They know they can say that Obama lied, etc., and have their views presented as truth by the lazy corporate media.

They're "shocked" because they are making a deliberate effort to paint Obama as another "flip-flopper" ala John Kerry.

What they're really surprised and disappointed about is them losing the election and the winner not adopting all of their positions.

Now that would be their version of bipartisanship.

The first two posts have it. The right is not surprised and disappointed, they are feigning surprise and disappointment in order to further the lie that Obama is going back on his word and not to be trusted. He's a sneaky liberal socialist doncha know. I fully expect the braindead and complicit media to obey.

Um, they're not really surprised. It may come as a shock, Steve, but some people in politics take a position simply because it's available and it advantages them, not because they actually believe it.

but why are they shocked

they're working on undermining Obama's personality. It has nothing to do with the facts of what Obama said or did or that they should have known what he would do (the outrage-spinners are not stupid or naive people - just the opposite, they're very sophisticated marketers). They're "shock" has everything to do with creating an impression that Obama is untrustworthy; creating a false impression that Obama has gone back on something he said he would or wouldn't do.

Its all theater, nothing of substance matters to republican/conservatives - they're outrage is phony as a 3 dollar bill. Obama's mistake is in believing they can be reasonable on anything.

The right wing is not used to the idea of a President who says what he plans to do and then ACTUALLY does it. Bush had a problem with that concept.

The social conservatives can say they are shocked, SHOCKED that Obama doesn't renege on a campaign promise and do exactly as they like, while CNBC Repubs, who really don't give a rat's behind about issues like this but don't want to alienate the Tony Perkinses of the world, argue that this is a distraction from focusing on the economy. Presumably, it somehow slows down the shoveling of bailout money to the crooks on Wall Street.

The best response is mockery.

Steve Benen wrote: "It makes sense for conservatives to voice their disapproval, but why are they shocked?"

They are not "shocked". They are pretending to be "shocked".

The right-wing so-called "Christians" know that the great majority of the American people agree with Obama's positions and actions on these issues. So they can't really accomplish their aim of undermining support for Obama simply by saying "look what he's doing!"

Instead, they dishonestly pretend that Obama is a "flip-flopper". Because nobody likes a "flip-flopper" who runs a bait-and-switch campaign.

This is part and parcel of the overall right-wing discourse about Obama: to portray Obama as untrustworthy and as having a hidden agenda (atheism, socialism, Islamism, whatever-ism). That's the central theme of the corporate-sponsored, focus-group-tested, scripted propaganda campaign that so-called "conservatives" are using to try to undermine public support for Obama.

Not as Tough as the Steelers wrote: "They know they can say that Obama lied, etc., and have their views presented as truth by the lazy corporate media."

The corporate media isn't "lazy". The corporate media works diligently and very hard to present the views of corporate-sponsored right-wing propagandists as "truth". And they are paid very well for it, too.

But they were also entirely predictable. Candidate Obama said he would take these steps, and sure enough, President Obama is doing just that. It makes sense for conservatives to voice their disapproval, but why are they shocked?

(Alternatively: When it became clear that Obama was likely to win, some far-right people resolved their cognitive dissonance by convincing themselves he was really one of them. Now they are shocked -- shocked! -- to discover that reality does not necessarily conform to their delusions.)

I am so bored with this version of the right-wing. Can we get a new one?

I mean seriously, what morons buy this crap? and do I really need to worry about said morons and their votes?

If the terminally stupid enjoy being that way, let 'em have at it. Idiots.

I'm getting sick and tired of the, "I thought Obama wanted to be post partisan", crap we hear every time he goes against these wingnuts. If America truly wanted to abide by their policies, McCain would be our President.
It's time to repeat a refrain often heard after the 2000 election; You lost, get over it!

"It seems likely, then, that the right is going to be both surprised and disappointed quite a bit in the coming years."

Good. Piss on 'em.

Republicans in Congess play the same game. They act all shocked and injured and betrayed when they don't get their way.

It is a form of bullying. They want the limit od discussion to be set so that the only defintion of non partisan or civil conversation is to agree with them.

For some rightwingers this is just a cynical game. For others it is a symptom of a personality disorder.

It's exactly like the Beltway Media's complaints that Obama wasn't being "bipartisan" enough, because on the campaign trail he said he would be respectful in tone and open to good ideas from anywhere on the political spectrum, and they heard that as a promise of bipartisanship in the traditional sense (in the spirit of cooperation, everyone gets together to mostly do what the Republicans want.)

I agree that some (most?) of it is probably lying for effect, but I do think some of it is that he listened to them and they thought that meant he really agreed with them, at least a bit. And that's probably exactly how he hoped they would respond. Now they believe they were betrayed by him, but in fact he was completely honest and they were betrayed only by their own vanity.

Flip Flop ???? "Compasionate Conservative"
"Uniter not a Divider"

Eat Shit and Die

Once again, we need to remind the media that "doing whatever the reactionaries in the Republican Party want" is not the definition of bipartisan, that Karl Rove (see the NYTimes article about this) doesn't know anything about science and should not be consulted for his ignorant opinion about it, that "telling other people how to run their life" is not the definition of morality, and that the Republicans lost. Is there any chance that any of these facts will get through to the media?

I don't think they're really surprised. I think they're trying to sell the idea of "surprised and disappointed" to non-fundamentalists on the right, some of whom voted for Obama and many of whom at least cheered him on. "Surprised and disappointed" is verbiage in service to political aims. Living as I do deep in the heart of red Texas, I'm getting mighty accustomed to hearing my neighbors "learn" new phrases and tidbets of faux news from their mentors (Hannity to Perkins) and use the lingo without understanding what's really happening out there.

The right wing can not believe, will not believe, it is no longer in control. Their time has past. The country has moved on. Let's all wave good bye to them.

But they were also entirely predictable. Candidate Obama said he would take these steps, and sure enough, President Obama is doing just that

See this is where you are wrong. A politician actually following through on campaign commitments is fairly rare thing these days. That's why everybody is acting so surprised. Obama is actually KEEPING HIS WORD TO THE VOTERS.

Something the vast majority of our political class stopped doing long ago.

I saw the same thing when Sebelius was nominated for HHS.

"You can't nominate her!"
"Why not?"
"She's- [gasp] pro-choice!"
"Well, yeah, she's a Democrat who's being nominated by another Democrat. What's your point?"
"She's... um... REALLY pro-choice!"

It seems likely, then, that the right is going to be both surprised and disappointed quite a bit in the coming years.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of folks.

There's an upside - it should be great for fundraising! "Do you want the evil scary black man to [insert favorite fear-mongering propaganda] you/your children?!? Send us money! Elect us to office!"

Surely this is good for the Republicans.

The far right now realizes that wanting Obama to fail has fallen flat as a rallying cry. They have to change the meme, and pronto. Otherwise, they might lose even more of their ranks.

I mean seriously, what morons buy this crap?

Morons that vote Republican.

and do I really need to worry about said morons and their votes?

Oh, yes! As do all of us.

Piss on 'em.

Not even if their hearts were on fire.

Sort of reminds me of how people look in the rear view mirror, getting smaller and smaller...

Their goal is to make it seem like Obama PROMISED them something when, in plain fact, he did not. IOW to discredit his integrity. McLoser tried this with the HE PROMISED TO TAKE PUBLIC FUNDING when he merely said he'd be willing to discuss it. Then it was HE PROMISED HE'D DO WHATEVER I WANTED ABOUT A SERIES OF TOWN HALL MEETINGS. Absurd. Yep, this is just part of the ongoing and permanent reichwing disinformation campaign. Like the rest of it, it'll go nowhere.

Why aren't these guys against the fertility clinics which create these embryos? It is known in advance that some embryos will need to be destroyed. There are about 500,000 embryos in storage, some too old to be used, some damaged (how do they figure this stuff out?). There is no law against just destroying them, essentially throwing them in with medical waste. Why doesn't this upset these guys?

Oh, fertility clinics are just fine since too many people including many who are totally committed anti-choicers use this technique. Those pious people just never let their beautiful minds dwell on the fate of the unused embryos, I guess.

This gets back to what that dipshit congressman said about losing on legislation but winning the press war and damaging the "DemocRAT" brand. I know President Obama is keeping his campaign promises. You he's keeping his promises, and congressman dipshit knows he's keeping his promises. But if Rove, Limbaugh, Hannity, and O'Reilly keep say shit like "..what President Obama said is not what he is doing.", then many of congressman dipshits constitutients will start to believe it, instead of their own lying ears and eyes.

It seems likely, then, that the right is going to be both surprised and disappointed quite a bit in the coming years.

We can only hope

they're shocked? after 8 years? shouldn't they be more shocked that a "compassionate conservative" president for the last 8 years kissed their asses and did nothing in terms of abortion and gay marriage? who doesn't respect whose beliefs?

Steve Benen wrote: "It makes sense for conservatives to voice their disapproval, but why are they shocked?"

They are not "shocked". They are pretending to be "shocked".

Steve - Can you make a Secular Animist Bot to insert comments like "They are not wrecklessly stupid, they know exactly what they are doing: destroying America to enrich themselves..." etc.

I´m sure SH would appreciate having those precious extra hours in the day.

Seriously, SH, with all kindness and respect towards a fellow liberal with the best intentions of building a better world, diversify.

But they were also entirely predictable. Candidate Obama said he would take these steps, and sure enough, President Obama is doing just that. It makes sense for conservatives to voice their disapproval, but why are they shocked?

Maybe it's because every time candidate Obama spoke during the campaign, the far right clamped their hands over their ears and shouted "LA LA LA WE'RE NOT LISTENING AND WE CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
. . . jim strain in san diego

He called for reducing abortions and seeking common ground on one of the nation's most divisive issues -- promises that led some on the right to think maybe, just maybe, Barack Obama was a different kind of Democrat.

But no more.
_____________

WTF does this even mean? Did they think Obama was going to outlaw abortion? Because apparently, THAT'S the only "compromise" that will appease them.

Obama's going to reduce the number of abortions in this country by making it rock like a aham hock, live up to the potential that the Republicans stifled for years, so that a: there will be fewer unwanted/unplanned pregnancies thanks to the miracle of sex ed, and b: more of the unwanted/unplanned pregnancies that DO occur will carry to term, because America will be too awesome a place, you won't NOT want to raise kids in it, even when it wasn't part of your plan. Ah, but for these nits, it's not enough to choose life, they don't want there to be a choice.

I have no problem with Secular Animist's repetitively making similar points when accurately describing the reality we have to deal with daily.
That SA's points are worthy of repetition is demonstrated by the number of people who post here who clearly don't quite get it yet.

I agree with just about everything said here, esp the oft-repeated idea that the Republicans / Conservatives seem incapable of even imagining real bi-partisonship.

I was particularly struck by something Redshift said:

"I do think some of it is that he listened to them and they thought that meant he really agreed with them, at least a bit."

This seems dead-on. The RebCons just drown out anyone who tries to offer an alternate point of view. So if Obama doesn't just tell them to sit down and shut up, they believe he agrees.

And this by the way is one of my pet peeves, that RebCons have made it almost impossible to have a conversation about anything without resorting to lies and name calling.