The Obama Vitriol Puzzles Me
I am honestly quite puzzled why there is this great hatred for Barack Obama right now. I just don't get it. If you ask people about him, the only thing they tend to see is that he is a "poor leader" or "has no balls". Stuff along those lines that really is meaningless.
When you asked me why I didn't like George W. Bush and his cohorts, I always had a ready answer that included some of the following:
On his watch, we were attacked on our own soil. Yes, the prior administration can bear a bit of the blame for this, but let's not forget that the Bush White House received CLEAR AND PERSISTENT warnings prior to 9/11. They were ignored. If this had happened on Obama's watch, you can bet impeachment proceedings would be underway.
Bush and his entire family have always been in bed with the Saudi's, as evidenced by multiple photos of Bush and his old man walking hand-in-hand with those guys like lovers. Can you even imagine the reaction if Obama had been photographed in a similar clench? Me neither. And from what country did virutally all of the hijackers hail? Take a guess.
The members of Bush's cabinet, the men who advised him and us to attack Iraq, were profiteers who's firms made a huge fortune off that war. We're talking Haliburton and others. This RIDICULOUS conflict of interests was, to me, one of the worst examples of government corruption in the history of the Republic, yet Bush and all his cronies received a free pass on this. If this had been Obama, he would have been fucking arrested or shot.
Our budget was balanced and in great shape the day Dubya took office (you could look it up). In just eight years, he managed to fuck the entire thing up beyond recognition and increase our debt exponentially. He left Obama with a gigantic debt load, like a gambler who spends a week at the tables and then goes home and presents his wife with the bills.
Bush was the guy (yes, admittedly with ill-conceived bi-partisan support) who got the incredibly mis-named Patriot Act passed. This piece of legislation has done more to undermine our liberties than any single law in the history of the land. Obama is rightly being buried on this point, but where was the similar consternation when Bush got the Act passed and enforced it on a daily basis? There was none.
Under Bush's watch, this country suffered an unprecdented housing crisis that he was unable to stop. It was a complete and total financial disaster for homeowners everywhere. Yes, again, the prior administration must take a modicum of the blame for this situation, as lending laws changed under Clinton were a major factor in this. But Bush did NOTHING to try and stop or fix it while he was in office. Nothing.
Under Bush's watch, the ENTIRE ECONOMY almost collapsed, as major financial institutions were on the brink of failure. Again, Bush was completely ineffective in his efforts to stop this from happening. And THIS was the colossal mess Obama inherited in 2008. It was Obama's efforts, and the efforts of others in his cabinet, that helped stop the entire economy from going over the cliff. Yet instead of recognizing this, people choose to forget where the whole thing started. They blame the entire thing on Obama, which is a fucking joke.
So what, pray tell, has Obama done that comes even remotely close to the horror show described above?
You COULD argue that Obama has not done enough to fix the economy, though all indicators clearly show that we are in MUCH better position here in 2014 than we had been in 2008.
Republicans LOVE to bitch and moan about the welfare state we have, and how those nasty poor people are taking advantage of the system. But I submit to you that if the system has gotten worse (this is in great dispute, of course), it is simply a continuation of a situation created by the 2008 mess Bush foisted upon us. Again, you can argue that Obama has not done enough to fix things, but to pin the blame on him is just folly. He didn't create this mess, he INHERITED this mess.
You COULD argue that the AHCA has been a disaster and that it has ruined our healthcare system. But you would be WRONG. The healthcare system was broken BEFORE the AHCA, with soaring prices, refused coverages, and very sick people losing their asses because of their illnesses. Though it is far from perfect, the AHCA has eliminated many of those issues. A single-payer system (like the REST Of the world has) would have been a much better solution, but of course, the Republicans blocked that in support of their buddies in the insurance industry. Nice work, fellas.
And keep in mind that Obama has been saddled with the worse, statistically most ineffective Congress in history. All these guys want to do is make the administration look bad at all costs. They don't give a flying fuck if it hurts all of us. If they can make Obama & Co. look ineffective, then they believe they will win the next election. This been their STATED position since the day the guy was elected, and it is their STATED position today. Fuck "O" at all costs, and let US pay the price. If he has been able to get ANYTHING done in the face of this unprecedented obstructionism is simply amazing.
If you had asked me what MY problems with Obama are, I would cite the following:
He has continued Bush's work when it comes to the Patriot Act. He spys on Americans, commits heinous acts with drones abroad, and has failed to remove us from Afghanistan in a timely fashion as promised. Further, his record on the environment has been weaker than I would have hoped, though again, he his been somewhat hamstrung here by Congress. But he has RESISTED the urge to get us into another war on his watch, and that is valuable. The stock market has SOARED during his tenure, and that is good. The economy, though it could certainly NOT be described as "healthy", is clearly way better than it was the day he walked into the Oval Office.
And let's also not forget the incredibly BAD choices the Republicans offered us in the prior two elections. John McCain with SARAH PALIN? We were REALLY supposed to vote for THAT idiot?? Then here comes Mitt Romney, a big nothing who spent his entire life gutting American companies for profit and was HATED in his home state. And the one GOOD thing the guy did was create a universal health program in Massachusetts, and program he then decried in the 2012 election because Obama thought it was a good idea. THAT is leadership?? Don't think so.
So I guess my message to the Republicans is basically "shut the fuck up and show me something better." You fucktards have offered exactly ZERO solutions to ANY of the problems this country is facing. Instead, all your party has done is bitch and moan about what Obama is trying to do without offering a SINGLE constructive alternative. Anybody who is in business understands that quoting problems and complaints without offering suggestions as to how to fix them is simply unacceptable. Yet these morons have done nothing BUT that for the past six years. It is embarrassing, counter-productive and just plain mean.
So now you have a majority in both houses, dickheads. We can watch what you do -- or DON'T do -- for the next two years. I expect nothing from you, as your history has shown that is exactly what you can do: nada. Prove me wrong, or be prepared to vacant your position of power during the 2016 elections. It's that simple.
When you asked me why I didn't like George W. Bush and his cohorts, I always had a ready answer that included some of the following:
On his watch, we were attacked on our own soil. Yes, the prior administration can bear a bit of the blame for this, but let's not forget that the Bush White House received CLEAR AND PERSISTENT warnings prior to 9/11. They were ignored. If this had happened on Obama's watch, you can bet impeachment proceedings would be underway.
Bush and his entire family have always been in bed with the Saudi's, as evidenced by multiple photos of Bush and his old man walking hand-in-hand with those guys like lovers. Can you even imagine the reaction if Obama had been photographed in a similar clench? Me neither. And from what country did virutally all of the hijackers hail? Take a guess.
The members of Bush's cabinet, the men who advised him and us to attack Iraq, were profiteers who's firms made a huge fortune off that war. We're talking Haliburton and others. This RIDICULOUS conflict of interests was, to me, one of the worst examples of government corruption in the history of the Republic, yet Bush and all his cronies received a free pass on this. If this had been Obama, he would have been fucking arrested or shot.
Our budget was balanced and in great shape the day Dubya took office (you could look it up). In just eight years, he managed to fuck the entire thing up beyond recognition and increase our debt exponentially. He left Obama with a gigantic debt load, like a gambler who spends a week at the tables and then goes home and presents his wife with the bills.
Bush was the guy (yes, admittedly with ill-conceived bi-partisan support) who got the incredibly mis-named Patriot Act passed. This piece of legislation has done more to undermine our liberties than any single law in the history of the land. Obama is rightly being buried on this point, but where was the similar consternation when Bush got the Act passed and enforced it on a daily basis? There was none.
Under Bush's watch, this country suffered an unprecdented housing crisis that he was unable to stop. It was a complete and total financial disaster for homeowners everywhere. Yes, again, the prior administration must take a modicum of the blame for this situation, as lending laws changed under Clinton were a major factor in this. But Bush did NOTHING to try and stop or fix it while he was in office. Nothing.
Under Bush's watch, the ENTIRE ECONOMY almost collapsed, as major financial institutions were on the brink of failure. Again, Bush was completely ineffective in his efforts to stop this from happening. And THIS was the colossal mess Obama inherited in 2008. It was Obama's efforts, and the efforts of others in his cabinet, that helped stop the entire economy from going over the cliff. Yet instead of recognizing this, people choose to forget where the whole thing started. They blame the entire thing on Obama, which is a fucking joke.
So what, pray tell, has Obama done that comes even remotely close to the horror show described above?
You COULD argue that Obama has not done enough to fix the economy, though all indicators clearly show that we are in MUCH better position here in 2014 than we had been in 2008.
Republicans LOVE to bitch and moan about the welfare state we have, and how those nasty poor people are taking advantage of the system. But I submit to you that if the system has gotten worse (this is in great dispute, of course), it is simply a continuation of a situation created by the 2008 mess Bush foisted upon us. Again, you can argue that Obama has not done enough to fix things, but to pin the blame on him is just folly. He didn't create this mess, he INHERITED this mess.
You COULD argue that the AHCA has been a disaster and that it has ruined our healthcare system. But you would be WRONG. The healthcare system was broken BEFORE the AHCA, with soaring prices, refused coverages, and very sick people losing their asses because of their illnesses. Though it is far from perfect, the AHCA has eliminated many of those issues. A single-payer system (like the REST Of the world has) would have been a much better solution, but of course, the Republicans blocked that in support of their buddies in the insurance industry. Nice work, fellas.
And keep in mind that Obama has been saddled with the worse, statistically most ineffective Congress in history. All these guys want to do is make the administration look bad at all costs. They don't give a flying fuck if it hurts all of us. If they can make Obama & Co. look ineffective, then they believe they will win the next election. This been their STATED position since the day the guy was elected, and it is their STATED position today. Fuck "O" at all costs, and let US pay the price. If he has been able to get ANYTHING done in the face of this unprecedented obstructionism is simply amazing.
If you had asked me what MY problems with Obama are, I would cite the following:
He has continued Bush's work when it comes to the Patriot Act. He spys on Americans, commits heinous acts with drones abroad, and has failed to remove us from Afghanistan in a timely fashion as promised. Further, his record on the environment has been weaker than I would have hoped, though again, he his been somewhat hamstrung here by Congress. But he has RESISTED the urge to get us into another war on his watch, and that is valuable. The stock market has SOARED during his tenure, and that is good. The economy, though it could certainly NOT be described as "healthy", is clearly way better than it was the day he walked into the Oval Office.
And let's also not forget the incredibly BAD choices the Republicans offered us in the prior two elections. John McCain with SARAH PALIN? We were REALLY supposed to vote for THAT idiot?? Then here comes Mitt Romney, a big nothing who spent his entire life gutting American companies for profit and was HATED in his home state. And the one GOOD thing the guy did was create a universal health program in Massachusetts, and program he then decried in the 2012 election because Obama thought it was a good idea. THAT is leadership?? Don't think so.
So I guess my message to the Republicans is basically "shut the fuck up and show me something better." You fucktards have offered exactly ZERO solutions to ANY of the problems this country is facing. Instead, all your party has done is bitch and moan about what Obama is trying to do without offering a SINGLE constructive alternative. Anybody who is in business understands that quoting problems and complaints without offering suggestions as to how to fix them is simply unacceptable. Yet these morons have done nothing BUT that for the past six years. It is embarrassing, counter-productive and just plain mean.
So now you have a majority in both houses, dickheads. We can watch what you do -- or DON'T do -- for the next two years. I expect nothing from you, as your history has shown that is exactly what you can do: nada. Prove me wrong, or be prepared to vacant your position of power during the 2016 elections. It's that simple.
posted by Nick Frese at 12:00 PM
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