Greg Sargent and Steve Benen explain how the GOP hopes to gain from obstruction of legislation that the public supports.
Voters either don’t understand, or they don’t care, that the GOP has employed an unprecedented level of filibustering in order to block all of Obama’s policies, even ones that have majority public support from Dems, independents and Republicans alike.
Their reaction, in a nutshell, seems to be: The Obama-led government isn’t acting on the economy? Obama can’t get his policies passed? Well, he must be weak.
Indeed, if the GOP’s strategy is to deliberately create government dysfunction out of a belief that the public will blame Obama for it and lose faith on government in general, turning to GOP ideology instead, it very well may be working. The new AP poll finds that only 41 percent say government can do much to create jobs, a finding that’s borne out in other polls.
The public likes to think of the President of the United States, no matter who’s in office, as having vast powers. He or she is “leader of the free world.†He or she holds the most powerful office on the planet. If the president — any president — wants a jobs bill, it must be within his or her power to simply get one to the Oval Office to be signed into law.
And when the political system breaks down, and congressional Republicans kill ideas that are worthwhile and popular, there’s an assumption that the president is somehow to blame, even if that doesn’t make any sense at all.
Polls show the public favors the Democratic Party’s policy ideas over those of Republicans. But since Democrats can’t get their policies passed over Republican obstruction, voters seem inclined to punish the Dems by voting for Republicans.
And, unfortunately, most Americans aren’t hearing the whole story of the obstruction. Those who only read headlines or listen to 30 minutes or less of broadcast news every day have no idea what’s really going on.
Judging by a lot of leftie commentary in the blogosphere, even people who seem to care about politics and seem to pay some attention to issues come to irrational conclusions about why the President isn’t accomplishing what they want. So how would someone who doesn’t pay much attention to politics — or worse, who listens to Fox News or Rush Limbaugh — have a clue?
The Dems plan to continue to push for jobs. Senate Dems are going to try to get a vote on the infrastructure portion of the nixed Jobs bill, to force Republicans to vote no on it again. But Steve Benen says,
As it turns out, reporters seem annoyed that Senate Democrats continue to fight for jobs, pressing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on why he’d bother with an infrastructure bill that Republicans disapprove of.
Maybe because it shouldn’t be up to the Senate minority to veto an idea before a debate? Maybe because this is a bill Republicans should gladly endorse? Maybe because there’s value in getting GOP lawmakers on record on an important and popular bill?
All told, the U.S. Department of Transportation projects that this $50 billion proposal would create roughly 800,000 jobs. They’re jobs, apparently, Republicans don’t think the nation needs.
In a particularly interesting moment, reporters repeatedly pressed Reid to explain why he was going to force Republicans to vote this way, given that they have already said they’ll never support raising taxes. (It would be nice to see these reporters question Republicans as aggressively on why they won’t back policies that even GOP voters like, but that’s probably expecting too much.) But Reid refused to give ground, again and again pointing out that the public is on the side of Dems, and against Republicans, on this issue.
“The Republicans in the Senate are the only group of people in America that feel this way,†Reid said, in a reference to their opposition to the millionaire surtax. “Around the country, Democrats, independents, and Republicans support what we’re trying to do.†As it happens, large majorities also support increased infrastructure spending — including of GOP voters.
I feel like occupying the Washington press corps right now.
I’d like to see the OWS people in DC protesting outside the offices of FOX and CNN, among others. The media is a huge part of the problem, and it would be interesting, to say the least, to watch coverage of such an event.
OWS would then be accused of being against free speech!
“I feel like occupying the Washington press corps right now.”
You ARE a kind soul, maha…
I was thinking more along the lines of a D-day like invasion, with a tactical nuke or two thrown in – just to make sure we got their attention.
I’ve been on record since OWS started that they also need an offshoot that occupies the mainstream media – OMSM.
It would accomplish two things:
– Since there’s only about 6 corporations that own most of the MSM, you’d be killing two birds with one stone.
– Bring a spotlight on how genuinely awful our media are at reporting news (outside of missing white girls, that is – that they’re GREAT AT!). And how people need to hold the pundits, columnists, editors, and reporters to higher standards.
NO, WAIT!!!
I just had an idea!
If we occupy them, they’ll do what they do best – ignore us!
But, what if we pick sweeps weeks on electronic media, where they get their ratings which determine ad rates for commercials, and the same week boycott newspapers.
Liberals can send a message to these people’s pocketbooks, which is ALL that they care about anyway.
No FOX News, no CNN, no CNBC, no NPR, no PBS (because the last two have bent over backwards in the last decade to accomodate the right, and/or the ‘they said/they said’ version that now passes for news). You can watch MSNBC during the liberal hours in the evenings, and Chris Hayes’ show on weekend mornings. And, Stewart and Colbert, of course.
But, NO newspapers!
NO radio! Unless you can find a liberal host on your dial- but, you’d have better luck hunting for left-handed unicorns in Mid-town NYC. Listen to music, instead.
Watch, as liberals tank these corporations ratings and circulation.
Nothing except Liberal websites.
Call it what you want:
‘No News Is Good News’
‘No News Is Better Than This News’
‘No News Is Better Than What These Corporations Spew’
‘We’re Mad As Hell, And We’re Not Going To Take It Anymore!!!’
Whatever…
Liberals, – let’s hit ’em in their wallets!!!
It’ll be especially effective during sweeps weeks. Hell, we could threaten them that if they don’t improve fast, not only will we do it again, but that we’ll boycott them from Labor Day 2012 until AFTER the election! That’ll might their attention! That’s their prime time for raking in cash.
Worst case – we can have some peace and quiet, save ourselves some aggravation, and lower our blood pressure.
What do you think of this idea?
And, if you think it’s good, help me organize it, since I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve always been more of a march/protest guy, or the new ‘occupy idea?’
Or, run with it yourself. My unemployment checks run out next Friday, so I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to be on the internet – though, I’m willing to give up pretty much anything except that! But I just don’t know.
Well?
“Harry, why do you keep trying to SERVE the American PEOPLE and do your JOB, unlike Turtleman (and Orange Man, in the House)”?
“Judging by a lot of leftie commentary in the blogosphere, even people who seem to care about politics and seem to pay some attention to issues come to irrational conclusions about why the President isn’t accomplishing what they want. So how would someone who doesn’t pay much attention to politics — or worse, who listens to Fox News or Rush Limbaugh — have a clue?”
If only the Democrats had some sort of public figure with great oratory skills and access to cameras and the media… and don’t say the voters don’t listen to Obama. They jammed congressional phone lines during the debt ceiling debate because a President told them to. He can move people quite well when he wants to.
He can move people quite well when he bypasses news media and speaks to the nation directly.
This entire commentary really demonstrates that there is NO liberal bias to the news. None whatsoever.
ugh… disregard my earlier comment, it was for another post 🙂
NPR just fired an Opera reviewer because she was involved in OWS rallies. Had it been a Fox Employee at a lynching or other Tea Party social, she’d have been given a raise and a promotion to Grand Wizard.
NPR is terrified it will lose its federal funding if it pisses off the Right. In other words, the terrorists have won.
As we all know, the right’s ONLY goal is to deep six Obama; they will lie, cheat, and steal to meet the goal.
These people harbor an irrational hatred of liberalism in general, and Obama in particular.
I find this strange because Obama has gone way out of his way to accomodate their wishes and goals.
Obama basically saved Wall Street, he had Bin Laden killed, he escalated the war in Afghanistan, under his command thousands of taliban have been killed, he ordered drone attacks in Yemen and Somalia,backed the civil war in Libya, he has worked with his political opposition on almost every issue. They STILL hate him.
It is clear to me that these people DO NOT want a democracy.
They believe a president is imbued with all kinds of powers that he should use at will, so long as THEY can own any firearms they want, have God and Godspeak everywhere, and have the power to deny women control of their reproductive system.
If y’all have any righty friends, ask them if they think it is o.k. to lie and cheat the next election to get Obama out of office. I’ve asked my righty friends, and they all said “YES”.
They want rule by the people, but liberals aren’t part of “the plan”.
Their “plan” BTW, includes drug testing those on welfare and unemployment insurance (at the recipient’s expense),eliminating the departments of education and the EPA,kicking minorities to the curb, and other “Christian” behavior.
I’m fixin’ to write a short story called “He’s Baaaackkk!” where Jesus comes back to Earth, and finds he must get permits for all his activities, finds himself subject to all kinds of searches and spy activities, finds many things denied to him because he has no credit score or employment history,and needs to drug test his followers when he re-enacts the picnic where he makes the loaves and fishes feed the many, then gets arrested for turning water into wine. Finally, they try to re-enact the crucificition, this time Jesus has a gun and Big Daddy steps in; oh, the irony
Then we will see who get’s “Left Behind”……..(Perhaps Maha will help me with spelling, punctuation, and the use of run-on sentences?)
Gulag, I’m sorry about your situation.
Maha, “the terrorists have won”, sure seems that way.