When did the Republican Party become the conservative party? In the primary each candidate bragged about how conservative they were. The reply should have been I am not a conservative I am a Republican. I am pro-business, practical and I don’t believe that the government should do things for people that they can do for themselves. They were a check on the democrats who used their office as a fiefdom to take care of family and friends. A big party that included moderates just as the democrats have fought off the Sanders wing to include centrists. I know you can’t yell a lot on television to say you are a moderate republican or democrat but that’s what works best for the country.
“Working with the other side” means signing one of the 50+ bills sent by Republicans in Congress to end the Affordable Care Act.
Good catch! Thank you.
Yep. Obama should have bent over more often, maybe should have asked Clarence Thomas and Sam the Sham Alito or Chuck Grassley who THEY would like appointed as The Dead Scalia’s successor. Maybe Obama should have thanked George W. Bush the night the Bin Laden take down was announced. Where the hell do the Republicans come up with this garbage?. Maybe the Princetonians like George Shultz should have kept the Segregationist and Bundy-ite mobs out of their party, and objected to FOX dictating obstruction. I mean if you want to attract “A” people that is.
Thank you (and @coimmigrant) for once again setting the record straight. Seems like “recollections” like the one you’re responding to are achieving zombie myth status, which drives me crazy.
Didn’t help to have Sanders and his BoB supporters acting like medicare-for-all was/is there for the asking, instead of not remotely possible for the foreseeable future due to blue dogs & filibusters (or GOP control, of course) in the Senate, and GOP gerrymandering of house districts.
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It was a happy day when the wife retired and we put Nebraska in the rear view mirror.
Another turd in denial, who thinks the septic tank smelled like roses until The Rump came along and ruined everything.
Agree to your entire comment,plucky. And also to your point, darrtown, that the President is required to work with Congress
I’ll add this. To those who think President Obama was naive in working with the Republicans, I’d counter that, in addition to living up to his campaign promise to promote unity, he was also shrewd.
Shrewd, and also ruthless.
Many liberals criticized President Obama for trying to be conciliatory with the obstructionist Republicans – even after they retook the House and he was forced to deal with them.
He could have taken the advice of some disaffected liberals and become just as obstinate as the Republicans, but that would have just played into the game of “both sides do it.”
But as we are seeing, we are slowly getting support from moderate conservatives and independents. Evidenced by Obama polling over 50 percent in approval ratings, and a parade of prominent Republicans denouncing Trump and publicly supporting Hillary’s campaign.
And the extremists and obstructionists have become increasingly isolated, which has led them to the dead end that is Trump.
It has taken too long for some, but we are winning the Center – and we are about to move it to the Left.
And for those who still think President Obama is naive, I ask: can an African-American with a funny name and a Muslim middle name become the first African-American President by being naive? Can we dismiss his victories as beginner’s luck after he defeated the Clinton Machine, and then a popular US Senator and war hero? And who then won re-election while unemployment stood at seven percent and against an opponent whose supporters and Super PACs outfunded him?
President Obama learned power politics on the mean streets of Chicago advocating for the powerless and disenfranchised. You don’t survive in that setting by being weak or naive, as those who’ve underestimated him found out far too late…
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Bingo.
Even Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, a staunch advocate of universal health who had foregone enrolling in the Congressional health care plan unless and until an equivalent program was available to the public, repeatedly held President Obama’s feet to the fire over his pro-life convictions until Congress inserted a totally meaningless and unnecessary clause prohibiting medical plans offered on the exchanges from providing abortion services.
Ad even Sen. Bernie Sanders. a staunch advocate of single-payer, said that there were only eight or maybe nine votes for that item in the Senate.
George is exactly the establishment Republican that the GOP base wants done with. The TEA-hadists, the Freedom Caucus, and the nouveau bitch all want to erase the past since Kennedy was president. It’s all about returning to an America that never existed.
I suppose old George had to throw the GOP Congress a bone and the old, “Obama should have worked with them more” line of BS works as well as any other myth.
Think back to the early days of the Obama administration. Think back to the healthcare bill. Obama’s starting point was very close to the Republican proposal. The Republicans in the Senate lead by that old fool Grassely pretended to be interested but Then he pulled back every time a compromise was near.
From the be gaining McConnel said that the Republican goal was to make Obama a 1 term President. Not much room for compromise there.
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