David Sirota's Distant Early Warning About Obama

After his endorsement, Obama didn't show up for the vote. (4.00 / 9)

When this thing came up for a vote in December, 2007, Obama didn't bother to show up for it, maybe because he was too busy campaigning or because there were obviously enough votes to pass it without him, 77-18, with the usual small minority of decent human beings in the Senate voting against it: Feingold, Leahy, Bernie Sanders, Debbie Stabenow, and even Harry Reid.

---

by: Jacob Freeze @ Sat Dec 11, 2010 at 04:10:00 AM UTC

Even in early January, 2008... (4.00 / 1)

I can't recall much mention of these concerns about Obama and/or Hillary.  

In my pre-DD days, I did place the following comment on HuffPo, on January 7, 2008...

Both Hillary and Obama have already sold their souls to the megacorporate king/queen makers, however, a couple of questions for their supporters:

1) Can you name any substantive or ground-breaking legislation that bears their name (e.g., McCain-Feingold) or any time that either of them took the lead in making a principled stand on an issue (such as Wellstone, Feingold, Kucinich, Wexler)?

2) Obama's voting record is less than stellar (missing 85 of the past 100 Senate votes). See for yourself at http://obama.senate.gov/votes/...

3) Hillary's voting record does not appear to be available on her website (as is Obama's).

4) Obama advanced the idea of unilaterally invading Pakistan if it was believed that Al Qaeda targets were hiding there, as evidenced by his statement on or about August 1, 2007, "If we have actionable intelligence on al Qaeda operatives, including [Osama] bin Laden, and President Musharraf cannot act, then we should...That's just common sense."

5) Obama voted with Bush on several measures such as the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (making it more difficult for plaintiffs who are harmed to seek redress in court); the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (providing additional tax breaks and incentives to Big Oil); renewal of the PATRIOT Act; the Secure Fence Act (to build 700 mile long double fence along U.S./Mexican border); did not vote on a Senate measure opposing Alberto Gonzales; did not vote on a measure to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; and voted for the Oman Free Trade Agreement (similar to NAFTA and CAFTA). He, along with Hillary, supported the Peru Free Trade agreement, furthering the damage already caused by earlier similar legislation (more of Ross Perot's predicted "giant sucking sounds").

6) Supporters have allowed both Hillary and Obama to constantly repeat the mantra of "change", while minimally defining what they mean specifically by "change." Recall that George W. Bush, promised change as well --and he did bring about change -- he just didn't say what kind of change he meant.

I think my predictions turned out to be mostly accurate, however, I would much rather have been flat mistaken.

---

by: curmudgeon @ Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 08:52:28 AM UTC

That's a very good overview of both Clinton and Obama. (4.00 / 1)

And it puts you in a very small minority of "reality-based" bloggers about Obama especially.

But I think it's fair to say that his first couple of years were worse than anybody predicted, you or me or David Sirota or anybody, and when you consider that the Democrats had a super-majority in the Senate until Ted Kennedy died in August 2009, it's even more depressing that all we got was a miserable healthcare bill which may never be implemented.

What excuse can the Democrats possibly claim for totally "forgetting" about card-check and the EFCA, for example?

Month after month "healthcare reform" went nowhere, and maybe the whole intention of that mess and all the meaningless media noise about it was distracting everybody from everything else.

Forget about the climate, forget about labor! Healthcare yada yada healthcare yada yada for 18 months!

But it isn't like Congress can only consider one bill at a time!  

---

by: Jacob Freeze @ Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 11:13:52 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Like you, I didn't... (4.00 / 1)

expect much, but thought that he might have been a little more supportive in areas where he could have made changes that wouldn't cost his cherished "haves and have mores." But not even that.

Whatever anger he can muster seems to be reserved exclusively for his once most loyal supporters.  Thomas Jefferson may not have been far off when he said:

An injured friend is the bitterest of foes. -- Thomas Jefferson

We witnessed the power of money in politics last month, and in post-Citizens United era, it will likely only get worse.  There are very few who can operate a shoe-string campaign and still be re-elected, except for a small handful who've been in office for eons and can run on reputation alone.  

California may have been an exception, having perhaps finally had their fill of Reagan and the Terminator in the post-Prop 13 world, and then there was the matter of the Latino vote.  

The Democrats seem to have a distinct disadvantage, to the extent that one cannot win without significant financing.  The Republicans are like the husband whose wife fully supports his philandering, somehow convinced that his dalliances will accrue to her benefit. But the Democrats are expected to profess their fidelity to the extent necessary to garner sufficient votes to win, but will never stray far from the mistress who bankrolls their lifestyle.  

Tom Daeschle and Billy Tauzin have managed to create careers for themselves in the private sector, having paved the way with their corporate-friendly actions while in office. I would be extremely surprised to see Russ Feingold or Alan Grayson receiving similar offers from Big Money.

Not sure if you were schooled in Christianity as a child, but if you were the following story graphically illustrates that compromise may not always be the best solution.  Perhaps it is a story that Obama missed...

---

by: curmudgeon @ Sun Dec 12, 2010 at 16:54:36 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Most people forget that both mommies were whores. (4.00 / 1)

1 Kings 3:16-28

Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of them said, "Pardon me, my lord. This woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was there with me.

Put the kid in foster-care and send both whores to the work-house!

And that's what they call "the Wisdom of Jakie!"

---

by: Jacob Freeze @ Mon Dec 13, 2010 at 19:44:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]