dude WTF have you been for the past 1.5 years? Parasailing??? Jeez.
So now it’s our fault for not getting up off the couch in 2010?
Waiting for …‘when they go low…’
That would be a hard sell today.
As far as I can tell he’s done a lot of good and constructive stuff. And you know what? It’s his life. It’s time for other people to step up now. It’s time for everyone to do what they can. That’s what he’s saying. It’s pretty explicitly what he’s saying. He’s saying many of the people who voted for him failed to even vote for other Democratic candidates. We outnumber them and will win if we vote. There’s nothing complicated or puzzling about it.
It is, actually. If you didn’t vote you can’t complain. That’s how it works.
Can’t just, right out of the gate snipe at the next president. Obama respected that precedent.
In fact Dubya’s relative silence after leaving office is one of the few positive things I can say about him… and the man can dodge a shoe like nobody’s business.
One question I’ve wrestled with is who is the voice of the progressives, the “resistance” etc. He was best qualified and has played it a bit too conservative IMHO. These are not normal times and normal concepts of “we go high they go low” etc. are not cutting it. In business speak, when plan A is certain doom you go to plan B. Plan A is not working and as the minority party we’ve got to outwork the party in power. Nonviolently, smartly, but with a big voice, and it’s not Pelosi, it’s not Schumer (Amy or Chuck) nor any celeb. BHO and his wife are uniquely revered - it’s time to step up.
It’s time for us to step up. All of us.
Perhaps he can reach those with earphones in or blinders on. Yes, everyone is busy with their own lives, but these are not normal times in this country. Pay attention and vote!
You know how they can lose that reverence really, really fast? Mud-wrestling with Donald Trump. Jawing back and forth with him like kids on a playground. We were talking about this yesterday. Trump is a kind of black hole of dignity, and if you get too near the event horizon your own will soon be gone. It’s time for us to step up. All we have to do is vote. That’s it! It’s like the fucking ruby slippers, OK? That’s what he’s saying! FFS am I losing my own mind here? Has my reading comprehension disappeared overnight? ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS VOTE. If you revere him, for God’s sake listen to him.
So it’s progressives’ fault for not getting up off the couch and voting in 2010 after Obama caved to the bankers and proved to progressives that there was nothing progressive about him?
Lot of bogus premises there. Doesn’t leave us with much to talk about. But I’ll tell you one thing. If you’re a progressive, it’s pretty much a requirement in the year of our Lord 2018 that you vote against every Republican candidate you can.
Part of the reason integration in Major league baseball continued at the pace it did was for the grace that Jackie Robinson brought to the field in spite of the shit thrown his way. Every player after him owes him a debt of gratitude.
Obama at such a higher level bears this burden and just because he was graceful in his presidency doesn’t mean that the ink is dry on his legacy and he can now start throwing bombs. He carries the burden of having to not fuck it up for anyone browner than John Q. Whiterson.
When he speaks out it will always be careful and measured.
It is, actually. If you didn’t vote you can’t complain. That’s how it works.
OK, I not only voted, I gave up a week of vacation to canvass for H and donated several hundred dollars to her campaign.
When I showed up at Democratic Party headquarters a week before the election to canvass for her, the staffers were just sitting around. They weren’t making calls, they weren’t organized. It took them half an hour to figure out what precinct they wanted me to canvas. Hillary had ZERO ground operation. She was just sitting back and waiting for people to turn out.
As to 2010, I canvassed for Obama in 2008, also. As soon as the election was over, his entire operation folded its tents and went on hiatus. Nothing. No emails. No organizing. No drumming up supporters. Nothing.
So Obama can spare me his blaming the voters. Neither he nor Hillary worked to GOTV and both got beat.
A thousand likes to your comments.
Bingo.
One problem dems have had for a very long time now is that we’re stuck in the FDR model. We expect a charismatic leader will emerge who will whip the nation into line for a New Prosperity. When that doesn’t happen (which is nearly all the time), we sit at home and mope. We’re uninspired, we wonder why even vote when there’s no charismatic figurehead to vote for.
Stop that.
Vote for the local figures who will best carry forward what your community, county, district, and state need. Then vote for the Senators who are best suited to carry forward what your state needs. Only then start thinking about President. A Great Prophet isn’t going to descend from the clouds every four years to lead us to The Promised Land.
Yes, it is the progressives’ fault for pouting and not acting. It is so childish to take the ball away because others don’t play the way you want them to.
No their isn’t when all you’re doing is swearing fidelity to Obama. But there’s nothing ‘bogus’ about the facts you call ‘premises’.
Yes, all progressives will vote 2018 in an attempt to help clean up the mess of what is left of what is called the Democratic Party.
I saw a solid effort for Hillary in my own district where I was volunteering as well. People worked hard month after month. This one young guy looked really tired one day and I said something and he said, “Our country needs us, Matt.”
There’s plenty of blame to go around. But people who could have voted against this and didn’t have to share some of it. The election was kind of close, you might remember. Obama’s telling people to vote. You want him to save the country? He’s telling you how. I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to keep saying this but I will because our country needs us.
His comments didn’t read to me as if he was blaming anyone. I think his just trying to motivate all of us — but especially people who didn’t do what you had the energy to get up and do.
Blessings on you for volunteering so much. Campaigns are imperfect and I agree with you that Hillary’s wasn’t the best. But I hope that doesn’t dissuade you from taking action again.
Democrats have awesome candidates this year — a stronger group of challengers than any party has ever assembled. And we a great chance of taking both the House and the Senate. Rather than fight each other, let’s work together to win these red-state Senate seats and swing House districts.
The Progressive rule apparently is if you don’t vote 100% by their goals you don’t deserve to be elected. Living in a district which voted 76% for Trump, I’d be delighted with a Congressional representative who voted 20% of the time with Democrats instead of 0% as is now the case…