Election 2012

[Adak]

If Obama wins, it will be historic, because no President has ever won reelection for a second term, with such a high level of disapproval in the polls, since polling records were kept.

Why I don't like Obama:

I'm tired of:

*high gas and diesel prices - but Obama's restricted oil projects, and oil drilling on Federal lands. Even cut down on oil production in the oil preserve in Alaska - chosen because it has no impact on the animals (there are VERY few).

*his abandoning Ambassador Stevens and others, when they came under attack in Benghazi - despite having real time video from a recon drone, and military assets, nearby.

And having his Administration spokesmen talk about it, like it was a demonstration against a video - when he was told by the Consulate, that it was a militia attacking them, with military weapons (mortars, explosives, etc.), and had real time video of the attack, as well.

*crony gifts to his supporters: A123, Solyndra, etc., and his pursuit of his "enemies" (whistleblowers, Conservatives, etc.)

*lack of recovery from the recession. By his own account, he is a failure.

*lies and etc. He didn't close Gitmo, he didn't secure our borders, he didn't improve immigration, he has the justice department file suit against every single state that has passed Voter ID laws.

*failure to pass even ONE budget, in either part of Congress.

*and of course, the huge run up in the national debt.

*Obamacare should have been a crowing achievement, but it's a complete disaster, since all the largest employers have filed for an exemption from it. What kind of a messed up national health care system is that? Small businesses are exempt, and big businesses just need to file for an exemption! What a load of crap!

*inciting hate between classes, and racism. I thought surely THIS President would be color blind - instead, he's anything BUT color blind.
Meanwhile, he had coddled Wall St. (Especially Goldman Sachs), like nobody else.

The only two good things he's done is allow Gays to serve openly in the military, and say Yes to getting Bin Laden.

That's not much for nearly 4 years worth. I'd give him a grade of D, so far.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Adak

Why I don't like Obama:

I'm tired of:

*high gas and diesel prices - but Obama's restricted oil projects, and oil drilling on Federal lands. Even cut down on oil production in the oil preserve in Alaska - chosen because it has no impact on the animals (there are VERY few).

Obama has no effect on gas and diesel prices. Increasing production does not necessarily lead to lower prices. Too many other factors involved.

*his abandoning Ambassador Stevens and others, when they came under attack in Benghazi - despite having real time video from a recon drone, and military assets, nearby.

And having his Administration spokesmen talk about it, like it was a demonstration against a video - when he was told by the Consulate, that it was a militia attacking them, with military weapons (mortars, explosives, etc.), and had real time video of the attack, as well.

There are too many unknowns to make a definite conclusions. Almost every allegation I've seen has be denied plus there are many other factors that are not being taken into account (Monday quarterbacking).

Benghazi might turn out to be one of those events that only scholars will fully understand years down the road due to how complicated it probably was.

*crony gifts to his supporters: A123, Solyndra, etc., and his pursuit of his "enemies" (whistleblowers, Conservatives, etc.)

I'm assuming you have no proof of this because this is not true.

[quote]*lack of recovery from the recession. By his own account, he is a failure.[quote]
No, it is only a "failure" because of how conservative frame it. I can say the Packer's last year's regular season was a failure if the bar was set at 16-0 (which was widely claimed).

The current recovery is not much different than past recoveries besides the fact that this one is MUCH deeper. Plus, there are many other factors that Obama has no control over.

*lies and etc. He didn't close Gitmo, he didn't secure our borders, he didn't improve immigration, he has the justice department file suit against every single state that has passed Voter ID laws.

A lie implies that he knew he wasn't going to do those things when Obama said that. Those are just issues that didn't turn out for whatever reason, not him knowingly deceiving people (like *cough* Romney's tax plan)

*failure to pass even ONE budget, in either part of Congress.

Ok.

*and of course, the huge run up in the national debt.

Only an idiot would try to solve the debt problem during a recession...

*Obamacare should have been a crowing achievement, but it's a complete disaster, since all the largest employers have filed for an exemption from it. What kind of a messed up national health care system is that? Small businesses are exempt, and big businesses just need to file for an exemption! What a load of crap!

My analysis of Obamacare is that it addressed some issues extremely well, some alright, and some just missed the mark all together. History will tell.

*inciting hate between classes, and racism. I thought surely THIS President would be color blind - instead, he's anything BUT color blind.
Meanwhile, he had coddled Wall St. (Especially Goldman Sachs), like nobody else.

This doesn't make any sense. Most "class warfare" has been instigated by conservatives. Asking the upper class to pay a bit more is not class warfare. Inciting people to attack rich people's homes, loot them, and burning them to fucking ground is class warfare. Gain some perspective.

That's not much for nearly 4 years worth. I'd give him a grade of D, so far.

Now that isn't biased....

[Cyber Wolf]

Y'know, there's a lot of complaint from the red side about how Obama has 'failed America'. But that was their goal to start with, according to some Republican big names (big mouths?).

Republican leaders said they wanted Obama to fail:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

Because if he gets re-elected it'll be hard to push through stuff you wanna push through, granted. But how about moving things through that you potentially CAN agree on, assuming no obstructionism? "Single most important thing"? Really?

Rush Limbaugh: "I hope he fails."

We all know he's a nutter but he still has a flock.

Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann:"We’re, we’re, we’re hoping that President Obama’s policies don’t succeed"

So, so, so glad she never made it out of the primaries.
(Link disclaimer: Link sources do skew blue, but the quotes are exact and even offer recordings.)

So... given two of these quotes are from people who have been considered leaders in the Republican and conservative vein and in a position to get in the way of Obama's bills, I'd say part of the reason for Obama's failure rests with them.

I'm not exonerating the Democrats because their performance has been less than stellar too. But at least they didn't openly state they wanted Obama to fail, take steps to make him a one-term president, work on engineering failure in the Executive Branch then turn around abd try to tell me that he failed on his own.

Srsly, u guys?

[Ibby]

Originally Posted by Adak

*inciting hate between classes, and racism. I thought surely THIS President would be color blind - instead, he's anything BUT color blind.

Being colorblind IS being racist. In a massively racist society, to pretend not to see the crushing effects widespread racism has on people of color, IS the racist thing to do.

[Lamplighter]

I'm not exonerating the Democrats because their performance has been less than stellar too.

I'm curious about some specifics.

Given the stance of the 2010 Republican Connally/Ryan-controlled House of Representatives,
what could the Democrats do that they did not do (stellar-ish-ly) ?

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by Ibby

Being colorblind IS being racist. In a massively racist society, to pretend not to see the crushing effects widespread racism has on people of color, IS the racist thing to do.

Ibby, you have to be careful with this. There is very fine line between being colorblind (not racist), marginalizing racism (bad intentions), and trying to make up for racism (still racist).

Republicans tend to be racist by marginalizing racism, not by actually being color blind, which would not be racist (that's the definition). In fact, treating someone different based on ethnicity is technically racist no matter the intention. This includes calling black people criminals or Asians good at math. Many white liberals act in racist manners by trying to make up for past racism as well, which can end up be extremely condescending to whoever they are trying to help.

Being colorblind but acknowledging that racism exists is the best bet (ideally) in my opinion.


Also, as a side note...I could call our current "racism" as more of a "culturalism" since very few people believe in race anymore. It is just that culture is tied to race here in The States.