Conyers: Obama Is Sucking Up To The Wrong People
Just like we here outside the Beltway Bubble, sometimes you've just had enough and there's no more need for diplomacy:
President Barack Obama is “getting bad advice from… clowns” on Afghanistan and “sucking up to the wrong people” on health care, U.S. Rep. John Conyers told a Detroit radio audience this morning, according to show host Rev. Horace Sheffield.
Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, made the comments during a discussion about the effects of the economic recession on the urban poor, Sheffield said. The liberal congressman expressed frustration that health care legislation pending in Washington, D.C., was too solicitous of insurance companies and special interests, Sheffield said.
“He wasn’t angry. He was just deeply concerned that some of the issues being focused on don’t address the human reality,” said Sheffield, who hosts the program “On The Line” on WGPR-FM radio.
Amen.
isn't the only one in the caucus that rides O's ass, he needs a lot of riding
Patronizing people who never intend to support him and will do anything to make sure he fails.
while, but they were treated as if they were somehow "traitors to the cause."
What Obama has managed to convey to me is that Bush's reign of terror wasn't nearly as bad as we thought, if a Democratic president can hold the same Constitutionally-destructive and unlawful Republican objectives and agendas and America doesn't immediately fall apart.
I think we won't feel the heat until it falls apart under Obama's administration, and then it will be too late.
Bush had those powers AND used them. Obama so far has not used them even if he has them. That to me is a very very very significant distinction.
It does not make it right, but certainly the people hell bent in equating both administrations, trying to desperately whitewash Bush in some cases, need a more realistic approach to their criticism IMHO.
Obama certainly HAS used the "unitary executive" principles set forth by Bush and does not intend to render them null and void, while continuing to wage imperialistic wars and violate international human rights laws.
But see, no harm done, because it's a Democratic president utilizing these principles.
thanks.
Divided We Stand
United We Fall
Glenn Greenwald has written extensively about Obama's shocking adherence to Bush's doctrines. As one commenter in the above-linked piece says:
for an actual documented example of Obama using the illegal powers Bush got.
Do I have to ask again?
if you want to bury your head in the sand despite all the examples of Obama's adherence to the Bush doctrines, who am I to argue with you? But the truth has only one set of facts, and that is that Obama certainly has followed closely in Bush's footsteps.
As I say, for some this means that the "meaning" of following that unlawful Bush agenda is different for Democrats than for Republicans, therefore okay.
not provide the example I requested and instead went on a tangential "rhetorical" (get it?) excursion regarding my character.
I am not burying my head anywhere. I just requested an actual factual example of the accusations. That is all...
I am just looking for facts. Not empty rhetoric dressed as hyperbole from both: the "Obama can't do anything wrong" angry pompom squad, and the detached from reality cries from the "Obama can't get anything right" chicken little collective.
I gave you a lead to just one example and am very perplexed about why you think I addressed your character. Here it is again:
Obama's latest use of "secrecy" to shield presidential lawbreaking
What was once depicted as a grave act of lawlessness -- Bush's NSA program -- is now deemed a vital state secret by the Obama administration.
thank you. Was it that hard?
I don't appreciate it. That's exactly the example I gave you in the beginning.
I simply asked for an actual example, not someone's opinion in a blog.
I am interested in facts, not other people's opinion.
IMHO
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
..his enemies.
They ARE his enemies. They have CHOSEN to BE his enemy. They live to oppose him. Fuck them. Get some work done, Mr. President.
"We understand that health care reform w/out a public option is a sham!" "Do you understand the importance of your Democratic base in future elections?"
Best Regards,
John Conyers and the "peeps"
...to a one term president. He's turned me off.. his campaign slogans of change and healthcare reform turn out to be the same-O BS and no better than his predecessor.
I'm sure the Independents are probably up to here with him already. I may not vote against him but I certainly will NOT vote for him... even if Palin runs against him... I'll just stay home. Good by Obama..., and if the door hits you in the ass so much the better!
But no better than Bush? Come on...
But no better than Bush is what you get from some folks.
I just don't think they understand how bad Bush was.
The mess we are in isn't becuase of what Obama has or hasn't done but some will see it that way.
UGH!
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
We know it was Liebermann who gave us Bush in 00 and it was payback when Obama supported him in 06.
Truf to powder. More spine, more spinach, Kucinich!
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
asked me this: "He's not 'the one?'" I had to tell her he isn't. I am sorry about that, but not sorry enough to ignore reality.
... then it is our duty to make him the one. Politics is not an spectator's sport, our involvement with fixing the past eight years of hell does not stop on election day.
If Mr. Obama does not do the correct thing, then very simple: we need to put pressure on him so he does. Far from ideal, I know, and sure a lot of marketing BS with all that "hope and change" But I much rather have a democrat in the whitehouse than having another repug to deal with, because then we would be completely SOL.
We also need to work so that we are not stuck with another election cycle in which we have to be forced to elect the evil of two lessers ;-). And that takes both: time, effort, and the notion that we can't simply leave it as an after though come 4 years into the future. We need to start implementing real, meaningful change, from the ground up. Starting with local politics, and moving on up... as to make these bozos in DC irrelevant in the long run if they decide to listen to their corporate buddies rather than the ones who pay their salaries: us.
So as I said, far from ideal. But I much rather have Obama in the whitehouse right now, which provides us with some level of stability to start working on a meaningful change/reform... than having to be put through the grinder of another 4 years of republican hell.
bien
You know, Bill Clinton, in response to DADT and DOMA, blamed "we the people" for not raising enough hell on these issues. To me, it seems a weak argument, but I will not make the same mistake again. I will ride this President, not sparing the crop, until greatness is achieved, no matter how hard he resists.
Of course he is 100 times better than Bush and at least that much better than McCain/Palin would have been.
We have to realize that politicians, like many folks in life, will do just enough to get by. It is up to us to make sure they understand this is unacceptable and we expect more.
.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
there are lots and lots of people that supported Obama that feel as you do. If this is change, it is the ultimate insult to all of us.
should write Obama a strongly worded letter right away!
Obama Been Naughty
"If the President can simply use "secrecy" claims to block courts from ruling on whether he broke the law, then what checks or limits exist on the President's power to spy illegally on Americans or commit other crimes in a classified setting? By definition, there are none. That's what made this distortion of the "state secrets" privilege so dangerous when Bush used it, and it's what makes it so dangerous now."
Hopefuly this is only the beginning of having others open up and tell obama he's on the wrong path.
See list of campaign contributions.
in Afganistan now. We have not sent our troops there to find OBL, ferret out so-called terrorists, or bring democracy to the Islamic countries (as if we know anything about democracy?!). We are there (and in Iraq)killing hundreds of thousand of innocents, for no other reason than to secure oil, gas and opium resources to enrich the oligarchs and spread US imperial hegemony.
So many people, suffering so much, for so long - we should be ashamed.
And Cheney, Bush and all of the neo-cons who initially perpetrated the acts and lies that got us into this, as well as the folks in the Obama administration and Congress who seem bent on perpetuating this farce, should all be marched to the Hague -sooner rather than later - along with the CEOs of all the MIC corporations.
Chris Hedges:
"The uplifting narratives used to justify the war in Afghanistan are pathetic attempts to redeem acts of senseless brutality."
"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of Stupidity" - Frank Leahy
you've said it all.
A few months ago the response to nearly every post above would have been "So you're a Bush supporter. So you would have voted for McCain. So why don't you vote for Palin next term.?"
Not one mention above about how hopelessly broke the two party system really is. No mention of campaign finance reform, or that there are powers larger than the president who will force the hand of whoever we get into office.
YOU really are a bush supporter?
(sorry I couldn't resist)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Obama as a suck up - intersting visual.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
The bitter reluctance this President has to hold anyone accountable, be it Lieberman's lying and betrayal, Reid's utter lack of leadership or the previous administration's war crimes, is getting more than tiresome. It's down right dangerous to the future of our country.
The President's agenda in his continuously fruitless effort to appease GOP thugs is getting lost in the worst of the GOP's thuggery talking points, lies and obstruction driving today's media and in the process, losing core voters for the midterms. What Democrat in local/regional elections can say "Change" now and be taken seriously?
What would be best is to wake up one morning very soon(!) to hear that the President has fired Rahm, called for Harry's replacement, comes out blazing for single payer and demands full Congressional investigations into BushCo war crimes and FISA abuse - Republicans be damned!
Ha! NEVER gonna happen. To bad, so sad for us.
Obama is being attacked from both the right and the left - where do you expect he should go?
He is right where we all put him.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Obviously he should listen to the left - we elected him.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
of the liberal persuasion, and would like Obama to follow suit.
However, I take issue with claiming how Obama is being attacked by the left. If we consider criticism of Obama derived from the desire of some of us to see him succeed, with the actual attacks by the right fueled by their desire to see him fail not matter what (even if it means taking the whole country with him)... then there is no reasonable debate on these matters IMHO.
Obama is human, and as such he is bound to do some stupid things. People letting him know when he is doing something wrong, in hopes he rectifies so that he can come on top, is not in any way shape or form the same as the people who attack him just for who he is.
The President is where he is today because he is a man who believes deeply in the democratic process. That process helped him bring two different sides together to find a solution to problems in Chicago and that mindset took him all the way to the White House. It worked because BOTH SIDES wanted to find a solution. Both sides participated in the process. It was and still is a noble way of thinking.
But, the fact is today that the GOP Thugs are demeaning and removing themselves from the very democratic processes that have sustained this country for hundreds of years. They don't want solutions. As a minority party - they don't want to play! They want the President to fail and they are acting upon that come hell or high water. Literally!
The fault of the President here is that he has FAILED to realize and accept this new state of GOP being today. Failed to adapt to this reality.
As the late, great Molly Ivin's used to say, in politics, you dance with the one that brung ya. He should be walking hand in hand with the Progressives that made last November possible.
He refuses to do that.
"The fault of the President here is that he has FAILED to realize "
Not possible. He would have to be stupid to still not realize. Is Obama stupid? NNNNNNOPE.
"He refuses to do that."
WHY does he refuse to do that? Throw all stock answers away, remember how smart he is, note all the smart experienced people who surround him, and ask yourself for real. He's about 40 betrayals past deserving the benefit of your doubts.
This President IS smart. But he is also a man of deeply held beliefs. The most important here is his belief in democratic processes. It goes against his nature to act in a way that is contrary to that mindset. But I say again, you can't govern in a two party system when the other party refuses to participate. The GOP has proven this. The President has failed to accept that reality. He must adapt. Period.
The political realities in this country only allow for a short time to truly govern before midterms and other political forces take hold. He has wasted considerable time fruitlessly attempting to include a party that does not want to be included and as a result, accountability has gone by the wayside.
GOP favorabilities ratings have tanked. FOX, the AM shouters, the tea-baggers, and the GOP congress are seen as loons and basically against anything that might be good for the country. The party of "no".
He had to try to be bipartisan, it is what he ran on, and he had to give it a fair shot.
Don't get me wrong, no public option means I may not vote in the next couple elections, but I would not call what he has done so far, "fruitless". I would say that he has governed from a centrist position and has villified the oposition.
The President DID have to try. Without question, he had to try. He is smart and a man of principle and he absolutely had to try.
But, to borrow a phrase: the GOP well is dry. You can't get water from an empty well.
he doesn't see what Republican John Dean wrote in his book.. GOP Thugs are "authority driven". Its their nature. In politics, the old saying goes, "Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line."
If the President really wants to include Republicans in future democratic processes they now shun, he needs to succeed in bringing forth the Progressive changes this country voted for in November - now. Today.
The GOP won't like it but--they will respect it and if they want to survive politically, they will engage in the process once again.
And called for Lieberman to be recalled.
Can you recall u.s. senators? And give Lieb's gavel to a democrat! A GOOD democrat.
http://contribute.chron.com/ver1.0/Content/im...
sums up any disagreement with Obama
Oh, man. Thank you (:D
I recently read a David Sirota article in which he quoted himself from 2006:
"Obama's major fault is that he tries to appease his opposition."
And that sucks.
Thanks John Conyers for saying what a lot of us have been saying privately for months and publicly for weeks.
Obama's fail is gonna really turn off the electorate big time.
When will government of the people, by the politicians, for the corporations perish from this Earth?
Not soon enough!
More than likely the REAL powers that be in this nation (the military?) have probably made it clear (i.e., threatened) the President or his family and have cited many past examples of what happens to those who do not heed their warning... paranoid? Just a tad.
All those empty buildings in detroit could be used for Bio-Fuel processing. A mixture of hemp sead oil, use vegetable oil, ethanol from the extra hemp fibres or switch grass.
All the high winds, in thatv area could power the factorys, get to work, bring them troops back have them do that a while to chill out, let them smoke some of that low grade crap too.
fema detention centers. sorry, but they are already accounted for.
don't ask me I do give a damn
my next stop is the ATM
it is now ok for those of us on the left to complain about obama?
i have been biting my lip since the first month.
Yes now after the sham health care , we will move to some strange "on the cheap" milatary set up, called Ending the War! ...not ending anything but the 100k dollar bombs dropping every where.
Don't wait for it to be OK!
I know you're not really. And don't just complain here. OK?
lol@your handle.
I don't know why they insist that Obama is just "making mistakes" in his presidency. He knows exactly what he's doing. It's deliberate, not some fevered hunger for bipartisanship at all. Cuz if it was, then that would mean he's stupid. Is Obama stupid? I don't think so.
Weak, yes. WEAK is the least damning word I've got for it, but I don't believe that either, because nobody is this weak.
Obama-Emanuel are doing EXACTLY what they want to do, just like Bush-Cheney did, right in the shocked faces of the People, who can do nothing BUT stand there looking shocked, with so many of our powers gone.
Nothing has changed, including us. But we can change that! We have the power to deliver a nasty surprise. That's the only thing we should be thinking about right now: the nasty surprises they're going to get in reply to the nasty ones they gave us.
doing, which is bending to the will of the corporations and big money while pretending to be for the people.
They know, by the time they get done with us, we won't have a pot to P in. which leaves only big money for re-election purposes.
Merry Christmas!
Disappointed.
...the good little corporatist we all knew he was when he voted in favor of telecom immunity. We knew what we were getting and he is proving to be nothing more.
If you want progress, you need progressives in office. We don't have nearly enough in the House or Senate and we certainly don't have anything remotely progressive in the White House.
Conyers is no hero himself. In fact, he tabled in committee Kucinich's articles of impeachment and, right alongside Pelosi, ignored hundreds of thousands of petitioners calling for a real investigation into the handling of pre-Iraq invasion intelligence. President Obama is a disappointment in that he is holding so close to the innane idea that wingnuts can be negotiated with, but I wouldn't say he's sucking up. He's just a centrist who has not much spice, I'm afraid.
But so is Conyers.
was when he called the capitol police on the people, who had committed the "crime" of telling him to do his damned job to his own face.
Conyers is a little turd who is simply wetting his finger to figure out where the wind is blowing now that election time is once again looming in his little district... I rather have Mr. Conyers clean up his own household (Apparently Mrs. Conyers is herself quite the little turdish piece of work) and stick to what he does best: cut and paste fruitless "strong worded" non binding letters.
Screw him and the two-faced horse he rode in.
spineless!
as much, if it weren't for the fact that they show a selective growth of backbone only when it comes to undermine their supposed base: liberals.
They always seem to "err" towards the conservative spectrum of policy, All purely by chance I assume. Right? ;-)
Here we are talking about upholding the law as if it takes a lot of courage to do. I mean, the law is there. Just follow it, that's all. Even a spineless bastard like Conyers could do that.
I use to like John Conyers, I thought he was a fighter. I could not understand why he gave Karl Rove a pass. He should have sent the capitol police after Rove and forced him to come and testify. But now we all know the problems his wife was having. It makes me wonder about John.
John Pilger, talk before Socialism 2009, Obama and Empire here
statusquObama, change you can only pretend in
This is included from the source:
"U.S. Rep. John Conyers told a Detroit radio audience this morning, according to show host Rev. Horace Sheffield."
This is not included from the source:
"According to a news release from Sheffield, Conyers said:.....
Conyers, an early supporter of Obama’s presidential bid in 2007, could not be reached for comment Saturday afternoon."
Horace Sheffield could be the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. for all I know. Or he could be Rev. Pat Robertson. But we'll have to take his word for it that Conyers was even on his show.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
You go John.
I like John, I just wish he would have not stalled on impeaching Bush so that kinda knocks him down a couple of notches in my book. Why are some so suprised or disappointed about Obama? We knew what he was when we elected him, a corporate democrat. If you really thought you were going to get a true blue progressive perhaps you should have thought again, his votes on telcom immunity late during the campaign last year should have given you a clue. A lot of us thought when he said he was going to continue the war, we thought he was just saying that to seem like a " Conservative, Mr. Tough Guy" so the republicans wouldn't call him weak on defense to try to derail his campaign, but in reality would end these wars once he got in office, but that doesn't look like that is going to happen. We will have to suck it up and hope Obama listens to us on some issues but that looks unlikely as well. As much as I don't agree with a lot of things Obama is doing, another republican administration coming in just downright scares me especially if the last eight years becomes the standard norm of any successor republican administration.
Even with my disenchantment, believe me, I am never going to vote for a republican. It makes me wonder what the current batch of ultra wingnuts think is going to happen, rallying the most extreme fringe element of their party against Obama while embarrassing and alienating the more traditional element. If they're losing members of their own party, do they think Democratic voters are going to flock to them if Obama fails? Nutcakes!
He said it all during the Bush administration. Conyers says what he thinks he has to say to stay in office. He was full of big talk and no action - no different from most politicians, except back then I was still innocent enough to believe him and send him money and support.
Once burned, twice shy. John says whatever he needs to say - it doesn't have much apparent relationship with the truth. If I want information, I'll get it from somebody else.
Obama lost my trust with the FISA vote. I still voted for him but I do not trust him to do what is best for us. I believe he'll do what is best for himself and his party.
Not much different from Conyers, really.
UNDERSTATEMENT!
NOBODY 2012
“He wasn’t angry. He was just deeply concerned that some of the issues being focused on don’t address the human reality,” said Sheffield, who hosts the program “On The Line” on WGPR-FM radio.
Yeah. That's what we would _really_ hate. A politician who actually has an emotional reaction to the bleeding dry of the American people this decade.
With "concern" I'm sure Conyers can continue to feel adequately satisfied with business as usual and enjoy his job.
God, I hate political polite talk while Rome burns.
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