The Daily Show brutally captures Obama’s familiar trajectory. He dangles some feature that is popular with his base as an important, even essential, part of a deal that also gives huge benefits to the oligarchs, and then at the last moment gives it up in return for some window dressing. We saw that before with the single payer and public options in the health care reform debate.
Yes, nobody could have seen it coming.
Keith Olbermann also weighs in on the deal, in his usual shrill way, essentially calling on people to revolt. (Thanks to Chris.)
Wonderful stuff from Olberman. I miss him on MSNBC; his replacement is an unabashed Obama fanboy.
Next insult: the corporate tax holiday for repatriation of profits currently stashed in offshore tax havens. Matt Taibbi thought it might be part of the debt deal, but I haven’t seen anything to that effect. They probably want to do it sotto voce.
To be intellectually honest, President O did NOT foresee losing the 60’th seat in the Senate. So the Health Care Bill had to be the Senate Bill as written. Note that the House Bill (that passed) had a public option in it.
So where I agree that President O is really a kind of moderate conservative (by the standards of 30 years ago), he is in today’s center due to the right wing being so far right.
Ollie,
If I remember correctly, the APA was passed before Scott Brown took his seat in the Senate, so Obama had 60 votes.
He also had the option of using the reconciliation process (which requires a simple majority even in the senate) to pass it.
But more than that was how quickly Obama abandoned support for the single payer and public options.
Rep. Conyers (D-MI) just got shrill. He’s even calling for a mass demonstration in front of the White House. Wasn’t Conyers the first major politician to endorse Obama’s presidential run?
Wonderful stuff from Olberman. I miss him on MSNBC; his replacement is an unabashed Obama fanboy.
So where I agree that President O is really a kind of moderate conservative (by the standards of 30 years ago), he is in today’s center due to the right wing being so far right.