The Obama Way: Bluster, Bully, Bribe

Michelle Malkin – Fri Mar 5, 3:00 am ET

The White House took great offense this week when conservatives suggested President Obama might be trading a judicial appointment for a wavering Democrat's vote on his health care reform plan. "Absurd," a miffed administration official told Politico.com. Wherever could the American people get such an impression? Let us count the ways.

On Wednesday, the very day Obama hosted 10 swing Democrats who had opposed the expansive health care takeover bill in November, the White House issued a press release trumpeting the nomination of Scott M. Matheson Jr. to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Matheson just happens to be the brother of Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah — one of the 10 Dems invited to sip wine and nosh on calorically correct appetizers with the arm-twister-in-chief.

The seat on the 10th Circuit has been vacant for nearly a year. When one of the judges, Michael McConnell, resigned to take a lucrative post at Stanford Law School last summer, Matheson — Rhodes Scholar, law school professor and dean — let the White House know right away he wanted the job. For nearly a year, there was no action.

Liberal groups have been complaining for months about the glacial pace of Obama's judicial nominations — a predicament they blame not solely on obstructionist Republicans, but on Obama's own team of incompetent, indecisive foot-draggers who put the issue at the bottom of their priority list. (It's worth noting that Utah GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch supports Matheson's candidacy.)

As the National Law Journal pointed out at the beginning of this year, "the Obama administration has been slower than the Bush administration was in sending judicial nominations to the Senate, submitting 12 circuit nominations last year compared with 28 for Bush in 2001. The White House last named a circuit nominee on Nov. 4."

Now, out of nowhere, comes the announcement of Matheson's nomination — in the heat of White House vote-grubbing to salvage the Democrats' government health care designs? To quote Dana Carvey's old Church Lady character on "Saturday Night Live": How conveeenient.

Let us consider the possibility, for a brief moment, that this is all merely coincidence. Is the White House so fantastically blind and tone-deaf that it failed to detect the blood-red flags and blaring alarm bells that Scott Matheson's judicial nomination would raise coming on the very day Obama was wooing his brother? Incorrigibly corrupt or incorrigibly stupid. Take your pick.

The perception of a judgeship-for-Obamacare-vote deal is, of course, horribly unfair to Matheson, who seems more than qualified for the position. But full blame for creating that unmistakable perception lies squarely at the feet of the rank opportunists in the White House, whose timing is worse than a broken metronome.

This debacle comes on the heels of damning disclosures about other possible White House bribery. Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania admitted to veteran Philly newsman Larry Kane that Team Obama dangled a "high-ranking" position in the administration if he dropped out of the Senate race and left incumbent Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter alone.

In Colorado, the Denver Post reported last fall that Deputy White House Chief of Staff Jim Messina "offered specific suggestions" for an Obama administration job to far-left Democrat Andrew Romanoff if he withdrew his challenge to White House-backed incumbent Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.

And earlier this month, The Washington Times noted that Mary Patrice Brown, the person assigned by the Justice Department to oversee an internal investigation into the shady dismissal of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation cases, is now "the leading candidate for a federal judgeship — for which she is being vetted by some of the same offices she supposedly is investigating."

So, wherever did we get the impression that pay-for-play is the Obama way? Somewhere, Chicago corruptocrat Rod Blagojevich — who wanted to play, but didn't get paid — is laughing bitterly.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20100305/cm_uc_crmmax/op_1913171

"...and yes there is still black power brothers who blame whitey for everything but their days are numbered." Now that's showing true colors there.

So "racism is dead" in America yet this is said? That sounds like a threat....and BTW, the SPLC lists black radical groups as well, they report on the extremists in America that are becoming a threat to national security....regardless of race.

It's not a matter of being PC, it's about respect and I see less and and less respect for diversity in America. This IS fueled by the 24/7 media of hate radio and the GOP propaganda from FOCKS and of course the leftover GOP who oppose any progress in repairing the damages...absurdly thinking this will win them elections..Really?

For example the DC rally on 9/12 was organized by Glenn Beck, a known racist, and it's core is racist in nature. One only had to see the posters the people were carrying...plus the numbers were a joke, FOCKS reported a million+ and it was about 75K at the most...they even cooked the numbers to imply it was a vast movement. Wrong, it's just mostly a bunch of racist malcontents wanting to blame the people who are trying to fix the mess left over from the last 8 years that destroyed our economy....small numbers but yet still a threat.

If you guys want to claim that the T-baggers are not mostly a racist group then why did the recent convention feature this guy?

"It turns out that the Tea Party has more in common with the mainstream political parties than we may have realized.

They too are completely and utterly dysfunctional.

Kicking off their controversial national convention in Nashville last night, Tom Tancredo, the one time GOP Congressman, presidential candidate and confirmed wing-nut, presented the opening speech. To make certain that the event got off to the right start, Tancredo proceeded to give the most racist speech I can recall since David Duke, the Ku Klux Klan leader turned politician, amazed us with his vile dribble.

Ripping into Obama, Tancredo announced that the president had won his office because “we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country.”

This was no accidental choice of words. Back in the days of the Jim Crow south, literacy tests were used to take away the right to vote from the majority of African Americans. It was a practice successfully employed to deny these rights from the late nineteenth century right on through to the 1960’s when it was mercifully ended by The Voting Rights Act of 1965, and one that continues to be one of the darkest stains on our national history.

But Tancredo was just getting warmed up.

People who could not spell the word vote or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House — name is Barack Hussein Obama.”
Via Fox News

But he wasn’t finished yet. He still had to point out that America’s problems are the result of the nation’s “cult of multiculturalism.” Tancredo basically did everything he could to make his racist point short of handing out copies of “Mein Kampf” and carrying a sign reading, “If you ain’t white, you ain’t right.”

I have never accused the Tea Party of being a racist movement. While I acknowledge that there are certainly those who identify with the group whose objection to Barack Obama is based on his race, it seems unfair to paint everyone in the movement – many of whom are upset with the state of the country and want to express their concerns – with so negative a brush.

But if these people want to be taken seriously, why would they waste the national stage they have created with this convention to highlight a racist like Tom Tancredo?

To be fair, there were those in attendance who get that. Mark Skoda, a founder of the Memphis Tea Party and a spokesman for the convention, was left shaking his head in amazement, saying “It doesn’t further the dialogue.”

You can say that again, Mark."

http://trueslant.com/rickungar/2010/02/05/tea-party-convention-kicks-off-with-racist-rant/



Glenn Beck a racist?

Quite obviously many are paranoid over people such as Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Laura Ingram, Bill O'Reilly, Tea Party supporters, etc...........heck, let's just put the entire FOX CABLE broadcasting system up here..............

People who are anti the above, just are plain paranoid over the fact that the people of the USA are sick and tired of what is being done to our country and are standing up and speaking out about it..............such is life.............

I view the hatred against such supporters, hate evidenced throughout this website forum on Politics, as supporters of obama and his little boy temper tantrum whenever he does not get his own way.

My God, how many times has obama cry babied, on national television, about Fox news and Sean Hannity? It is so repulsive of this man, obama, AND never have I ever heard any President, or other political figure, except obama and those that he keeps himself surrounded with and has associated with most of his life......come out and cry babied over a news media...............SHALL WE PITCH IN AND BUY OBAMA AND HIS CRONIES A SUPPLY OF BABY PACIFIERS?

1. "Hater is a contemporary slang word for people who put down others,,, Is 'repulsive' also a slang word?" ............ If you do not know that get out a dictionary and look up the word repulsive.

Oh, Dear God, hater and repulsive are both adjectives ..... And again, the use of the word hate is totally out of order for describing people who merely dislike, disagree or feel dismay over another's opinions, agenda, policies.......


2. I, and I am confident that the rest of the population of the USA, could not possibly care less about your Pew poll. Whatever it is supposed to be. I do highly question the credibility of this "Pew" poll and "American Political IQ" As 1,002 adults is a far cry from a representation of the total population of the USA citizens. And, again, you go making a declaratory statement, this time declaring that Americans are not knowledgeable about geography....

3. It is of extreme importance that the American citizens make daily observations and decisions about obama and the current Administration's actions, accomplishments and/or lack thereof. To not do so is total negligence and a maintainment of a reckless attitude in keeping thoroughly apprised of what is and is not taking place in this administration's actions, agenda and policies. Our welfare and security of ourselves and future generations are at stake in this issue.

4. I do question if you actually do have privy to an adequate number of attorneys who do not consider obama a B.S.er...... as you made no reference to who these individuals are and/or where they are located and the type of law they practice, the courts they are licensed to practice law in and their political party and stand on relevant issues that are of the utmost concern of the American citizen. Thus, again, I state that after 22 years as a legal secretary experienced in local, state, Federal, appellate courts, and high contact and observance of attorneys practicing in said courts, I can rightfully state that obama is a B.S.er.....he says he will do one thing and turns around and does another [please refer to my statement about his so-called 'transparency' policy which never took place]....never intending on doing what he originally stated he would do.

5. How obama's agenda as acting [for lack of a better word] president can be seen EVERY day. No need to wait till he is out of office to see how he is IMPACTING the USA. The economy is spiraling downward rapidly, unemployment 10%, the USA has trillions of dollars in deficit, of which China owns the great majority of the USA debt, the people of the USA are screaming to STOP SPENDING OBAMA.......!! He has spent his entire first year in office on the health care issue..... NOTHING on the economy and unemployment, the job situation......and still has accomplished NOTHING........

So, he is doing the best he can with what he has? Whatever "what he has" means. If his best is running the economy and job situation to ruin.....I hardly consider that "the best"......
I AM SCARED TO DEATH TO SEE WHAT HIS 'FULL' TERM WILL BRING ABOUT.

Sigh,,, well

1. Hater is a contemporary slang word for people who put down others,,, Is 'repulsive' also a slang word?

2. From website http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/10/pew_political_iq_poll_republic.asp

'You likely won't see this poll result elsewhere, so I thought I'd highlight it here. This is a Pew Political IQ test conducted over the phone with 1,002 adults from Oct. 1-4. They were asked 12 questions, and answered an average of 5.3 questions correctly, according to Pew.'

I am sure if you googled American Political IQ, you could find many more. The truth is not putting down, I didnt judge people for not knowing about politics, I just stated that on average americans are not well knowledgable about the processes and procedures. Just as geography is , on average, not a topic americans are widely educated about.

3. I can assure you I have no lack of intellect, common sense, or intelligence although I could have been more specific when stating that we should wait till OBamas completed presidency to decide what he has or hasnt accomplished. Of course, common sense dictates, that we can always decide what people have or have not accomplished up to the present time. My point was about what he achieves or does not achieve as PRESIDENT, not just his first year or two, but the whole time he is serving his role.

4.I actually AM privvy to lawyers who dont find OBama to be a bullshitter, but rather that has bearing on what you consider to be valid is another issue.

5. Literal fact and truth are quite different from personal opinion.

How Obamas (full) presidency impacts America is yet to be seen. I feel he is doing the best with what he has and will reserve further judgment until his job has run its course.

republicans are cowards . and thats on a good day . I don't always support all things the demos come up with actually not many things but at least when they post here they don't exclude most of the country . and I have heard republicans saying we should refuse to allow people to vote . all the repub's want is to pig out on the country's purse .

Good point.

I am not gonna compare a constitutional lawyers qualifications for presidency to the knowledge of a legal secretary, because that was far from my point. My point was that the AVERAGE american doesnt politically understand what things can and cannot be done within the government anymore than the average medical patient knows how to heal thyself. So in the end, when decisions MUST be made(which is part of a presidents role),,then YES, I pray that president is making decision based upon what he thinks is BEST for the nation.

As far as the rest, its all perspective I guess. What you see as arrogance, I see as intelligence and confidence, I dont see this extreme repulsiveness by the majority of people, but expect it from some as its impossible to please every single one of the two hundred million plus adults in this or any other country. I could meet your legal secretary opinion of him being a bullshitter with opinions of LAWYERS who dont see him as one...thats all subjective.

In the end though, AFTER he is out of office, is the time when what he has or hasnt accomplished will become clear and I am sure (like any other president) there will be plenty of things on both lists for supporters and haters to cling to.

I would submit the reality that MOST americans dont understand the political process nor the roles of government. Just like I wouldnt expect to tell a doctor what to do for me, I can only tell him what is wrong and he must decide based upon his experience and knowledge how to help me with it.

As a constitutional lawyer, I am sure he has a bit better idea of what things are politically viable than the average jill and joe does.

The president isnt merely a spokesmodel for the opinions of Americans, he also is expected to have a BIT more knowledge about government policy and process which means that after he hears our concerns, yes, he needs to make decisions about what should be done for those concerns and I certainly PRAY that decision is based on what he thinks is best for US, himself and his loved ones included.

Quite alright, I'm sure some of us don't understand how Hannity and Limbaugh come up with some of their material either, but I seem to recall your saying on here recently that 'the other side' is just afraid of their opinions. I'm sure you're still trying to figure out why Rick Santorum could have possibly gotten the electoral size 12 boot out of the Senate in 2006, too. :)





Oh please. Jim Inhofe is ranked THE most conservative member of the Senate and even he said Bunning was single-handedly causing a lot of grief and called him to tell him so and quit doing it.

Google up 'Bunning filibuster'-- it's all over the news.






Whatever. In those immortal words of Dick Cheney, "Deficits don't matter."


-Kerry O.

it's called protecting our Liberty from more government control...

FOX is not a news outlet....try CNN or remain ignorant.

"Bunning relents; jobless benefits deal reached"

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/02/jobless.benefits.bill/index.html?hpt=T3

BONUS SITE: Proof that FOX is a GOP/corporate shill station that only appeals to the lower end of the IQ ladder in America...well, and racist morons as well...clueless people basically.

www.outfoxed.org

"Outfoxed examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know."

It's simple, really-- like the lad who has to own up to paternity under the shadow of a 12 ga., the the GOP strategy for this fall is to filibuster everything in sight (they've already threatened to do so/have done so 40 times this year already, a new record that looks to triple the old one), so as to hem and haw their way out of responsibility for obstructing needed legislation. Their aim is to blame the gridlock on the Democratic party while being pretty cagey about what they'll do, hoping people won't notice.

Oh, they'll strike up the Tax Cutz Fer the Rich Band and claim tort reform will make medical care so cheap and plentiful we'll be giving dogs, cats and hamsters MRIs with all the excess capacity it'll generate. (Laff.)

It might even get them a few seats, but after it's all done, they'll still be like Mark Sanford of S. Carolina.


-Kerry O.

Thank you Dear 'Lady Lindyy',

... ironically, in your very own reply, you have exercised your 'very own first degree filter' as proposed in my argument, ... thus taking my statements 'with a grain of salt'.

Good work, and perfect 'live' example.

I'm glad, with your help Dear 'Lady Lindyy', that we could make a brilliant demonstration of 'first degree filter', and close this 'case' so diligently!!!

Dear 'Lady Lindyy',

You obviously have an opinion, and appear to be in full agreement with it!!! That is good!

Unfortunately, reality and the 'annoying' line-up of facts show little sympathy for your position.

Whether YOU, or many others, might believe in
'... one's statement to be naturally and legitimately their true belief and intent...',
... in an overwhelming majority of instances, action doesn't follow, thereby contradicting the 'first degree' nature of the statement!!!

If we were to prosecute everyone on their statements alone 'Dear Lady Lindyy', we wouldn't be living in a 'free' North America.

Rush Limbaugh, along with his supporters, AND DETRACTORS, live and thrive inside a 'freedom of speech' paradigm !!! I'm afraid your argument is severely inaccurate.


Here are some statements heard often, which shouldn't be taken literally... :

"... I could just wring the neck of those little monsters..."

"... Why did I ever have children..."

"... I wish I could just be on a desert island, away from it all..."

"... We should all send them back where they come from..."

The list goes on...

Hate to break it to you 'Lady Lindyy', but if you didn't exercise your own 'first degree' filter daily, and took most statements made 'with a grain of salt', you wouldn't be posting on these forums with the rest of us. You would be working for a 'gestapo' like fascist police, denouncing and prosecuting the whole bunch of us!!!

Just out of curiosity (not sure if this works or not but would like some input on the pro's and con's) What is wrong with letting each state decide the HC issue for their own state? Let the people in each state vote on it

Yes the USA sucks in HC....nice graph Slow. We barely beat out the Czech Republic in life expectancy. GO USA!!!

No, what would astonish me madam is an apology from the people who voted for this disaster we are in today....thanks GOP, you're guy did a bang up job and your people are STILL blind!

So where's the plan? Once again I ask....WHERE IS THE GD PLAN..lol

The DEMS included the Pubs but the Pubs just said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtMV44yoXZ0

~~~~

Here's your "plan"...(since most RWers here do not bother to reference anything)

Congressional Budget Office Thrashes Republican Health-Care Plan

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/11/congressional_budget_office_th.html

Pretty funny, actually, because Bunning and some of the GOP is like a teenage boy being dragged to a shotgun wedding trying to claim it's not all his fault and that he was probably tricked into this situation. That besides, he _can't_ marry her because he's already married to someone else and that as an old-school Mormon, he's standing on principle -- _his_ rights are being violated because given his druthers, he'd be a polygamist. The fact that hypothetical teenage boy doesn't have a job and spends what little money he DOES have on playing World of Warcraft online is just an inconvenient detail.


-Kerry O.

LOOK!...not a plan in any reply...why no plan? I'll give you one, the GOP's HC plan...cost more, insures less, and gives the HC industry free reign....it's no wonder no one posted that plan.

But wait...it's gone and I know it was there 2 months ago....but it was replaced with this:

http://action.gop.com/site/c.ouITL8MRJrE/b.5816033/k.A506/Sign_the_Petition/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=ouITL8MRJrE&b=5816033&en=kpLHJLPwGaJCKUOwF4LCJVMBKkLQKTMxFfINLVNCLpK1G

"Start Over on Health Care Reform

Preamble

President Obama's initial attempt to seize control of one-sixth of the U.S. economy by nationalizing the American health care system has failed.

But serious issues continue to plague our health insurance system, and they must be addressed.

Now is the time to start over on health insurance reform and do it right."

Now, why start over when THEY (GOP) could have been working on a plan they didn;t have to scrap instead of sitting rotating on their thumbs screaming "NO"!

Why do Republicans hate humans?