Back in February 2008, I ripped into Obama's "health care plan" as published on his web site, and in passing noted that pretty much every policy I saw posted there was a right-wing policy -- that is, Obama was basically a Republican, just not part of the Republican Party because of that whole white hoods thingy. Everybody told me I was crazy, a black man just had to be a liberal because he was, well, black, just like Jesse Jackson!
Well, I think we're pretty much past the point where it's clear that, idiotic natterings from the right wing peanut gallery about "socialism" aside (where they accuse Obama of being "socialist" for continuing the same pro-big-business policies of George W. Bush including continuing Bush's bailouts of banks and auto companies), Obama is, well, a right-wing conservative. His economic policies are right-wing. His health care plan was a Republican plan, for cryin' out loud, he's even admitted that himself, that he took a Republican plan (RomneyCare) that was designed by the Heritage Foundation and pushed that upon America (all natterings about "socialist healthcare" aside). And of course there's his Catfood Commission, which is intent upon making even catfood too expensive as a source of protein for America by implementing right-wing "austerity" economics guaranteed to plunge the country into a Greater Depression (next up in my recipe list: rat etoufee over rice, it's tasty!). And finally... Krugman states what we bloggers have been saying for a couple of years now: Obama is a conservative. A paleo-conservative like Pat Buchanan or George H.W. Bush, not an insane neo-conservative like the Bush crowd, but a conservative nonetheless, and because conservative economic policies are incapable of dealing with a depression, probably a one-term President like Jimmy Carter (another conservative Democrat whose conservative economic policies of cutting the deficit and deregulating industry were incapable of handling the economic situation he found himself in).
The sad thing is that the Democratic Party will decide that the answer to electing a righty who is accused of being a socialist by Republicans will be to nominate someone even more right-wing than Obama. That’s how the Democratic Party seems to work. If you lose elections because your candidates are basically Republicans in drag and folks prefer their Republicans straight-up, why, double-up on the stupid!
Sigh. WASF.
- Badtux the Walking-oddly Penguin
I fail to see why the Democrats think that being "Republican Lite" will be a winning strategy for them. It already cost them the House of Representatives in the 2010 congressional elections, yet it looks like Obama is all set to cave in on tax cuts for the wealthy as well as backing down on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Either the Democrats are spineless and incompetent or they are not actually trying very hard to oppose the conservatives because they truly agree with most of their policies because they get donations from the same corporate interests who oppose progressive legislation. It is a question of spineless incompetence versus attempting to appease the people that sign your soft money checks.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what the main reason is yet for the current strategy of Obama and the Democrats, but it is probably a mixture of both. It does not help things that every time people like you and I point out the massive shortcomings of the Democratic party, we are accused of being called "firebaggers" by the people who have stockholm syndrome with the current Democratic party.
Yes, the Republicans are so much worse, but it does not matter much anymore whether the Democrats have a minority or a super majority that controls two out of the three branches of government. They will still let the Republicans walk all over them.
The Republican party is the party of zombie ideas that keep rising from the dead no matter how many times they are shown wrong or defeated, and the Democratic party is the party of appeasement and capitulation to ensure that these zombie memes are enacted successfully by their political opponents.
Don't worry, guy. Preznit Obama's got our back. I'm sure that any minute now Preznit Obama is gonna crack down on the Republicans and... err... flog them with the limp noodle that substitutes for his spine?
ReplyDeleteWASF....
-- Badtux the Snarky Penguin
Neurovore -- the answer to your question is that Republicans & Democrats do not differ on their preferred policy outcomes. They only differ on the best way to get there. This is what passes as "strong political disagreement" these days.
ReplyDeleteBadtux -- your acronyms confuse me. Probably because I'm old-ish, I have to look them up every time. I've just about memorized LMAO & WTF, though, so I'm making progress.
One potentially awesome result of the insane attacks on Obama is that no matter how crazy left some future president could be, they could never make anyone believe he's more left than the Nazi Communist Socialist Fascist Muslim-Christian Kenyan usurper.
ReplyDeleteOf course, someone would actually have to come along that's actually liberal for the boy-who-cried-wolf effect to work.
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ReplyDeleteIt is a question of spineless incompetence versus attempting to appease the people that sign your soft money checks.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's easy. Go with the money.
. . . your acronyms confuse me.
The only non-standard one I see here is WASF - and I believe I can take credit (or blame - your choice) for it. We are SO fucked!
WASF,
JzB