Obama to Cave to GOP and Cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

I agree. Further I would like to rep the discussion on race and the presidencybetween juicysteam and Batman.

 

Now for another beef about Obama, who I still maintain is a Clinton clone, but without Clinton's elective experience or importantly loyalty to the Democratic Party, though Clinton, too through the triangualting thingy failed to transfer much of his personal popularity to the party. Whether the party merits loyalty for a progressive I'll just assume, though with a "leader" like a Obama and the move to being the junior coroporate party this is increasingly debatable.

Obama by caving on ss benefit levels or COLAs, which is the same, hurts old folks on social security, many of whom are not much better off than folks on welfare and further without the possible health to do better in the future. This reduction in benefits is definitely not necessary politically and so I think Batman should not favor Obama over Clinton on this issue.

Democratic Reps and Senators, many with much more experience than the newcomer Obama further know that this cave is very bad politics. The GOP has handed them a clear winning issue. In addition it was a second chance for Obama to clearly signal he is for main street and not just Wall Street-- an issue to build a movemment around. This is not for Obama, the anti-populist. He prefers to deal on the golf course with Boehner. Obama is pissing it away for an attempt to squeak through and win the election with the elusive undecided voters-- who unsurprisingly like bi-partisanship. Of course such a compromise is also within his comfort zone as the neutral facilitator guy. Obama is throwing the party and the senators and the reps under the bus and will then claim as he seems to often that he doesn' t have the votes to do anything. Obama needs to get beyond the Wall Street/ Ivy ghetto he obviously feels most comfortable in and listen to the experienced elder POLITICIANS of his party.

Thank God we did not have an Obama, but a leader type like Roosevelt during the Great Depression the last time we had a major crisis, though granted it was more severe. If Obama wins relelection through such issueless maneurvering apealing to the undecideds and pleasing Wall Street enough to once again pull more of their electioninvesting than the GOP he will have no coat tails he will be even more of a place holder next term perhaps without the senate as well.

 

Be tired of calling it "social security cuts" if you wish. They are cuts over what is currently promised and to be expected without the changes. If the checks are going to be lowered by Obama's scheme, if you are correct, in the reductions you cite, it is a "cut" in common language.

Yes, I have problems raisng the retirment age. Not everyone is an office worker like you and me.

How many 69 year old Texas roofers do you know? There are a limted number of Walmart greeters and many old roofers don't have the personality for it.

I also have problems with lowering COLA's from what thye are now. Many people are barely making it without having their checks cut in the future.

Will some changes need to be made some day? Perhaps, but not now. Not before we remove the caps on FICA for higher wage earners. Not before we consider higher taxes for higher wage earners etc.

 

Obama is above his pay scale. He should be the mediator for the NBA. Not the Commisioner as he has no leadership qualities. He just likes to be the facilitator.
The president is supposed to be a leader. The public wanted change so they took a chance on an inexperienced young black guy and they got fooled. Fortunately he is not a total disaster like Dubya , could have been worse, just not what they needed or voted for.

If he succeeds in his plan to raise the Medicare age to 67 he will largely negate any positive from his corporate dominated health plan and will be reduced to more or less Bush I status as far as I am concerned. A more moderate warmonger than Dubya. And, yes, raising the age of Medicare is unnecessary and mean.

The Dems and this country did not need such a guy. We needed a balance to the Right who destroyed the middle class. We are left with just the positive of America having its first black president as his major contribution to American society. Hooverism and trickle up have slowed a bit during his term, over what McCain would have done, but that is about it under Obama and he is still moving right.

Obama is just kicking the can down the road as a real Democrat must arise to take on the corporatists sooner or later if we are returned to a decent country for the majority.

We need a Democratic primary challenger to educate folks and give them hope and to keep the faciliator from moving even further to the right and gettng worse deals.

 

Taibbi nails it. Obama wants a right wing budget deal. He thinks it helps his reelection chances. Throw old folks under the bus; like he throws the troops remaining in Iraq and Afghanistan under the bus. They are just bargaing chips for Obama and the quest for a second term.
*********

http://www.rollingstone.com/politic...esnt-want-a-progressive-deficit-deal-20110711
But what is becoming equally obvious, to both sides, is that the Obama White House is using this same artificial calamity to pitch its own increasingly rightward tilt to voters in advance of the 2012 elections.

It has been extremely interesting in the last weeks to see observers on both sides of the aisle make this point. Just yesterday, the inimitable New York Times conservative Ross Douthat listed Obama's not-so-secret rightward push as a the first in a list of reasons why the Republicans should dig in even more, instead of making a sensible deal: