But most of our friends in the other party are planning on voting against this reform.

Memo to Obama: Dude, they aren't your friends. Quit treating them like they are and things will get done much quicker.

I hope he also notices that yesterday Boehner said that 'because we can't afford both the War and social security, we have to cut back on social security benefits.'

THAT should go across well.

also good, via maddow last night, was boner's assertion that he was against the moratorium on deep-water drilling, but thought a pause in deep-water drilling - "until we find out what went wrong" - was a good idea.
dude, it's the same thing!
do tanning booths cook your brains, too?

Yeah, great campaign issue. Then we get back to congress and give it all away in the name of some sort of illusionary "bipartisanship" or in some backroom deal with lobbyists.

Too bad all of this is about winning elections and not actually doing the people's business.

I think the repubs must have been paid very well by their corporate masters this year, they do not want bank reform, they are standing up for BP and they want to repeal health care reform, I wonder what the taxpayers who pay for their day job salaries want!

Prup wrote: "I hope he also notices that yesterday Boehner said that 'because we can't afford both the War and social security, we have to cut back on social security benefits.' THAT should go across well."

I hope you also noticed that Obama has escalated the War and increased military spending, and has also appointed a commission to study ways to "fix" (e.g. cut) "entitlement programs" (e.g. Social Security).

So Obama and Boehner would seem to be in agreement there.

also good, via maddow last night, was boner's assertion that he was against the moratorium on deep-water drilling, but thought a pause in deep-water drilling - "until we find out what went wrong" - was a good idea.
dude, it's the same thing!

I've encountered this position in the wild and basically it's found in Republicans who know that the sane, rational, even dare I say 'conservative' thing to do is to stop drilling until we can figure out what went wrong and fix it, but are torn because they don't want the government telling businesses what to do ever.

So they don't want the government to tell the companies not to do it, but they want the companies to voluntarily just stop drilling out of the kindness of their own hearts, or because it's the "right" thing to do, or because it just "makes sense" to do it. This sentiment is generally found in Republicans I know who are old enough to know better (e.g. my dad) but who still insist that companies aren't just engines designed only to increase profits and that they won't do the "right" thing unless forced to do it. They have it in their heads that government is never the solution but can't fathom that companies just are not going to do the right thing unless forced to do it.

I actually blame Ronald Reagan. He seems to be the guy who drove my dad crazy with this "government is not the solution, government is the problem" nonsense. Or maybe dad was on the slope and Reagan just pushed. I don't know.

"Will this have the staying power as Joe Barton's (R-Texas) apology to BP (another item Obama is scheduled to emphasize today) or John McCain's "fundamentals of the economy are strong" line? I rather doubt it."

Why not? The entire interview is on tape. There are a lot of damaging soundbites there. Run with it!!

I can the ads now, giant ants attacking innocent victims in the streets...

"Also note, by the way, that the campaign mode Team Obama entered recently is clearly in full swing now."

They should have never left campaign mode and tried harder to live up to all the campaign promises that got him elected.

The GOP let it be known early that Obama's term would be politicized. Obama should have taken them at the word and rhetorically beaten the shit out of them at every turn.

@Secular: PLEASE DON'T EVEN GO THERE WITH DEMS SAMES AS GOP NONSENSE!!

Boner doesn't mind a little heat. It just turns him a deeper orange.

Special note must be given that the President is saying this in GOP weasel Paul Ryan's district.

"The same financial crisis that led to the loss of nearly eight million jobs. The same crisis that cost people their homes and their lives savings."

This is dishonest, I wonder if Obama knows it. (By the standards of "typical discourse by politicians" though, it's probably slightly less dishonest than average).

Reality? The "reform" is more like trying to squash a nuclear weapon with an ant.

@Alli: Most Dems aren't a lot better. Why does Team Obama, and Dodd/Schumer, prefer negotiating w/Scott Brown to Russ Feingold on the "reform" bill?

Boehner and all the Teaphblicans have this morbid fascination with the regulatory structure of the 19th century. But, what do you expect from a bunch of angry upper income guys? Damn, I sure want to go back and mine coal, make steel, live in fire traps, eat tainted food, and die at fifty Yep, just the life for me

SocraticGadfly wrote: "Why does Team Obama, and Dodd/Schumer, prefer negotiating w/Scott Brown to Russ Feingold on the "reform" bill?"

And why do Obama, Kerry, Lieberman and Reid prefer negotiating with Graham and McCain instead of Bernie Sanders on the climate/energy bill?

And by the way, why does Steve Benen prefer to write about what John McCain and Sarah Palin have to say about the climate/energy bill rather than write about what Bernie Sanders thinks about it?

I mean, hey it's his blog and all, but it does kind of make his complaints about McCain's frequent appearances on Sunday talk shows look silly, when Benen himself writes so often about McCain's views on climate/energy and has not mentioned Sanders' letter to Reid even once.

The whole world is just a confusing blur to you S.A., right?

Feingold wants nothing less than Progressive Perfection, he's stated that he wants Congress to scrap what they have and start over.

O.K., fine, they do that and Feingold gets everything he wants. How many Republican votes are they going to get for cloture? Right, the same as there are now: 0.

Not to mention Blue Dog traitor Ben Nelson who sure as hell would join any Republican filibuster if the bill became any better than it already is.

So what choices does Reid and Obama, et al. have? Negotiate with Republicans like Brown who have in the past voted with Democrats and possible bring some measure of financial reform.

Or with a purist like Feingold who will never agree to anything short of perfection and guarantee defeat?

Those are your only options because things will only become more difficult after November.

Oh, and if you don't understand why Benen blogs about McCain and the other knuckle draggers I can't help you there. It's pretty elementary why.

It's elementary alright:

1. Negotiate with Republicans.

2. Ignore progressives.

3. When progressives won't be ignored, vilify them as morons and traitors.

4. When ignored and vilified progressives become disillusioned and unenthusiastic about voting for Republican-lite Democrats who campaign on a public option and deliver an individual mandate, and who campaign on reducing CO2 emissions and deliver subsidies to the coal industry, who campaign on clean energy and deliver the largest expansion of offshore oil drilling in US history, lecture them about how much worse the real Republicans are.

Dr. Morpheus wrote: "Oh, and if you don't understand why Benen blogs about McCain and the other knuckle draggers I can't help you there. It's pretty elementary why."

I understand why. It's because this blog and most "sensible liberal" Democratic rhetoric is all about whining about the mean old Republicans and not about promoting progressive ideas.

What happens in Congress seems futile because writing legislation that is meant to change Nature is futile. The Gulf of Mexico, hurricanes, earthquates, climate change are all forces of Nature. Nature really doesn't care who votes for what; She will have her way. The best we can do is observe Her and align with Her flow. There are millions of mataphors about messing with Mother Nature, so I'll let the readers choose the ones that work for them. Some members of Congress seem to recognize the power of Nature, and propose laws that align with Her. Others seem oblivious to what is and try to force change against the tide. At best, the fix is temporary. Dams, levees, oil rigs are temporary structures that have a short life, and will be absorbed by Nature, one way or the other. Best to learn how She flows and paddle with Her, not against Her.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
peace,
st john

earthquakes and metaphors, for those checking for spelling.

Disney/ABC-radio host Anne Compton sure went out of her way to explain away and minimize Republican Boehner's comments.

(A defense of Boehner by Corporate media personalities that was predicted by Kevin Drum.)

Disney/ABC sure is chasing the FOX Republican propaganda tail.

re: SecularAnimist on June 30, 2010 at 4:12 PM

"SecularAnimist's" points are correct.

"Dr. Morpheus" is suffering from severe cognitive dissonance.

"Morpheus" has repeatedly fluffed Obama and yet today is calling a Blue Dog a "traitor" while simultaneously failing to understand that Obama has repeatedly helped Blue Dogs against superior Democratic challengers.

Obama's apologists refuse to acknowledge that Obama has consistently helped right-wing-Blue-Dogs against superior Democratic challengers.

Using Blue-Dogs as an excuse for Obama's failures to enact progressive legislation* isn't valid when Obama repeatedly supports Blue-Dogs.

The most recent example was Obama's support of right-wing-Blue-Dog Blanche Lincoln against the more electable and more Democratic alternative.

* selling US Republican Corporate insurance is not progressive.

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And, yes, I will work for and support Obama against the inevitably more regressive alternative in the 2012 General Election.

Those that don't understand that there is a difference between the 'greater' and 'lesser' evil need to compare Obama appointee Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court voting record against the right-wing activist Justices led by John Roberts.

never question the stupidity of Democrats to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

a truism that is perfectly on the mark.

watching the Democrats purposely throw it all away is part of the reason i hope the Republican come back in a big, big way.

stupidity must be rewarded, no matter the costs.

"their lives savings..." ? I would write "their life's savings...", "life's" being used as an adjective and therefore not taking the plural, but, in any case, shouldn't it definitely be "their lives' savings ..."?

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