Republicans Are Bullying Obama Like a Schoolboy

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heambstefania of AL 9:11PM December 20, 2011

GOP Defector Spills the Beans
Mike Lofgren loyally served the GOP on Capitol Hill for 28 years. But no longer
Many people are buzzing about an article at truthout.org by one Mike Lofgren, a longtime Republican staff aide on Capitol Hill who just couldn’t take the crazy anymore, left his job, and produced this buzzy (and quite well-written) lamentation about his party’s tactics and goals. If you haven’t read it, you must. There was nothing in there that surprised me. I’ve been saying all these things for a long time (as have many others). What continues to dumbfound me is why Lofgren’s assertions are even controversial, because as long as they remain so, “neutral” observers who deny this reality bear some responsibility for the sad shape our politics is in.
• The debt-ceiling debate was an act of “political terrorism,” in which the GOP concocted a crisis and used it to ensure that the party's unprecedented demands were met. He writes: “Everyone knows that in a hostage situation, the reckless and amoral actor has the negotiating upper hand over the cautious and responsible actor because the latter is actually concerned about the life of the hostage, while the former does not care.”
• The August FAA reauthorization fight was another instance such of hostage-taking: “Republicans were willing to lay off 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, 70,000 private construction workers, and let FAA safety inspectors work without pay, in fact, forcing them to pay for their own work-related travel—how prudent is that?—in order to strong arm some union-busting provisions into the FAA reauthorization.”
• The GOP plan to discredit government in the people’s eyes is very conscious: “A couple of years ago, a Republican committee staff director told me candidly (and proudly) what the method was to all this obstruction and disruption. Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.”
• As for belief as opposed to tactics, the party basically really cares only about the rich. Actually, Lofgren doesn’t say “basically.” He says “solely and exclusively.” And he explains how they’ve camouflaged this with talk of protecting small businesses and so on.
There is much, much more. He’s not very happy either about his party’s militarism, its cynical use of religion, its total opposition to doing anything about the environment, and other matters, but most especially its neo-Leninist posture in which political power trumps everything.
When Lofgren first started working on the Hill, in 1983, the House and Senate were still full of moderate Republicans—and even Reagan himself was a quisling by today’s standards.

ponder this of CO 7:38PM September 10, 2011

President Obama needs to stand firm. He makes threats and then folds his cards -- no extending the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $250K -- fold. No health care without the public option -- fold. No debt ceiling deal without revenue -- fold. Yes, one has to negotiate and compromise in order to effectively govern Why would any politician fear him. Either don't make the threat or don't fold. There are several big ticket items coming up this month and next where Obama could road test this strategy.

Michael Fraioli of MD 2:29PM September 08, 2011

"Republicans Are Bullying Obama Like a Schoolboy"
You have just stepped into the largest of piles of dog----, Stiehm, as I cannot fathom your "hero" being treated any other way (...and richly deservingly so!).
The Dems have had full control of the legislative AND Executive offices during Obama's first two years, and all they managed to do was plunder, vitually, trillions our hard-earned tax dollars down the tubes (and in their own pockets)!
1) Obamacare, the national "unaffordable" healthcare act (that nobody wants) was passed behind his closed doors!
2) Still no federal budget ....approaching 900 days!
3) No private sector jobs (of course, there is the exception of "government jobs" as the federal government looms larger than life itself!)
4) Nearly $850 billion in "our" stimulus $$$ given to companies that have gone bankrupt!
5) No interest in Cut, Cap, and Balance as Obama and the Dems want to continue to spend-spend-spend-spend-spend ....to, virually, no end!!!
...and we've only begun to "scratch" the surface!
It's amazing how these doe-headed liberal boobs cannot see the forest for the trees!!! (How about your hand in front of your face ....."no" there too, eh?)

Haberdashery of ID 8:50AM September 08, 2011

Joe of NM_ WANTS THAT PORK...
Have you figured out how THOSE BAD REPUBLICANS have doctored ALL THOSE POLLS against obama ??? 2 to 1, poll shows people think obama hurt our economy...

Bill Hedges of MO 7:22PM September 07, 2011

Obama has got to stop acting like Erkle and start acting like LBJ. LBJ would cut the bastards off at the knees. He'd deny them the bills they needed to pass, to send the bacon home to their home districts. Obama has got to start playing hard ball and stop looking for approval from the GOP! The two Bastards he has to Kick their Ass into a mud hole are Boehner and McConnel. Those two S.O.B.s have gridlocked the Congress long enough. The time has come to take off the kid gloves and go after their sorry asses!

Joe of NM 6:54PM September 07, 2011

Please, Milligan, who bullied who? Seems I recall how Obama lead Democrats Pelosi and Reid on cramming Obamacare down America's collective throats. Seems Obama's out-of-control spending has bullied America into some hard choices and stagnate job growth. Seems Obama is the one who failed to listen to reason when it's obvious he has to slash non-discretionary spending to the quick. He's the one who bullies Republicans and the American people with his entrenched position of more spending and more taxes.
He bullied the American people by thumbing his nose at Congress and carrying out his little war in Libya. The result is a a Libya that went from frying pan to the fire.
He bullied American by repealing DADT. I personally know several who left the service because of this immoral policy. How many millions of tax payer dollars were spent in training and outfitting all the disgruntled service men and women?
No, Milligan, what you see is blow-back from Obama's bullying throughout his presidency.

david of ID 11:08AM September 07, 2011

Eggman of CO., (AKA bruce-tee of NV.)
How many times will you cut and re-copy your comment?
It was Albert Einstein who describes "insanity" as one who does the same thing over and over again and expects different results! Are you one of Obama~Blames hundreds of illegal uncles?

John Wayne of NM 8:06AM September 07, 2011

Many people are buzzing about an article at truthout.org by one Mike Lofgren, a longtime Republican staff aide on Capitol Hill who just couldn’t take the crazy anymore, left his job, and produced this buzzy (and quite well-written) lamentation about his party’s tactics and goals. If you haven’t read it, you must
The Lofgren piece is full of harsh observations and accusations, but here’s just a little sampling:
• The debt-ceiling debate was an act of “political terrorism,” in which the GOP concocted a crisis and used it to ensure that the party's unprecedented demands were met. He writes: “Everyone knows that in a hostage situation, the reckless and amoral actor has the negotiating upper hand over the cautious and responsible actor because the latter is actually concerned about the life of the hostage, while the former does not care.”
• The August FAA reauthorization fight was another instance such of hostage-taking: “Republicans were willing to lay off 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, 70,000 private construction workers, and let FAA safety inspectors work without pay, in fact, forcing them to pay for their own work-related travel—how prudent is that?—in order to strong arm some union-busting provisions into the FAA reauthorization.”
• The GOP plan to discredit government in the people’s eyes is very conscious: “A couple of years ago, a Republican committee staff director told me candidly (and proudly) what the method was to all this obstruction and disruption. Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.”
• As for belief as opposed to tactics, the party basically really cares only about the rich. Actually, Lofgren doesn’t say “basically.” He says “solely and exclusively.” And he explains how they’ve camouflaged this with talk of protecting small businesses and so on.
There is much, much more. He’s not very happy either about his party’s militarism, its cynical use of religion, its total opposition to doing anything about the environment, and other matters, but most
programs so they will be there in the future."

Eggman of CO 10:19PM September 06, 2011

"What about a program for bringing inner city youths out to rural America to work on farms? What about a program to send starving writers and artists out to communities across America to collect folklore, songs and oral histories?"
Anyone who could write the above sentences in all seriousness has never lived in the real world for a nanosecond.
Liberals. Can't live with 'em, can't smack sense into 'em.

M. Thatcher of FL 9:21PM September 06, 2011