State of the Union Address

[Ranchman]

The Republicans are really good at sitting on their hands and looking so smug. Mitch McConnell should be tarred and feathered for all his spoil sport antics. At least Harry Reid tried to work with the Republican leadership to begin with. I think Obama layed it on the line tonight - I think the speech was pretty good.

 

[JB3]

The Republicans are really good at sitting on their hands and looking so smug. Mitch McConnell should be tarred and feathered for all his spoil sport antics. At least Harry Reid tried to work with the Republican leadership to begin with. I think Obama layed it on the line tonight - I think the speech was pretty good.

You're joking right? The only one worse than Pelosi is Reid.

Its sort of like an elementary school classroom. Obama's the teacher, Reid's a bully, and the republican leadership was the kid that is short for his age. While Reid would pretend to work with others, when the teacher's back was turned he would ignore the republicans and do his own thing.

I can't believe you honestly think that either Reid or Pelosi made any honest attempt to include republicans in the process.

 

[construct]

And sitting right behind Sen. McConnell was my own Sen. John Cornyn, who is even worse.

 

[Ranchman]

Did you see the smug look on McConnell's face when Obama said the Republicans now have 41 Senate votes? What does that tell you? It told me more obstructionism - I thought I actually saw McConnell salivating!!

 

[NickCole]

Did you see the smug look on McConnell's face when Obama said the Republicans now have 41 Senate votes? What does that tell you? It told me more obstructionism - I thought I actually saw McConnell salivating!!

More obstructionism?

In addition to bipartisan-passed bills, legislation was passed in 2009 without a single Republican vote. They didn't have enough votes to obstruct any legislation.

 

[hotatlboi]

More obstructionism?

Yes, obstructionism. I know it must be a novel concept to you since for the life of me I can't figure out how you can fail to recognize it in this case.

In addition to bipartisan-passed bills, legislation was passed in 2009 without a single Republican vote. They didn't have enough votes to obstruct any legislation.

They've had varying success with their obstructionism. That doesn't change the fact that yes, they are seeking to obstruct nearly everything by any means possible. The fact that they now have 41 votes will make that easier.

 

[NickCole]

Yes, obstructionism. I know it must be a novel concept to you since for the life of me I can't figure out how you can fail to recognize it in this case.

It's the 60 supermajority filibuster-proof don't-need-a-single-Republican-vote-to-pass-legislation thing.

But you do show a problem Democrats led by Obama have with exercising power. ObamaNation just doesn't seem able to get up in the morning without complaining they're victimized.

 

[hotatlboi]

It's the 60 supermajority filibuster-proof don't-need-a-single-Republican-vote-to-pass-legislation thing.

lol, just because they weren't as successful in obstructing with only 40 votes doesn't mean they weren't obstructing.

Look at the lead up to the Senate vote on health care. They threw up like 12 procedural objections that delayed the vote 4 days even when they already knew the outcome. That's nothing but obstruction right there.

Only difference now is, it will be easier to obstruct.

 

[NickCole]

lol, just because they weren't as successful in obstructing with only 40 votes doesn't mean they weren't obstructing.

Look at the lead up to the Senate vote on health care. They threw up like 12 procedural objections that delayed the vote 4 days even when they already knew the outcome. That's nothing but obstruction right there.

Only difference now is, it will be easier to obstruct.

Four days.

That disaster they called health care reform took MONTHS to wind through the Senate and you're faulting Republican obstructionism that delayed the vote four days. Didn't, ultimately, prevent a vote or stop the legislation, but delayed it four days.

Yeah if it weren't for those four days we'd have Health Care Reform.

 

[hotatlboi]

While the speech had its highlights, I've become jaded ever since the Massachusetts election.

The Democratic congress had an entire year to pass healthcare reform and they diddled their time away until the last minute when it was too late.

So how the hell is Congress going to pass the laundry list of items in Obama's speech?

I do agree with this. The Dems epically failed by taking so long on health care, which doesn't present good prospects for the rest of the agenda.

 

[hotatlboi]

When my generation gets hold of government, we will do it right.

LOL, what is that supposed to mean?

Everyone of your generation agrees with your viewpoint?

I don't think so.

Our government will have these same problems as long as the system is just the two parties trading things back and forth to get reelected and knock the other down.

 

[hotatlboi]

My views are typical of voters under 30.

yeah well I'm 25 and I probably agree with you on most things, but I think it's incredibly naive to think all of the problems in government will be solved and you will get all your wishes simply by another generation getting elected. People in every generation have thought that.

 

[NickCole]

Every generation achieves more than the past.

Wow. Just wow.

This understanding of history, human nature, and the course of social evolution is stunningly narrow and achingly wrong.

There are ebbs and flows in social change, it's by no means a straight road from bad to better.

And right now we are in a decline, not a period of social expansion. And since you mention generations as you did I'll point out that your generation played a big part in choosing Barack Obama, who is leading us into further decline. This past year, squandered opportunity after squandered opportunity, and where we are today makes that clear.

 

[Ranchman]

I just wish that most younger people under 30 who would vote Democratic would actually go to the polls on primary and election days and actually vote!!!

 

[NickCole]

Obama's SOTU last night ...

No change.

And that ain't good.


On another note ...

Nobody yelled out "You lie!" last night but Justice Alito mouthed, "Not true" when President Obama lied in claiming the Supreme Court ruling allows foreign interests to contribute to our federal elections. Or maybe Obama didn't lie, maybe the Constitutional law professor just doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Or maybe someone put it in his teleprompter and he doesn't know what he's reading.

The president's statement is false.

The Court held that 2 U.S.C. Section 441a, which prohibits all corporate political spending, is unconstitutional. Foreign nationals, specifically defined to include foreign corporations, are prohibiting from making "a contribution or donation of money or ather thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State or local election" under 2 U.S.C. Section 441e, which was not at issue in the case. Foreign corporations are also prohibited, under 2 U.S.C. 441e, from making any contribution or donation to any committee of any political party, and they prohibited from making any "expenditure, independent expenditure, or disbursement for an electioneering communication... ."

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZTVkODZiM2M0ODEzOGQ3MTMwYzgzYjNmODBiMzQzZjk

 

[Jack Springer]

Oh. Ok then



Every generation achieves more than the past. In the 1920, it was women's suffrage. In 1964, it was the Civil Rights Act. In 20-- it will be our turn.

We may achieve legal equality soon.

But it's cultural equality will come when our generation becomes middle aged.

It also applies to social services. They get more extensive and more supportive as time goes on. Some do not agree, but myself and most others who are under 30 believe that it is a government's duty to provide as much support for underprivileged people as is feasible. That's why most voters under 30 vote Democratic. I believe that it is fundamentally because the size and complexity of our nation grows, which is paralleled by the growing size of government.

Major flaw in your logic JockBoy. People under 30, get over 30, over 40, over 50 . . . and progressively get more conservative . . an don't vote for more government.

Being idealistic is wonderful if you don't have to deal with reality.

 

[NickCole]

Major flaw in your logic JockBoy. People under 30, get over 30, over 40, over 50 . . . and progressively get more conservative . . an don't vote for more government.

Being idealistic is wonderful if you don't have to deal with reality.

Yeah but it really isn't about idealism.

It's idealism and the idiocy of youth that makes every generation believe we're going to be one that'll make everything right. We all think that. Go to Pompeii and read thousands-year-old graffitti. My generation thought it, their generation thought it, today's youth thinks it. We're supposed to, that's what infuses hope and enthusiasm into society.

And change DOES happen with every generation. But the difference between change that makes things better, like with civil rights or the economic prosperity of the 90s, and change that makes things worse like during the Bush years and Obama years, is not idealism or liberalism or conservativism. It's the character of our leaders. A lot of people thought civil rights was a good idea but it was MLK that led the struggle in the right direction and LBJ that made it happen legislatively.

When we choose leaders whose drive is to achieve in a broad big way, we end up with very different results than when we choose leaders whose drive to achieve is all about themselves. Narcissists as leaders, and as a population, do not bring about social evolution. We are in a period of decline and unfortunately what happened during the last presidential primaries and election added fuel to our downward direction, as we've seen in the past year. And as the youth of the 50s and 60s contributed to elevating to leadership the people who made civil rights advances happen, the youth of the 2000s contributed to elevating to leadership the people who are making today's climate what it is. If Barack Obama had authentically been what his supporters pretended he was, it'd be very different. But they think pretending is the same as truth, and that's at the core of our tailspin right now. ("They" being today's adult youth but I hasten to add that their teachers and parents taught it to them.)

I'm not saying Barack Obama becoming President is totally the fault of our youth. An astonishingly large number of older adults in America today are taking their cues from our youth rather than engaging their experience to make more reasoned decisions. When people like 50-something Caroline Kennedy reveal that she was convinced to support Obama by her children, we're clearly in trouble. In a civilization that's healthy, the youth of a society has its important function, middle-aged population has its function and elders have their function; when middle-aged and elders are following rather than leading that's a real problem.

 

[palemale]

Obama's SOTU last night ...

No change.

And that ain't good.


On another note ...

Nobody yelled out "You lie!" last night but Justice Alito mouthed, "Not true" when President Obama lied in claiming the Supreme Court ruling allows foreign interests to contribute to our federal elections. Or maybe Obama didn't lie, maybe the Constitutional law professor just doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Or maybe someone put it in his teleprompter and he doesn't know what he's reading.

Nick, you are the one who doesn't know what the hell he is talking about. Where in 2 U.S.C. Sec. 441e does it prohibit a domestic corporation, not a subsidiary of a foreign corporation, owned or controlled by foreign interests from making an expenditure to influence an American election? Here's a hint, it doesn't.

 

[NickCole]

... I'm not saying Barack Obama becoming President is totally the fault of our youth. ...

I should have concentrated more on this whole post before posting it; started out as a simple comment and I didn't expect it would grow to what it did. I'm working on something else and didn't give it the attention it needed.

Although I stand by my underlying point of the post, Obama becoming President is a result of several factors and it's not the "fault" of our youth. That's a clumsy and wrong characterization.

 

[declan121]

The same old story from the same old people.

Results speak for themselves.

Eight years of republicanism have left an indelible mark upon the nation and the world.

Isn't there a tea party or a militia meeting to get to?