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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBig asshole Mark McKinnon said Obama had a Dem congress for 2 years and didn't get nothing done
On Morning Joe today. No one on the show questioned his assertion. Well, I am questioning the big asshole known as Mark McKinnon.
http://www.politicususa.com/maddow-obama-agenda.html
Rachel Maddow: Obama Has Accomplished 85% of First Term Agenda in 2 Years
By: December 22, 2010
On her MSNBC program last night Rachel Maddow highlighted an often overlooked fact concerning the presidency of Barack Obama. Maddow said, By my estimation it is halftime, right, in the first term and with this vote tomorrow they will have gone 85% of the distance they said they wanted to go in the first term of the president.
Maddow hailed the passage of START as victory for Obama, If this treaty gets ratified tomorrow, it will be political malpractice to not call it an unqualified victory for this president and for this presidency. Reducing the worlds nuclear stockpiles, working toward Ronald Reagans goal of a world without nuclear weapons, locking down loose nuclear materials so it doesnt end up in the hands of terrorists, the whole smoking gun could be a mushroom cloud except for real?
She highlight the ways that this is a win for Obama, Getting this treaty ratified is a huge victory for President Obama and something that Republicans said they would deny him. It is a political win for the president because it has been on his agenda for a long time. It is a signature issue for him, a tactical win because Republicans said he wasnt going to get it. It is a save the world win because if you care about, oops, its the nuclear end of the world you care about treaties like this getting passed.
Maddow discussed how historic the past two years have been, If the Senate ratifies the START treaty tomorrow it caps an astonishing period in American political history. For the last two years, Democrats have held the White House as well as big majorities in the House and Senate. The record of achievement in that time, even in the face of unified at times totally random republican opposition, Republican opposition even to things Republicans had proposed in the first place, unified Republican opposition to their own ideas? Their track record even in the face of that is historic. Whether you agree or disagree with what Democrats have done in the first two years of President Obamas presidency, they have freaking done it.
She listed all the accomplishments, The fair pay act for women, expanding childrens health insurance, new hate crimes legislation they said could not be done, tobacco regulation, credit card reform, student loan reform, the stimulus which in addition to helping pull this country back from the brink of a great depression, was also the largest tax cut ever, the largest investment in clean energy ever, the largest investment in education in our country ever. There was also a little thing you may have heard of called health reform. Also, Wall Street reform, the improvements to the new G.I. Bill, the most expansive food SAFETY BILL SINCE THE 1930s. And tomorrow, President Obama will officially sign a repeal of Dont Ask, Dont Tell.
BlueToTheBone
(3,747 posts)that all died in the Senate.
notadmblnd
(23,720 posts)thats the thing republicans aren't saying to complete the sentence.
BlueToTheBone
(3,747 posts)why it wasn't done.
Typical abuse tactic.
Tennessee Gal
(6,160 posts)January 20, 2009 - After suffering a seizure during Barack Obama's inaugural luncheon, Senator Kennedys health forced him to retreat to Massachusetts.
April 28, 2009 news outlets issued the following report: Republican Sen. Arlen Specter has switched parties, which would give Democrats a filibuster-proof 60 seats.
Despite the fact that the media hailed the party switch of Arlen Specter and claimed it gave Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate, the Minnesota seat still remained vacant. The Senate had 57 Democratic members and 2 Independents. Technically, the Senate was two members short, but I'm counting Senator Kennedy even though he was at home ill because he did cast a vote in June. 59
May 15, 2009 Senator Robert Byrd was admitted to the hospital reducing the number of sitting Senators to 56 Democratic members and 2 Independents. 58
July 7, 2009 Al Franken (D) was sworn in after the election dispute over the Minnesota seat was decided in his favor. Senator Kennedy continued to recuperate at his home in Massachusetts and was unable to cast any more votes; Senator Byrd was still in the hospital. The Senate had 56 sitting Democratic members and 2 Independents. 58
July 21, 2009 Senator Byrd returned to the Senate making the count 59 seats. No Senator Kennedy.
Senator Kennedy died August 25, 2009.
The Kennedy seat was vacant from August 25 - September 24 when Paul G. Kirk was appointed to occupy his seat until the completion of a special election. The swearing-in of Kirk gave the Democrats a 60-seat majority.
Democrats had a 60 seat majority from September 24, 2009 thru February 4, 2010 when Republican Scott Brown got the Kirk/Kennedy seat. 4 months; not 2 years!!
This does not account for the number of days Congress was not even in session during that time. If one subtracts the number of days Congress was out, the time that President Obama had a Democratic majority in Congress is further reduced by more than 30 days, or another full month.
Of a possible 94 legislative days during that period, the Senate was only in session for 67 days, while the House only labored for 54.
NNN0LHI
(67,190 posts)KharmaTrain
(31,706 posts)The beltway drinkie-drinkie class has no concept of nuance...they don't fit well onto bumper stickers and news headlines. Thus once a meme grabs on the chattering class won't let it go. McKinnon knows it...and plays the game well. He now claims to be an "independent" because he just can't get as nuts as the rest of the rushpublicans he used to work with and for. Thus he plays both ends against the middle and chooses whatever rhetoric serves his purpose and keeps him getting invites (and checks) for showing up on these shows.
Capt. Obvious
(9,002 posts)So he admits something got done.
spanone
(135,958 posts)a pal of george bush
Kahuna
(27,313 posts)non partisan ticket for president. I knew he was full of it the whole time.
coco77
(1,327 posts)and Dems usually don't respond. The Dems had a majority with repubs pretending to be Dems.