And it wasn't even "work hard," it was their "number one priority." Our nation was facing the worst financial crisis in 80 years, but their number one priority was getting the president out of office four years hence.
Don't you think that's a total lack of self responsibility? He's made me crazy? No he didn't. You decided to be crazy. But I don't completely place the blame of Trump supporters. I place more of the blame on GOP leadership. They went on a conscious sustained dangerous and extremist path of anti-knowledge, anti-science, anti-media, anti-obama, anti-Democrats...
Oh, don't get it twisted, I ABSOLUTELY blame the Republicans for Trump, they allowed it to happen. I'm just pointing out the factors that led to the political climate being so poisonous as to make it possible. Sure the country has had the most divisive president in modern history, but that's no excuse for allowing a con man to take over your party. Honestly they'd be in a much better position right now if they had been even slightly intelligent about who they allow to run for president on their party's ticket. Neither are really excusable. Obama for being an awful, divisive president, and the Republicans for losing their minds over his awful presidency and allowing the rise of a con man.
I agree. There hasn't been anything divisive about Obama's governance -- especially not divisive enough to cause Trump. What there has been is a 24-hour cable news network whose sole purpose has bent trumpet right-leaning and Republican causes. There has been screeching about death panels, birther conspiracies, questions about being a secret muslim, accusations of favoring the blacks and building secret black power police forces, etc. just for starters. Obama is a New Democrat who compromised everything uber-liberal for the sake of reaching agreement with Republicans. Obama didn't take seriously enough Mitch McConnell's words that the Republican objective was to make Obama a one-term president and thwart him at every turn. Obama's biggest critic was Paul Krugman, who was featured on the cover of Time Magazine with the heading "Obama is wrong" due to Obama's conservative economic policies. Well, he was the biggest critic until the right-wing political machine fully spun up. However, the anger and resentment Republican leadership stoked turned on them. The Karl Rove's and the David Frum's were too clever by half and found that instead of having certain media and forces working for them, the party was co-opted by Ailes' network and the wildfire of fear and know-nothingism. GOP leadership quickly lost control of the party to astroturf campaigns and powerful information networks feeding off the anger and resentment Rove et al thought they could manipulate to electoral victory. And all this was exacerbated by gridlocking government with historical levels of congressional obstruction. Even when Obama presented compromise legislation that even his own supporters hated for being too right-leaning, this Congress would refuse to budge. And this obstruction was occurring while the country was in the worst economic depression since the Great Depression and has continued during a long recovery period. It is no wonder people are hurting and angry. It is just sad that their anger is so misdirected and being exploited by a very cynical Donald Trump. Paul Manafort was long a member of the Republican establishment that pursued the Southern Strategy approach to politics. The core of Trump's campaign is division and racial resentment -- and it isn't by accident. The "Obama founded ISIS" and other claims of corruption by Trump are just him trying to re-ignite anti-liberal fury with no concern for the damage doing so does to our civil society.
This is Senate Leader McConnell's proudest moment? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/08/16/the-forgotten-nominee-merrick-garlands-fate-rests-on-forces-beyond-his-control/ McConnell embodies all that is wrong with partisan politics and the republican party.
Funny, but if a Democrat was telling a similar story about saying that to Bush, all Democrats would think differently of it and it wouldn't be out of character at all. The hypocrisy of posts like this is something I guess people just have to get used to.
*If*. Of course, we don't have to play an *if* game. McConnell *did* say it. He also said: The only thing hypocritical is your continued blaming of Obama for the republican unwillingness to work for the American people. And now you have Trump. Enjoy.
It's funny you say that given that the Republicans worked for the American people by going up against Obama and forcing him kicking and screaming to allow the congress to lower the annual deficit by a trillion dollars a year over the one he last voted for.....something that I've seen Democrats take credit for recently. In fact, most accomplishments by Democrat presidents have happened due to a Republican congress forcing them into it. With Clinton you have Welfare reform, a crime bill, and a budget surplus, all things forced on him by Republicans and all he did was not get in the way. With Obama, he took credit for withdrawing troops from Iraq which was something Bush did that he didn't get in the way of.....which ended up a bad thing, Obamacare which is a disaster already, and the Republicans lowering the deficit from the one Obama put in place. Who is it that is "working for the American people" again?
If the Senate flips, it will be most hilarious when Ms. Clinton nominates Mr. Obama. And I doubt that old w**** ever actually looked into Mr. Obama's eyes. He'd melt.
I'm sure he'll feel even prouder when he's confirming Garland during the lame-duck session after their November beat down.
Proof positive of your biased partisanship. When Republican presidents have results you don't like, blame those results on a Democrat Congress (as people have done ad nauseum trying to blame the financial crisis on Democrat policies), and when Democrat presidents have successes, give the credit to a Republican Congress. Hilarious.
No, it's just proof positive that I understand how government works.....and you clearly do not. I give credit to those who actually do things rather than just going by who happened to be sitting in the white house. I mean I guess they get some credit for not getting in the way, but when a president is outspoken against something, as Obama was when it comes to cutting the deficit, I can't give him credit for being forced into it. I mean, he went so far as to compare congressional Republicans to terrorists for forcing him to cut the deficit....how do we credit him for that? At the same time, the 1.4 trillion dollar deficit that congressional Democrats passed and Bush didn't veto, who gets responsibility for that? The Democrats for passing it, or Bush for not vetoing it? I'm not even a Republican, I just view them as the less harmful of the 2 bad parties so it's not a "partisan" issue, I just use my brain and I would hope you'd start to.
Yeah, what would I know? You should consider that, given my background, education, and posting history, I know dramatically more than most in the areas of business, economics, finance, and politics. Especially in the area of government, I'm dramatically more educated than you're ever likely to become. Because Obama the candidate never talked about cutting the deficit. http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Barack_Obama_Budget_+_Economy.htm While he was "outspoken" on the topic, it was in the opposite direction than your claim would indicate. No, he compared them to terrorists for threatening to take down the economy of the world by having the US default on our debt. Exactly, you give credit to Republicans for any positives and blame Democrats for negatives. In the situation you describe, both get a share of the blame, but that particular deficit was driven more by the financial crisis and its fallout than any other single cause. I already have. I have the ability to appropriately mete out blame and give out credit. You're the one who continually tells the lie that it was Obama who refused to work with Republicans when any reasonable observer knows that is nothing more than a pile of turds, straight off of Bullsh!t Mountain.
LOL, your delusions of competence are hilarious. Sure, but just last year in the state of the union speech Obama took credit for cutting the deficit by 2/3 during his tenure.....while omitting the part about how the only reason that is true is due to him voting to triple the deficit as part of the Democrat controlled 110th congress. And the reason why the congress was going to that extreme was to try and force Obama to compromise, something he is completely against. He wouldn't negotiate a compromise under any other circumstances, so they took it to the extreme. Even then they had to force any meaningful spending cuts against his objections and with him claiming that there would be dead seniors in the streets as a result of those spending cuts. I give credit to those who deserve credit, I give blame to those who deserve blame. One thing that Obama took credit for and he campaigned on was the idea that he pulled the troops from Iraq when it was really Bush who set that up and Obama just let it happen. Obama did everything in his power to take credit for that but I personally blame Bush for doing it.....and so do the Democrats now that it's obvious that was a bad thing. Not true, it was driven by massive spending increases that can't be blamed on the financial crisis. It wasn't tax income shortfalls caused by a recession, it was irresponsible spending. Well....sure, maybe you are already doing the best you can, but it's simply not good enough. Perhaps once you get off your knees and take Obama out of your mouth you'll start to do better. I don't know.
Always laugh when I read people that say "I am not a republican" and yet they only align themselves with every republican candidate and position. That way they never take responsibility or blame for their positions. When pressured, they may claim to have voted for Bill Clinton. And yet, despite protestations to the contrary, they will vote for Donald Trump come November.
I assume you are talking about me here despite what you said not actually applying to me. I don't align myself with every republican candidate or position, in fact I'm highly critical of Republicans in that I believe that they are a fiscally irresponsible party and I'm completely against almost everything the "evangelical Republicans" stand for because they are generally anti-civil liberty......that said, why would that make me support an even more fiscally irresponsible party who are also anti-civil liberty? 2+2 isn't 5, but that doesn't make it 50 either. I certainly didn't vote for Bill Clinton, and wouldn't have and I won't vote for Hillary either.......but that doesn't mean I'll vote for Trump, IMO that would be even worse. You seem to be a victim of small mindedness and binary thinking. Work on that, it'll make you a better person.
OK, lets test this... list things you give credit to President Obama. I have been highly critical of President Bush, but I can easily list five things he accomplished and/or deserve praise: 1. Very decent person, very likable, as President and since 2. Great family person... also Laura Bush was an awesome first lady and both of Bush daughters are extremely smart, accomplished and beautiful (credit to great parents). I also respect his relationship with his own parents. 3. He was awesome in pulling together the country immediately after 911. 4. The work he did in Africa for AIDs relief 5. I really respect his stance on Donald Trump, perhaps in part due to his loyalty to his brother. I am sure there are more... but those just off the top of my head. And while I can also list things I was critical of... I don't need to. Now lets see your list...
Well, I supported it when he normalized relations with Cuba. Other than that......well, I like that he makes an NCAA bracket every year and he's sometimes funny. That's really all I can think of, but well, he hasn't done a lot of positive things. I'd be interested in seeing someone else list his accomplishments that were actually his accomplishments (hint, he didn't legalize gay marriage, the conservative majority SCOTUS did)
