about what is really going on regarding the debt. Obama deserves much more credit for bringing the debt under control than he has gotten. For one thing we are not involved in any new, huge, expensive wars. That right there means not incurring additional, unnecessary debt.

.

More importantly, is criticising the President impermissible?

IS criticizing President Obama impermissible on DU?

And only policy.

"any evidence" doesn't mean what scheming daemons wrote.. any less true.

And, of course, constructive criticism is permissible but ODS is rampant and that's what is objected to.. I don't care how many times it's denied.

He himself invited this when he asked us, regarding issues important to us, to "make him do it." Those where his exact words.

He also said in Chicago in 2008 acknowledging his win to the huge crowd that had gathered there, words to the effect that we, the people who elected him, would not like everything he did, but he had gotten so much more from us than we would get from him. I think some people might not have paid close attention to this.

But I voted for President Obama twice, and I do not regret it. I think overall he has done a remarkable job under extremely adverse conditions. Some things he has accomplished I think are remarkable. Some things he is considering and has done I believe are appalling. I have no problem expressing my dissatisfaction, or when appropriate outrage, when I come face to face when one of these things.

Yet I still as I said above do not regret my vote. When my blood starts to boil, for instance, when I did a lot of research on the Chained CPI and realized over time what impact that would have on seniors, instead of continuing to just be outraged, I sent my info to Bernie Sanders and asked him to oppose this. So the answer is, I believe, when a politician one has supported steps out to make an objectionable move, become actively involved and express your opposition.

Also keep in mind, if we had not elected Barack Obama president, Mitt Romney would be sitting in the Oval Office, and we would be in a great deal more pain today than we are with the President.

Welcome to DU.

Sam

I was proud to say that my daughter's first vote was for President Obama.

In 2012 I was pretty disenchanted with President Obama. Since I no longer lived in a battleground state, but rather a solidly blue state. I voted my conscience.

But I was proud to add my son to the list of first presidential vote for President Obama.

One should never allow someone else to tell them how to vote. I think he has done some wonderful things, but I believe I said above he has done some things that make smoke blow from my ears, I become some angry.

But he campaigned as a person who wanted to be President of all the people, and I think from where he sits, he thinks he has made an effort to do that. I also believe some of the things he speaks favorably about he does not truly support. He gives lip service to these things because he is compelled to do so. They all do that. In the political arena of governing, never let them know what you are thinking ....

Sam

I do have a differing opinion on what it should mean to be President for all the people. If you believe your policies are good, then they are good for all the people. It doesn't mean you push for half of your policies and half of their policies. That is what elections are for.

and then one down the middle. Rinse and repeat. In his political dictionary, that is the definition of being President to all Americans!

Sam

I just think elections should decide whether to go left, right, or down the middle. In 2008 the country opted to go left. If we had com left I don't think 2010 would have played out as it did.

But then, I admit I'm a Pollyanna

What evidence do you have that would support such a claim?

That's my evidence.

They are insidious and relentless--they will never quit screwing us until the last screw in the last human life has been turned to maximum, squeezing the last dime out of us.

they have few on record (Boehner and Cantor and I would imagine a few more).

"...but we just don't see how we could manipulate that horseshit just now to make any money, or to please our 1% Puppetmasters. Sneer."

- RepubliWankers (R)

times 1000

from their corporate masters: "Don't even THINK about it!" It's not the GOP leadership calling the shots here, it's Big Business.

Obama in return for agreeing to pay the bills they have already racked up.

Where were these damn 'corporate masters' last fall during the government shutdown?

The GOP Leadership, completely miscalculating the power (at the time) of the minority tea party, assured Big Business that it would never come to a Shut Down. That's the biggest part of why Bohner is in jeopardy of losing the Speaker position -- he misread and couldn't control that faction. Big Business has had 4 months to shore up that front and is in the process of rendering the Teaklanners impotent (via elections), but still useable in terms of their idiot supporters -- who are easily manipulated and will vote whatever way they're told.

the 'minority tea party' did not follow leading to the shutdown.

I agree that in the intervening 4 months the "Teaklanners" have been brought to heel - at least on budget/debt ceiling matters if not on immigration reform (and other issues that the corporate types supposedly favor) tea party congressmen still seem to have an element of control over the GOP agenda. We will see how effective corporate republicans are in the coming elections if fighting off tea party challengers. In the past few election cycles the tea party has had some success in GOP primaries against their corporate brethren often to the benefit of Democrats who won a senate race because republicans nominated a wacko.

Now lets see how the Tea-bagger repugs respond now it appears that the corp repugs want to put them back in their place

Watching the extremists lose their shit over this is going to be amazing.

are wrong. I hope every Democratic candidate in 2014 focuses on how lazy and harmful this GOP Congress has been.

Boehner has intimated several times that he is getting fed up with the TP bull. So if he follows through on this (and I always await action whenever a politician makes mouth noises), how does that translate to "victory" for the WH or the Dems? Seems more like an intra-party GOP issue to me.

-- Mal

But rather a victory for governance and therefore the American people.

The fact that the Whitehouse has placed governance high on its list of priorities is where the victory thing comes in.

It is a benefit accrued from White House victory last time around when Obama called the crazy peoples' bluff. Should be pretty obvious to anyone who has been paying attention.

But I'm sure some will say Putin should get the credit.

I wasn't aware that the Democrats were holding anything hostage

the hill. Therefore it is a surrender. This comes A DAY after Cruz opened his big yapper about getting something in return for the debt ceiling being raised. Boehner just told Cruz to "shut the fuck up" with this announcement.

Bwahahahahha!

Of course I reserve the right to believe it when I see it.

The GOPers are holding themselves hostage. I still don't trust them, and I know that corporate media will give them a high five touting this to make these assholes look like they lovesssssssss America.

You've hit the nail on the head.

polls.

They will demand bigger cuts to social programs because they passed the debt ceiling and say you "owe" us. Guaranteed they will be hard nosed on everything else Dems want to protect.

sent to their Cayman Islands accounts.

round back to the woodshed and whack some sense into that knucklehead!

That was being tossed around a few days ago. Good to hear it's not going to happen. I'd like to say that the republicans came to their senses on this, but I think, as someone above pointed out, their corporate masters are just tightening up the choke collars.

let's see how that buffoon, Ted Cruz, plays this.

candidate and would put their money on moderate...whatever that means...primary Republicans. The Tea Party's tea is cold and the cup is stained.

I don't like the idea that would work. Good on Obama for resisting it the first time. That and their subsequent poll numbers taught them that this is not acceptable strategy.

learned a lesson. That's a shock.

May it rest in peace and we never hear about this stupid rule again

They will fall in line and be a little bit more reasonable about everything until November.

Right after the election their mental illness will explode out everywhere.

"Right after the election their mental illness will explode out everywhere. "

They also lost their leverage. If they had any, they'd attempt to use it.

Except for 13 weeks in 2010, the GOP has had enough votes to block any appropriation legislation in Congress since 1979!

Why is the GOP pissed for having to pay the bills that they themselves allowed to pass Congress?

Their accountants do.

with Democrats. His teabagger followers won't play with him in this game.

This is good news; but I'll believe it only when I see it actually happen on the House floor.

Have 'em give up and go home, leaving behind only resignation letters and heart-felt apologies for their selfishness, reckless, hatred, wilfull-ignorance, and mercenary bedroom-busybody fucking of the country.

„Hey John?“
„Yes, Eric?“
„I just remembered something.“
„What’s that, Eric?“
„We’re ALL up for re-election this November.“
“We ARE?”
“Yes, Sahib.”
“ALL of us?”
“Every last one of us.”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Wasn't aware you knew how, John."
"Louie Gohmert taught me. I want a clean debt ceiling bill. NOW. I want it on the floor within 48 hours!”
“Yes, oh orange one.”

So I won't say who, but I emailed this to a Democratic member of the House who wrote back: "You nailed it!"

After saying he DID NOT shut down the government last year, a bald faced lie if I ever heard one, he says he's going to try to DO it again!

Will Americans remember?

We're making suggestions for reading material to replace his Green Eggs and Ham reading. Some say he should read the phone directory.

Any suggestions?

But please keep in mind--I don't call up members of Congress on a daily basis to shoot the breeze with them, even if I know them fairly well. These people have full time day jobs like I do, and take their positions seriously. Not all members of Congress see their positions as nothing more than springboards to money, fame, power (or all three) like Bachmann, Gohmert, Cruz, Paul, Rubio, etc.

I had sent "orange one" to this one friend just for laughs. I had no way of knowing he had just come from the vote on the House floor, and was amused enough to reply!

Are they now going to try blaming the deficit on Obama & Dems as an election strategem? What's lurking behind this? I'm suspicious--I can't believe they would just cave without some political gain to it.....

. . .

those bastards are always up to something.

Finding new ways to screw us while putting blame on dems.

And M$M cheers them on-

Raise the highest marginal tax rate back to where it was pre Reagan, tax all income at that rate, add a VAT like other countries, legalize pot and tax it, reign in defense/military spending and hey, our debt could shrink rather than rise.

It's not rocket science.

Expect them to mount serious challenges against the Repukes who voted for this. Expect them to win several of those primaries, and expect at least a handful of them to be seated in the next Congress.

Mostly due to old age.

That's what reich-wing radio and TV are for. Of course, we can hope that a so-called 'moderate' Republicon is ousted by a tea partier who cannot win the general election, and we get a Democratic representative, even if not a true progressive. However, I do see Congress getting more and more polarized over time.

Hell, I listen to the Mike Malloy show on the Progressive Voices app. The AM band is about to go the way of the dinosaur. Even sporting events are being played on the FM band. The only use I have for TV now is sports, naughty stuff on HBO & Skinemax, and Turner Classic Movies

Of course, there are reich-wing websites, sponsored by the corresponding radio and TV outfits, ready to spew misunderstanding and hate into a smartphone. Don't neglect drivetime, it's easy to get terrestrial radio in most areas, especially if you don't want to shell out for satellite, and Hannity is out there spewing his venom on the commute home.

The tea party is not dying out faster than the things that feed it can make it grow, unfortunately.