Obama Goes Bipartisan
Barack Obama said recently that he would consider putting Republicans in his cabinet. He even named a few Republicans he’d consider appointing: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Lugar, John Warner, Chuck Hagel and Tom Coburn.
Some explanations:
Sen. Dick Lugar: “He’s a Republicans who I worked with on issues of arms control, wonderful guy. He is somebody I think embodies the tradition of a bipartisan foreign policy that is sensible, that is not ideological, that is based on the idea that we have to have some humility and restraint in terms of our ability to project power around the world,” Obama said about his Senate colleague.
Sen. Chuck Hagel: “A Vietnam vet, similar approach and somebody I respect in a similar fashion,” Obama added.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: “What (he’s) doing on climate change in California is very important and significant. There are things I don’t agree with him on, but he’s taken leadership on a very difficult issue and we haven’t seen that kind of leadership in Washington,” Obama said of the California governor.
This is something I – and I think many American independents, centrists and moderates with me – applaud, but which doesn’t make the liberal base very happy. Open Left:
Obama slipped up by saying he’d appoint Republicans to his cabinet, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, who called Democrats ‘economic girly men’ in 2004 at the Republican national convention. Democrats don’t like Republicans, and Democratic primary voters especially dislike them. So then I looked at an ad Hillary Clinton released today bragging about working with a Republican Senator, Lindsay Graham, to move legislation. Both Obama and Clinton are psyched about Republicans. And Edwards has already said he’d appoint Republicans to his cabinet.
I don’t get it. This is a Democratic primary. Shouldn’t they pander a little bit before we have to eat shit for the general election? What the hell?
Crooks and Liars: “Here we go—the good old bipartisan garbage. I can’t stand primary season.”
First of all, the Republian Party hasn’t done anything worth a sack of piss for at least a decade. They don’t deserve to be included in a Democratic president’s cabinet; they haven’t earned it.
Secondly, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Jebus.
This is the dumbest shit Obama’s said since “impeachment [should be reserved] for grave, grave breaches, and intentional breaches of the president’s authority” as a reason for why he doesn’t support impeaching Bush
Well, you know that when you’re pissing off the extreme base of both of the parties, you must be doing SOMETHING right. The wingnuts of both parties, who decry not being bipartisan in the other party and then decry when their party attempts the same thing, have got to be the most spoiled people in politics. The Democratic base hates Hillary, and I understand them on this count, but if they think that Obama is just going to be their little plaything and that he owes them absolute obedience, they’ve been listening to Rush Limbaugh too long.
I think there is a good reason to be wary of appearing weak, and I also think there is some sense in saying that this kind of bravery might be just a little naive, or not reciprocal to how the reps have been acting.
Meh, I am all for Obama’s move but I hope he can sell it well and doesn’t give the other side something they just haven’t earned. Then again, Schwarzenegger has shown his good sense by going at Bush and his auto-industry benefactors as they try to keep California as unevolved as the SUV-saturated south.
Exactly Lynx.
I think that frustrates them to no end: the fact that the two candidates who have a shot refuse to be told by them what to do and what to think.
Of course the reality is that Americans will never favor a true liberal policy. The Democratic candidates have to appeal to independents and moderates as well. If they don’t, they’re done for.
Spot on.
Basically true but incrementally there’s been a tendency to show Americans the ‘gifts’ that government can give, and we Americans like lots of shiny presents under the tree and sometimes forget about the credit card bills that we’ll then have to pay in January.
i agree with Obama. If the candidate is worthy, intelligent and experienced in the matter, who cares what party he/she is from
Is this what conversatives tell themselves each night before they go to bed? Whatever helps you fall asleep…
Yeah, that’s it.
No, Chris, it’s what we see when we look at a Democratic majority Congress that can’t get anything done.
Haha… true liberals they are not. And you should pay attention to the record number of filibuster threats from the Republicans as well.
Actually, Obama said something quite more subtle. Something bloggers choose to ignore. Watch the Obama-Schwarzenegger video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di8uTjdgSE8
I’d think election results would have been plenty of indication – but hey whatever blinders you want to put on. Liberals are known to not acknowledge reality.
Reality is a matter of perspective interested.
Uh, Chris? Weren’t we discussing our assertion that America doesn’t elect ‘true liberals’?
lmao – which delusion fits within.
It’s hilarious to be lectured about reality by people who support the continued occupation of Iraq.
Then why are Congressional Democrats so despised by self-identified democrats in the polls?
A) They are being to0 conservative
B) They are being too liberal
I’m gonna let you guess which one is the right answer. (Hint: it’s B)
woops… haha… it’s NOT B… doh
Egg on my face.
Ahh, so you are finding your entire so-called Dem leadership also within this category? Including people you probably voted for and support – that is if your old enough to do so.
Interested,
I always look to you for the wisdom of the elders.
Oh god, can we please not go into the "liberals are deluded" "conservatives are heartless" Unending Debate today? I’ve got my fill of craziness over at the Ron Paul thread, really.
Chris: very good comment (#17).
Lynx: agreed. Lets calm down a bit. The other thread is for the crazies, let this one be for the sane people.
And for liberals.
Dang! I couldn’t refuse Lynx! I don’t know what’s wrong. Like delatourette syndrom!
lmao Michael
Heh, your Freudian slip is showing. Chris, the point is that the Democratic party is made up of a lot of factions- some are very liberal, others aren’t. So yes, the most liberal of them are now very unsatisfied with the way the leadership has neglected the progressive agenda. And the rest of them are very unsatisfied that the leadership chose to pander to the more liberal base by dithering over meaningless resolutions and bills that they knew they couldn’t get through. So I actually dispute your whole premise- half (or some portion) of the party hates the current Dems for not being liberal enough, while the rest hates them for being lousy at the process of governing because they didn’t act effectively as a party with a slim majority should act in order to accomplish things (hint- when you only have a one vote majority you can’t expect to get 60 votes on a liberal agenda.) And those dastardly Republicans? Who elected them? Ah, some Americans did, didn’t they? Which again proves our point- America is not as liberal as you would like to think it is.
Not to mention the laughable idea that the 06 election was a mandate for Liberal Ideals.
Not to mention the laughable idea that the 06 election was a mandate for Liberal Ideals.
Exactly.
I know some bloggers who made the mistake to think that. It’s not the case. The vote wasn’t for the liberal agenda, it was against spending by the US Congress and the way things were going in Iraq, ánd the controversies surrounding Republicans, basically.
People were fed up with the Republicans, they weren’t embracing liberalism all of a sudden.
In fact, as every American Studies student can tell, we’ve basically got a couple of ‘rules’ about the USA. One of them is "Americans as a whole are inherently conservative."
That’s for a reason Chris.
Exactly. Which was pretty obvious from the way the Democratic campaign was run. They successfully captured the war fatigue but they were intentionally vague on what they intended to do about Iraq- because they knew that if they took any one specific position, they wouldn’t gain the majority. They had to have broad appeal to Dems who were antiwar as well as everyone else who just felt that the war had been ineffectively waged.
Most arguments starting with "Americans are" will probably fail, because of the fact that there are about 300 million of them, and no single position outside extreme things like "thinking killing toddlers is bad" will work.
Americans are not all liberals, and Americans are not conservatives. Americans want all the goodies while having to pay for none of them. They want small government that rebuilds their house and schools when floods destroy them. They want good American Farms that would never subsist without huge subsidies and protectionism. They want all the good stuff and none of the bad stuff and especially don’t make us think about it. Like most humans on the planet, by the way.
hmmm, typo, I meant to say "Americans are not all liberals, and Americans are not ALL conservatives."
Who said that?
A google search brings up Kos. Which leads to the next logical question – who cares what Kos thinks.
I hate to be mean, but I’m guessing more people care about what Kos thinks than what you think.
If you guys look at liberalism, not in the Rovian or Rush interpretation, then majority of Americans ARE liberals…
BTW, the owner of this blog is your typical classical liberal (IMHO)
And that qualifies as mean? Chris – reality is, If I don’t give a rats behind what Kos thinks or what Supporters of Kos thinks. Why would I give a seconds thought to what either he or his minions think of me?
So go right ahead, tell you what – blast all over on Kos’s site about what I’m saying here – I invite you too. Then we can laugh at them as we laugh at the blind supporters of RP.
Why is it more of the conservatives on this site aren’t congratulating Obama for making the first bipartisan gesture? (altho I do remember Sen Biden also saying that he would be open to this)Which of the Republican candidates have even come close to suggesting this? As far as I can tell, they have picked the most conservative campaign advisors possible, and one even said that he would pick a VP like Dick Cheney. McCain has been lambasted in conservative circles for having the gall to work with Senators Kennedy and Feingold on major legislation, making him untrustworthy. Its a shame that Democratic candidates are willing to move towards the middle before getting the nomination, but the GOP candidates only seem to move further to the right. A lot of us have been frustrated by the nasty partisan bickering in Washington, but unless both sides make an effort to end it, Obama won’t be successful. BTW, CS- I have to second Chris’ comment about the overuse of the filibuster by the GOP during the last year. The very same maneuver that they were planning to excise from their procedural manual when THEY were in charge, LOL.