Well I see the ghastly game is finally over, and many progressives are accusing Obama of caving in to the fanatical teabaggers. Settling for a Satan Sandwich.
Or just plain surrendering.
Now I love Orwell. And after reading Krugman's column I'm seriously considering stocking up on food, water, and video games to prepare for the darkness ahead.
I understand their disappointment. It's not easy to see
But here's the thing eh? Obama had no choice but to give in to the teabaggers on the question of spending cuts and taxing the rich. He couldn't play Russian roulette with the global economy. But he hasn't lost yet.
When the time comes to decide what to cut, and more Americans realize that the pound of flesh they were screaming for is being carved out of their buttocks, Obama can make his case for raising taxes by asking the American people to decide between Mary in her wheelchair, or her hospital bed, and Bernie in his corporate jet.
Politics is the art of the possible. Timing is everything. And the teabaggers just made his job easier by sticking it to the Republican hawks.
So I wouldn't be too hard on Obama eh? Because those progressives who call him a Republican are underestimating him. And those who would abandon him are living in a fantasy world.
I am not blind to Obama's shortcomings, or to the group of Democratic Senators beholden to corporate America...
But those people are not our problem right now. The real issue is simple: you can not negotiate with sociopaths. All you can do is minimize the damage before you vote them out of office.
Angry at Obama? Fine. Glowing with the white hot hatred of a thousand suns at what the GOP is doing to our country?
No?
Then you're part of the problem.
The good news? This was only one battle, and the only thing that counts is who wins The War.
The teabaggers have shown their ugly face, and are sure to further divide their party
Boehner got boned. Obama lives to fight again.
It may be a Satan Sandwich, with a sideorder of "Satan Fries" as la Pelosi said. But in the end the RepubliCons will EAT IT.
And best of all, Stephen Harper's Cons and Rob Ford's gang will now more easily be seen by even the dumbest Canadians as Canada's very own teabaggers.
The Canadian chapter of the tax cut fairies...
And hopefully one day be
Or the wrath of an angry people.
Oh boy. How great will be that day.
I KNEW I was right to be optimistic eh?
Cue the Ode to Joy...
I think we will live to see the day when that Country will be reduced to a third world status.
ReplyDeleteSomeday the Chinese are going to walk into that Whitehouse, kick the President out, and turn it into a Chinese Restaurant Buffet.
We shouldn't be so smug. Under Harper's steady hand, we're not to far behind hurtling off that same cliff.
Hey Simon:
ReplyDeleteLike you, I keep waiting for people to come to their senses. With every new atrocity from the teabaggers / Rethugs / Harpokons, I want to think, finally, this is the tipping point. This is where the light bulb comes on. And each time, I'm disappointed. (You'd think, being a Leaf fan, I'd learn, but ... oh. Yeah.)
The longer we cling to that hope, the longer we fool ourselves. Something's going to have to snap, and I don't want to think what the fallout's going to look like.
In the meantime, thanks for the link ...
OB