The man who said he was going to challenge the system, fight corporate lobbyists and change the system now appears to be fighting for the status quo and corporate America at every turn. I call the Republican Party a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America, but now Barack Obama is not far behind. Let me explain.
On health care reform, Obama on the surface appears to be challenging the status quo in a major way and fighting for universal coverage. But what does that mean? The way the Senate bill is written now 30 million new Americans will get insurance coverage. That's great, right? Yes, it's great for the private insurance companies. They get all of those new customers and with the help of Barack Obama they defeated any new competition from a public option or expanded Medicare. And now there's a mandate that everyone must buy insurance from those same companies that Obama was supposedly challenging. Change you can believe in!
You might be thinking, wait a minute that was Lieberman who insisted that we kill the public option and protect the corporations. Yes, but there'll always be Liebermans in the world. Obama told us that he would fight for us against the corporate sell-outs of the world like Lieberman. And he most certainly did not. Instead, he ordered the other Senate Democrats to stand down and bow their heads to Lieberman. That's because Obama never wanted the public option. While claiming in public that he thought it was a good idea, behind the scenes he fought to kill it at every turn.
I wasn't predisposed to think this. I voted for Obama and really did think he was going to bring us some degree of change. I gave him the benefit of the doubt in a hundred different ways. But every time the public option came up, he sent Rahm Emanuel out to knock it down. But it's not just the public option.
The drug industry also received massive protection from the Obama administration. Some people think Obama is weak and that he can't enforce his will on stubborn senators. That's not true. When Byron Dorgan introduced a bill that would allow drug importation from Canada, Obama came down like a ton of bricks on Democratic senators and switched a huge number of votes so that in the end the drug industry won. That cost the American taxpayer nearly $100 billion in the next ten years alone. Score another victory for Barack Obama, Inc.
I could go on and on about the health care bill and tell you dozens of ways that corporate America was protected and how more customers were funneled their way. But there are so many other issues on which Obama has sold out to corporate America that I want to get to those as well. The biggest one being so-called financial reform.
There are so many loopholes in the Obama administration proposals for financial reform that you could drive a campain bus through them. The main problem is regulating derivatives. But instead of banning what Warren Buffet calls financial weapons of mass destruction, or even regulating them, Obama has proposed that we merely note them. Wow.
But even that didn't happen. Instead, there are two huge loopholes (one for end-users and one for foreign currency swaps, both pushed by the Obama administration) in the so-called requirement to report derivative trades so that in the end it appears 90% of derivatives will not even be reported. Change you can believe in!
How about taxing bonuses like England and France have done? Obama fought against it. How about re-instituting Glass-Steagall like John McCain of all people has suggested (you know you're a corporate sell-out when McCain outflanks you on the left)? Obama fought against it. How about regulating credit default swaps like Paul Volcker has suggested? Obama fought against it.
Nearly every financial reform proposed has been either killed or watered down by this administration. Whenever someone suggests real reform, Geithner gets sent out to say it can't be done. Tim Geithner and Rahm Emanuel aren't doing this on their own. Their boss is giving them their marching orders -- protect corporate America at every turn.
On climate change, Obama is threatening to use the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. According to all the reporting coming out of Washington, this is a threat to try to get Congress to pass a mild form of legislation instead. The House version of this bill is already ridiculously weak and the Senate will only make it worse. Corporate America's win on this issue will be even more impressive.
Right now, the legislation is not even close to making out of the Senate. So, will Obama follow through on his threat and have the EPA regulate? Hell to the no. Given the course he's on, I guarantee he doesn't use the EPA (if he really wanted action, he would have already used the EPA; what's he waiting on?). So, now if you think I'm over-reacting we'll have a gauge by which to test my theory.
Then there are other issues where Obama has been far, far less progressive than he promised on the campaign. I'm probably more angry about his cave in on civil liberties than any other issue. He's continuing Bush and Cheney's clearly un-American policy of indefinite detentions and clearly unconstitutional invasions of privacy through national security letters. The Patriot Act is largely unchanged. And we haven't even gotten to the escalation of the Afghanistan War (but at least that was promised in the campaign).
But I don't put the civil liberties and the wars in the same equation as the other issues I mentioned. Why? Because it's one thing if I disagree with your policies and principles, if they are genuinely held. Ok, that's a sad day for me but doesn't necessarily indicate that you're wrong or unprincipled (no matter how much I might disagree with you). What I mind is the give-aways to corporate lobbyists that have nothing to do with your principles and have everything to do with politics and money. What I mind is when you sell out the American people to protect corporate America. I hate it when the Republicans do it and pretend to be for the little guy. And I hate it when this administration does it and pretends to be for change.
Maybe I should just get used to it. Money runs the world and no matter what a politician -- any politician -- promises you, they're going to do what their corporate overlords told them in the end. But I don't want to get used to it. I want to fight it. I'm not Barack Obama. I actually have hope that we can in fact change the system. That's the change I believe in and the change that Barack Obama has definitely not delivered so far.
Follow Cenk Uygur on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheYoungTurks
That was certainly a big part of why the Republicans and the right wing scared me so much. And it was why I left the Republican party. I truly believed that Obama was going to restore the balance that is the genius of our political and legal system. Sadly, we got warning signs early on that Obama might not be what he appeared to be. I voted for him and supported him strongly during the election. I am sadly coming to the conclusion that I was fooled into believing what I wanted to believe, hearing what I wanted to hear. "Being There" anyone?
The problem is none of us really knew Obama when he ran. He had not been in the US Senate long enough for us to see how he operated. We projected onto him what we wanted him to be, and he presented issues in a way that represented the heart of the democratic party. Now I think there were certain facts that were suggestive of where we were going to be if he got to be President.
1. Inexperienced;
2. People who worked with him on the Harvard Law Journal said he sat back and "facilitated differences" but did not take strongly argued legal positions. They resented him for this;
3.Obama's background, although that of a bi racial male from a broken home, was as a student at elite prep schools and universities where he curried favor with influential intellectuals;
4. His skill at elucidating a great narrative line, his clean and lucid writing style, including a unique balanced voice without passion or any stridency whatsoever;
5. His reputation of being cool and detached;
6. His voting "present" 100 times in the Illinois Senate.
Thank you.
"When You Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils You Still Vote For Evil"- Tiger99
You F'd up, you trusted us" Bluto (Animal House)
"I am not so sure about all of the hateful opinions against president obama, since they seem to benefit the republican agenda. In fact, I think there are a lot of paid comments meant to rile up and scare the presidents base as much as possible. Please, please, lets be skeptics at all the criticisms harshly condemning our president."
I'm a lifelong Progressive who is not stupid enough to accidentally support any Republican agenda when I criticize the president for whom I voted. He has has turned his back on every campaign promise (with the exception of ramping up Afghanistan as the author pointed out) he made and continues to sell what's left our the very soul of this country to the elite, banks, the health care industry and the military industrial complex -- all of whom put him into power by throwing massive sums of money his way to get him elected. It's been payback time ever since and he's paying the masters back with the blood, sweat, and trust of the US taxpayer. His motivations could not be more transparent. Wake up!
I can only hope this period of negativity and frustration can be turned into a positive for the people as it does put some pressure on politicians,, that may somewhat compete with lobbyists who have seemingly better access,,
"Change we can believe" in is a new destination for most Americans trying to get hold of the strangle hold corporations have on our gov,,, what that path looks like or turns into is new,, but something the people should constantly pay attention to and find ways to harness,, to expect more from our elected officials,, a very important ingredient in a democracy that's missing when conservatives win elections..
BTW, Glenn Greenwald provides the most reasoned, nuanced and undistorted explanation of the philosophical, ideological and practical tensions underlying the health care debate among Progressives.
In a nut shell, Cenk and you and me and many other disappointed Progressives are coming into the realization that Mr. Obama and the Obama administration are corporatists at heart.
We are witnessing a reinvigorated version of the Third Way - a Clintonian Triangulation just repackaged with sleeker, updated marketing in the form of a beautiful, brilliant, extremely charismatic biracial man - but a corporatist none-the-less.
The health care debate has revealed the willful use of government power to regulate against the benefit and will of the American people and to the benefit and will of corporate interests.
The individual mandate portion of the insurance reform bill represents the most robust form of corporatism we've seen to date. In this new manifestation of corporatism, our government is merging with its corporate benefactors to ensure an IRS enforced, perpetual flow of taxpayer dollars to the insurance industry and a perpetual flow of campaign donations to the Democratic Party. This latest quid pro quo transaction between the government, the insurance industry and big Pharma will virtually guarantee a perpetual flow of campaign finances, perpetuity of political power and progressively watered down legislation favorable to corporate overlords. ,
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/
He didn't lie, he merely engaged in Orwellian double speak, i.e. Change you can believe in means change his corporate masters can believe in as they count it. Public Option is do everything to opt the public out (he did that). Climate change? the climate the economic hit men operate in is changing. Understand, words, slogans are being used to gain and keep power.
At least you've got the courage to stand up for your principles and not continue to continue to march in lockstep with the party line.
I probably disagree with some of your politics but I salute your integrity!
I think it is somewhat childish to believe an educated and moral man has come to love corporate power over the people or he has been magically changed to a republican; nonsense and don't be gullible. The wrath is over the top and by trolls, we should be careful before we eviscerate our pres. and support him as such but be disappointed in his specific work. It may be that there is more to this bill than meets the eye, that is and insurance is terrified (it regulates them like never before). By all means lets put pressure on our leaders, but go after the policy NOT the man or we are no better than the fundamentalist repubs.
Maybe instead of sitting back and letting a few good guys in Washington battle an evil army hell-bent on destroying them, us, and our quality of life... (insert your own action-oriented statement here). And for all those who HAVE taken action but are still upset with the lack of perfect results: the game isn't over. You probably yell at your television if your favorite football team isn't "playing hard for 60 minutes", right? Well, same to you!
We are upset that he turned out to be a fraud and his campaign for President to be one giant scam.
He's simply another corporate shill. That he gives lofty speeches means nothing. While we are all grateful he broke the racial barrier to the White House, we can look past the President's words to his actual actions and realize that he's not the person he pretended to be during the campaign.
THAT is why we are upset.
We are not upset that he isn't winning a football game. We are upset that he is not playing the same game we are and this goals are not our goals.
See, I think the President is "kicking butt". He is winning. He's just not playing the game he pretended to be playing during his campaign. He is successfully doing what he REALLY ran for office to do -- shill for Wall Street in exchange for corporate campaign cash.
Why else do you think he called Joe Lieberman two days ago to say "Thank You"?
Because Lieberman is doing what the President WANTS him to do. He successfully got away with killing any form of public option without the President's fingerprints on the trigger (or so the President and Rahm thinks).
Judge a politician by their actions, not their meaningless words.
We've seen his action and we see who the President REALLY is. That's why we are upset.
Bait & Switch. We were scammed.
Unless there is a major "course correction" I think Obama needs to face a progressive primary challenger in 2012. They may not win but can point out how different President Obama is from candidate Obama.
How is Obama a 'good guy' if he maintains the warrantless wiretapping and national security letters civil libertarians were pulling their hair out over when Bush did it?
How is Obama a 'good guy' when he sends his Treasury Secretary over to Congress to squash any semblance of financial reform to prevent another economic disaster from burdening the taxpayers? How is Obama a good guy when he sends his guy over to fight the repeal of Glass-Steagall?
Obama is not a 'good guy'. He's illustrated he is part of the political machine that puts corporations above people. He's a DLC Big Corp. Dem.
Yes, he inherited this mess but he has historical examples of how to get out of it. But he's chosen to take the road of the status quo. He compromises with the conservatives and kicks the progressives to the curb.
I've written and called our reps on both sides of the aisle on both of these subjects. What the hell else can we do? They aren't listening to the people. We don't pay them as well as the corporations.
Maybe I should just get used to it. Money runs the world and no matter what a politician -- any politician -- promises you, they're going to do what their corporate overlords told them in the end. But I don't want to get used to it. I want to fight it. I'm not Barack Obama. I actually have hope that we can in fact change the system. That's the change I believe in and the change that Barack Obama has definitely not delivered so far.
Kudos to you !!!!!
All we can do is try our best.
many of us hoped that there was an underlying humanity, but he seemed too much like Hillary for my comfort.
my hopes have been squashed like a critter on the highway of life.
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them!" - Madea
I'm tired of you and your constant rant about the President.
Go vote for a Republican next time and see where it gets you. Empty handed, unless you are in the 1% class, which I doubt.
We don't need anymore hate talk. Rush has you beat on that and Beck is too crazy to mention.
So, go pedal your constant nagging somewhere else. I'm done.
Throughout the campaign... Cenk, among others, was one of Obama's biggest cheerleaders. Instead of just denigrating him... why not try to see where these people are coming from? Why not ask what could make these people go from cheering Obama to criticizing him? I seriously think Dems are doomed because the really refuse to look at themselves to see just what they may have done to turn people off or what they could do to bring people back. Instead... you would rather push them further away.
Again... wow.
He will most often than not, rant about what this President doesn't do and I'm tired of it. If the Republicans can divide us, then their wish will come true. They regain power.
Obama LIED on the campaign trail. I attended a primary rally where he promised to end the warrantless wiretapping program. He said the old FISA laws were more than sufficient. I clapped so hard my hands were beet red. I picked him over Hillary for that reason, she was a hawk..McCain's "dear friend". Obama has expanded Bush's program, continued violating the 4th Amendment.
Obama has done nothing but protect the status quo and you can get upset because he's picking on your cardboard hero but that doesn't change any of the facts Cenk laid out here today. That's not hate...it's the truth sweetie.
If you don't like it; find a corner; plug your ears, close your eyes, hum loudly so you can't hear and pretend Obama is Hope & Change. Pretend real hard.