to a Super Majority but.....it backfired and they'll have to make nice with the Repubs if they ever want to get anything done. The Demos are too much of a pussy to ram whatever the hell they want through, like Bush did, so at the end of the day either play nice with the Repubs or shame them publicly into accepting legislation.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

A couple of interesting tidbits after Alito's "that's not true" of last night....

Obama voted Nay on Alito's confirmation vote in '06....

When Obama made a courtesy call on the Supreme Court after winning the Presidency, eight of the nine Justices were there...

The one that didn't show up ??

Alito....

[FORD]

A couple of interesting tidbits after Alito's "that's not true" of last night....

Obama voted Nay on Alito's confirmation vote in '06....

When Obama made a courtesy call on the Supreme Court after winning the Presidency, eight of the nine Justices were there...

The one that didn't show up ??

Alito....

Ah, so it's personal with him then. Just what we need on the Supreme Court... a petty vindictive corporatist asshole.

[jhale667]

Ah, so it's personal with him then. Just what we need on the Supreme Court... a petty vindictive corporatist asshole.

Yeah, 'cause it already worked sooooo well when we had one in the White House for the last 8 years..

[kwame k]

Yeah, 'cause it already worked sooooo well when we had one in the White House for the last 8 years..

[ELVIS]

The entire speech was a joke...

[Nitro Express]

Obama is just another dishonest politician. His words mean nothing to me but his actions mean everything. Why should we trust him anymore? He acts like we are stupid. I think the man has lied so much in his lifetime it's a habit. It's all he knows. I bet he was the kid that caused all the trouble but looked and acted real sweet so he didn't get in trouble. Charm goes a long way.

[Nitro Express]

Obstructionists? The Republicans can't be blamed for the failures of the Democrats to get anything substantial accomplished this last year. Even if every last Republican said "NO", it wouldn't have mattered. The Dems had enough seats to run amok with whatever they wanted and they squandered it with their constant infighting, attacks on Republicans, and constantly blaming Bush for everything. inherited

They all spend so much time deciding who & how to blame others for their failures that they don't have time to determine how to work around obstacles, work together, and get things accomplished.

"Bipartisanship" doesn't mean the other side agreeing to your terms. It means both sides working together, negotiating, give & take, and compromise. All in the best interests of all Americans, regardless if they have a D or R on their voter registration card (or what their net worth is).

As far as Obama accusing others of lacking "Leadership", that's just laughable. For the last year, and during the majority of the campaign, the public was concerned with jobs & war. Rather than work on what was most important to the country, he pushed what was important to himself. It's not really leadership if no one is following.

The Democrats could have gotten a lot done this year but they were too busy trying to make their corporate backers happy and ignored the American people. All they do is blame the Republicans but sorry, the Republicans had no power. What stalled healthcare is the American people. They didn't like the secrecy, the bribes, and how it benefitted corporations and punished the taxpayer and patients.

You negotiate. You make deals with the other side based on what your supporters back in your home state want. The Democrats ignored the people and act so out of touch it's sickening. The politicians have a job, the get paid, they get the perks of office and the under the table bribes. Pelosi flys on Air Force jets for her private use. These people live in a bubble.

[sadaist]

What stalled healthcare is the American people. They didn't like the secrecy, the bribes, and how it benefited corporations and punished the taxpayer and patients.

Not just that, but people have been losing their homes, their jobs, their loved ones to war...and the President wants to make his health care agenda top priority? Idiotic. Then in the State of The Union speech, he says "We are going to make jobs our #1 priority for 2010". Good job Obama, nothing like being a step in front of that one.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I'm not absolving the Dems of portions of the blame at all, however I think it's a big mistake to downplay what the Republicans (especially Senate Republicans) have done since he's taken office.

They've said no to nearly every proposal brought to them in the year Obama's been in office. They've threatened to filibuster, thereby forcing every bill to be enacted by a supermajority (60%) rather than a simple majority (51%), while at the same time failing to submit any worthwhile proposals of the bills they're rejecting.

You simply cannot overlook those facts. Last time I checked, this is still a democracy, with a separation of powers. Obama can't do it on his own, it still requires Congressional approval. And until the Republicans stop what can only be described as obstructionist policies, nothing will get done.

But of course, most Americans have no idea of the majority of what I just said, so they just see that Obama's not doing his job....

But that's just me....