The President must be humble because he's a Democrat and therefore illegitimate.

Yes, they are a major FAIL. Great post. "You first", Hah!

The President ought to stop being so uppity and be humble!!!

The more ridiculous the demands become, the more transparent the RWer's are.

How fucked are we? Bullying behavior has been reinforced

Benen:

...one of the underlying problems with politics this year is that Republicans have refused to show an ounce of humility in the wake of their spectacular failures and electoral humiliations.

Herbert:

There is no end to the craziness. The entire Republican Party has decided that it is in favor of absolutely nothing. The president’s stimulus package? No way. Health care reform? Forget about it.There is not a thing you can come up with that the G.O.P. is for. Sunshine in the morning? Harry Reid couldn’t persuade a single Senate Republican to vote yes.
Incredibly, the party’s poll numbers are going up.

Why would the Republicans be introspective and humble after the '08 elections? To hear THEM tell it, they were victims of an unpopular president, widespread voter fraud perpretrated by ACORN, & scaaaaary Black Panthers who intimidated weak white people at the polls. Their anger is righteous and their wrath is due. Again, to hear THEM tell it.

Why doesn't he just come out with it and say the "N-word" already?

There are two angles to this that are annoying.

Actually, there's a third angle and it's far more annoying. The media, seizing on this meme with complicity, for the sake of fairness in the all important he said/she said style of reporting.

Expecting ANY politician to show humility is like asking a cat to show remorse. . .

cranked up the crazy to max ?
Au Contraire !

My Fair Lady
lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe

Thank Heavens for Zoltan Karparthy.
If it weren't for him I would have died of boredom.
He was there, all right. And up to his old tricks.
Mrs. Pearce Karparthy? That dreadful Hungarian?
Was he there? Henry Yes.
That blackguard who uses the science of speech
More to blackmail and swindle than teach;
He made it the devilish business of his
"To find out who this Miss Doolittle is."
Ev'ry time we looked around
There he was, that hairy hound From Budapest.
Never leaving us alone, Never have I ever known
A ruder pest Fin'lly I decided it was foolish
Not to let him have his chance with her.
So I stepped aside and let him dance with her.
Oozing charm from ev'ry pore
He oiled his way around the floor.
Ev'ry trick that he could play,
He used to strip her mask away.
And when at last the dance was done,
He glowed as if he knew he'd won!
And with a voice to eager,
And a smile too broad, He announced to the hostess
That she was a fraud! Mrs. Pearce No!
Henry Ja wohl! Her English is too good, he said,
Which clearly indicates that she is foreign.
Whereas others are instructed in their native language
English people aren't.
And although she may have studied with an expert
Di'lectician and grammarian, I can tell that she was born
Hungarian! Not only Hungarian, but of royal blood,
she is a princess!

Humility is a sign of wisdom. Right now the Republican party is a collection of clueless fools dominated by cable television and talk radio clowns. There rarely is much wisdom on display during a clown show.

English translation of Chambliss' comment: "Don't get too uppity, boy"

Max Cleland should use his remaining arm to slap that fool.

Dear Saxby.

69 million votes. 335 electoral college votes.

Majority in both houses.

Go have a beer, you fool.

As John Cole asked, "Or what? You'll all vote no? Dick Armey and Freedomworks will pay for a wingnut bus across the country? Sarah Palin's ghostwriter will scribble something barely legible on Facebook? You'll hold your breath? What exactly are you all going to do? You've already cranked up the crazy to max."

I choose "D". And for a very long time, please.

I expect humility from Obama as well. But what I would really like to see from him instead is fire-in-the-belly, give-them-hell, take-no-prisoners, full-speed-ahead get-r-done!

This is really weird post. It's another "why would Republicans do this when it's obvious to me that they're wackos?" post.

First of all, the Republicans don't think they failed. They accomplished most of their policy goals during the Bush administration. They weakened regulation of industry, made taxation more regressive, started two wars, and weakened civil rights protections. The rich did better and everyone else did worse. That is the Republican agenda. The only real failure of the Bush era, from the perspective of Republicans, was the failure to turn Social Security into a giveaway to Wall Street.

Second, all they are doing now is trying to win. That's what they were elected to do -- to fight for their agenda. Why should Saxby Chambliss defer to the Democrats just because more of them got elected? He was elected too, and he is doing his job, which right now is to prevent the Democrats from accomplishing anything. Do you think the people who voted for Chambliss last year want him to go along with Obama and Reid?

The problem is not Saxby Chambliss or any kind of perceived arrogance or rudeness on the part of the Republicans. The problem is that the structure of our government allows the Republican party, as a minority that did poorly in two consecutive elections, to keep the majority from doing what it wants. If the situation was reversed, I would want my senators to use every legal, procedural, and rhetorical means to keep the Republicans from passing any legislation whatsoever. It's odd to blame the Republicans for using the weapons our system grants them. If the Democrats wanted to win as much as the Republicans want to win, we'd be having a very different discussion.

Listening to a small minority of stupid braying asses does not constitute what is best for our country as a whole.

And yes, "humility" would be nice, but you what would be even better? A Republican platform re-tooled to reflect the total failure of all -- I mean all, what have they done right over the past 30 years? -- their policies.

After all the barely veiled racism, Chambliss, who's a part of the Southern rump party (aka GOP), is telling the President of the United States that he should be humble before the party that lost to him? Why doesn't Chambliss just come out and say it: Obama's uppity, how dare he usurp the powers of the presidency!

Umm, Sen. Chambliss, I think you're forgetting something: Obama IS the President.

Using the word "brash" is far too kind of a word.

Thanks Mark. Very well said. I worry that the very prospect of HCR failure will either prevent a vote altogether or dilution ad nauseum until a vote is meaningless. I really want to KNOW who votes against cloture and HCR if it gets that far.

Let's see, when Baby Bush's leadership style was "my way or the highway," he was praised as being bold, steadfast, and decisive. When Obama inches even close--by reminding Republicans "I won," for example--he's being arrogant and he's attempting to be a dictator.

Yeah, okay, makes sense. If you're REALLY stupid!

The secret of the Right Wing's success is that it comes equipped with an automatic "Reset" button. To be a Conservative is to be a member of Mulligan Nation. Whenever you hit one into the crapper, just tee it up again and move on. Since the Right equates Conservatism with "The Good and the True," then by definition whenever conservative government comes crashing down around us whatever failed could not have been "Conservative," or it would have been Good and True.

So, the Right simply declares their failures "Not Conservatism" and walk away from it. Or, they blame their failures on liberals, as Newt Gingrich tried to when he read George W. Bush out of the Conservative Movement and laid Bush's problems at the Democrats' feet, declaring Obama the heir apparent to the "Bush/Obama Big Government Takeover Plan for America." It's hard to find a word to describe this kind of mindset. Dishonest and shameless just don't seem to get it, and evil is too over the top. Maybe sinful.

That's the problem up to now. Obama has shown humility and deference to these rethug bastards and see where that's gotten us. Come on Barack, Man Up!. Treat them as the schoolyard bullies they are and let's get this done.

What's the downside for the Republicans for pressing on with a "scorched earth" policy? They've managed to wring concessions from the Democrats at every turn, simply by acting like 6 year-olds. They've stalled a pull-out from Iraq, made Obama back off of promises to do away with some of the most egregious civil liberties violations lingering from the Bush era, and now they've very likely eliminated the public option from any health care reform legislation, simply by having a prolonged freak-out. And Obama is reinforcing their bad behavior by backing up every time they throw a tantrum. This is somewhat surprising from someone who is raising two children, and who should know that YOU NEVER REWARD BAD BEHAVIOR LEST YOU REINFORCE IT. For legislators, as for small children, tantrums should be rewarded with a boot in the ass and a time out - not with a cookie.

Saxby Chambliss, the man who spits on disabled veterans for personal gain, giving lessons in appropriate behavior.

Next: Mark Sanford will go on Meet the Press to give the Obamas marital advice.

Chambliss needs to come clean and tell us what he believes! What he thinks will solve our health care failures! What he thinks ought to be policy for middle class Americans! Who he thinks his views best support, and why! And why he thinks loud obnoxious and unruly behavior is how decent Americans engage our political process!

Anything short of the above and Chambliss can talk to the hand! -Kevo

"Everything they touched turned to garbage."

Total B.S.

The crowning success of the Bush administration is to fill the Supreme Court with corporately owned justices.

Today, on 9/9/9, we will witness the culmination of this success. Last fall, the Supreme Court held hearings on Citizens United vs. The Federal Elections Commission. Rather than making a narrow ruling, they ordered rehearings (for today) with an expanded scope for the hearings. The only possible reason for doing this is to overturn a century's worth of court rulings that limited the money, power, and influence of corporations in federal elections.

We now know that all that is necessary is for Scalia/Roberts/Altio/Thomas to convince Kennedy to side with them and allow uncontrolled and unlimited corporate money to flow into and dominate the election process. When this occurs, we can look forward to our wealthy and corporate backers assuring the permanent dominance of the republican party. Karl Rove was only off in timing in his prediction of a permanent republican governance!

For republicans and our corporate backers, today will be hailed as the glorious and permanent victory of the Bush administration! And that ain't garbage!

Thank you, too, Mark and also Koreyel

The republicans have a winning strategy and it is working. Part of that strategy is to call Obama "uppitiy"...anyway they can. That is Chambliss's job.

The dems come across as losers. They have failed to develop a strategy to combat the Chamblisses and Becks of this world. The republicans reek of racism. But that is exactly how they built their modern party.

I don't have any answers. But as a democrat and one whose family will be crippled by the failure of health care reform, I take no pleasure in playing "holier than thou," vis a vi the republicans.

But I also expected more from the Washington Monthly.

Because conservatives live within a bubble, they think their own farts are the winds of change.

But leaving that indelible image aside, remember Dick Cheney's reaction when Washington insiders were saying that he and Bush needed to chart a moderate and conciliatory course after the Supreme Court had annointed George W. Bush president on a 5 to 4 party line vote: "The suggestion that somehow, because this was a close election, we conservatives should fundamentally change our beliefs I just think is silly."

uh, why ignore the obvious.

barack hussein obamaoogabooga is blackblackblackblackblack -- and that's all you need to know about the reaction of the reichwing to any and all of his policies.

Actually, there's a third angle and it's far more annoying.

Actually, the angle that I thought was most annoying/apparent was the whole idea of a black man not knowing his place and deferring to fine white gentlemen such as himself.

Steve made a typo, fixed it:

"The Gang That Couldn't Talk Straight."

Again: For which corporation does Saxby Chamblis work for? Do they know he's a racist? Do they care?

Chambliss is worried about an uppity president.

"The Uppity President" would make for a nice children's book.

Saxby Chambliss. Oh, do you mean the Horse's Ass, Saxby Chambliss ?

Obama could say something like this:

"Folks, I've watched a lot of the town hall meetings. And I've held a few of my own. I've seen and heard what the opponents of health care reform have had to say, and I've come to a conclusion.

"I am deeply and utterly humiliated to be representing these ass-faced monkeys before the rest of the world. These subhuman gorgons should be systematically sterilized as a matter of the highest national security. These wretched, filthy, brain-deficient life-forms should not be represented by our government anymore than simple planaria in a puddle should be. Truly, these cretins imbue all that is dark, sinister and abhorrent in the society we have created.

"I am no Nazi. But if I were, I would seek out every last Tea-Bagging Republican in the Union and drive them from our shores like the filthy cockroaches they are."

Chambliss takes Lee Atwater to heart.

Let me quote Van Jones:

"Republicans are assholes"

Considering who this is coming from, it sounds like he expects Obama not to be an Uppity you-know-what.

The "Humility" comment is racist code. Many backwards-thinking folks in this country think that Obama is 'beneath them', because he is black. Very common in the South, this idea that even though a black person makes good they must still remain humble to whites because they are inherently inferior.

It is like calling Obama "boy" but without the political consequences.

Humility? From Chambliss about health care? This is the guy who won his senate seat by portraying Max Cleland as unpatriotic! The same Max Cleland who lost 3 limbs serving his country in Vietnam! Chambliss' hypocrisy is sickening, but unfortunately, the norm.

Shorter Chamblis: that uppity nigger better watch his back...

Chambliss said. "I think he's gonna have to express some humility based on what we've seen around the country this August and that's not his inclination."

Translation: "He's just another uppity n*#@er who don't know his place. But we been learnin' him some, and we didn't even wear no sheets to them town hall meetin's. Did bring some guns, though. We'll be lookin' to hear us some 'Yes sir, boss' tonight."

Racism for good ol' Georgia boys such as Saxby is like the Nazi salute for Dr. Strangelove -- they just can't keep it down.

Southern white boy Saxby Chambliss wants "that nii-i-i-i-i-i...." (he wants to say the word in public so bad he can taste it) to stop "bein' uppity" and come to Ol' Massa all humble to get his forgiveness.

Remember the scene in "Blazing Saddles" where the townsfolk are all assembled to celebrate the arrival of the new sheriff, and the old "Gabby Hayes" character is way out in front and he sees the sheriff arrive and comes running back shouting "the sheriff is a...." and they can't hear him till he gets closer, at which point he yells "the sheriff is a ni-i-i-i-i...!!!" - remember that? The Republican Party is that character - everything they do is designed to play to the white supremacist beliefs that lie in the hearts of too many of their fellow white citizens.

Chambliss proves that the only way we could ever have "saved" the South was to ethnically cleanse it 140 years ago - there's nothing that's changed, other than they don't say the word they so desperately want to say in public any more.

Saxby is a racist pig. He knows exactly what he's saying. "Right, boy!"

So, let me get this right: a privileged, older, Southern white male wants an accomplished black man who just happens to also be the President of the United States to be "humble"?

I guess we should be happy that Saxby has finally learned not to say "uppity."

To give credit where credit is due, the right has created a new tactic and advanced it to an art form. They spend years committing outrages while in power then while out of power accuse their opponents of doing exactly what they themselves did, and even pioneered, even though the part in power has done nothing of the sort. You gotta admit, it's pretty clever, out-of-the-box thinking. (It's also demented, childish, and reckless, but it *is* new.)

Saxby Chambliss isn't even using code here. He's talking about an uppity Black.
Blacks are supposed to be grateful and show proper humility to their white masters esle they get a whippin'.

Gag, and Retch.

stevenz

It may be older than you think. At least since Reagen the Repugs have been accusing Dims and libruls of wanting to do something bad, that in fact the Repugs either were already doing or were about to do.

It's a great PR ploy and the media still hasn't figured it out. They get suckered by it every time its used.