It’s that darned Glenn Beck and his “9-12” project again.
I just watched tens of thousands waving signs and chanting “USA” on the national mall. They are primarily protesting government spending and the grip of special interests on the current political system. It is a non-partisan event, but by definition, most of the protesters are against the policies of President Obama because he personifies many of the things they disagree with. I’m not talking about race and neither are they, but feel free to comfort yourself with that fallacy if it helps you keep them from violating your ideological comfort zone. It was a heartwarming and touching experience listening to people talk about traveling for three days or more to Washington DC so they could stand with others who felt the same way. I watched it on FOX news, of course. So far the only other coverage I have seen was on CNN which took a ten second live shot and called it a “anti-health reform protest”. This was after devoting a two minute package to a pro-health reform “bus tour” that involved a few hundred at most. It will be amusing to watch the 30 minute network shows this evening and see how they treat an event that would have had wall to wall coverage if the people producing the network news had found it politically appropriate. And please don’t tell yourself that I don’t understand the how the media works. I spent 15 years in TV news myself. I know how they think and how they operate.
Of course people aren’t just gathering in DC. I saw live shots from Texas, Illinois and a couple of other places where thousands more were present. All in all, one of the biggest mass demonstrations in American history. These are real people with real concerns. It’s just a little reminder that Obama is an electoral aberration. He gives a great speech, it was cool to vote for him because of what he is rather than what he stands for and he talked like a centrist on the campaign trail. That and the economy got him elected. But the buyers remorse is growing. He and the rest of the far left simply don’t have the numbers among the electorate in this country to sustain power. Except for small enclaves in the United States, they can’t even gain power without talking like centrists and then governing from the left. The more “progressive” you are, the more you will deny all this of course…but 2010 is going to be a disaster for the left if this keeps up.
I’ve said for years that the politics of the left would have be tried and demonstrated to fail before people would learn. President Obama is performing admirably so far.
By the way, what with multimillion dollar advertising budgets, owning most of Congress, and the ability to out-lawyer any individual, why do you think major corporations need your undying love and devotion? Unless you are already being paid by them, any support you think you might receive from them is in your own mind, because they certainly don’t spend any amount of time and effort thinking about how they can spend their earnings on you.
If they disagree with your world view they are “mobs”. If they agree, what would you call them? “Grassroots organizers”? “Real americans”? “Brave souls risking it all to make their voices heard”?
Do you really think all these people are spending time and money and speaking their mind because “faux news” told them to? Do you think mobs of insurance executives ran around the country ordering people to DC? Lighting cigars with hundred dollar bills while growling “You’d better go or we’ll cut off your heart medicine!” And where does advertising enter into it? Or is that just another checkmark on the capitalist bugaboo list?
These people are concerned that their views are not being addressed by the people they elected to represent them. They are representative of the millions of americans that did not sign on for Obama’s vision of a leftist utopia.
I didn’t see any Halliburton banners among the hundreds of signs being waved. You’re still laboring under the delusion that these people have somehow been manipulated into doing what “a corporation” wants them to.
I don’t really care much for these threads where the OP can’t seem to resist sneering in advance at anyone who might not agree with him 110% percent, but whatever.
From the OP’s description, it seems that the protest is in fact specifically against Obama. Presumably the protesters want him out of office even before his first term is up. Is that pretty much the gist of it?
No, the protest is centering on what they consider excessive government spending and the lack of accountability by elected officials of both parties. Obama is bearing the brunt of it because he is spending money like water, nationalizing companies and surrounding himself with people that have questionable ideas and associates.
No one “signed” up for anything. People voted. And and why are they protesting special interests NOW, after a Bush administration that was suckling at the teat of those interests for so long? Don’t misunderstand me, I support their right to assemble and speak their mind. I just have a hard time seeing it for the pure, unbiased outpouring of rightous indignation you do.
And most of your remarks about Obama and the left in the OP could also, I believe, be applied to the last eight years. That was no Utopia either.
I was waiting for someone to toss out the word “utopia.” Heh-heh…it’s so predictable. I’m glad they finally learned the appropriate forum for political discourse. Have at it, folks. But in reality, I think that the miniscule smattering of protestors today was a half-assed attempt of correcting the circus that was the Teabagger Festival of Fools. Most people realize that it’s going to cost a lot of money to fix the fuck-ups of past administrations. Most people also realize that we need to take bold steps to fix healthcare. Most people believe that we are stronger when we pull together to create a strong, fair nation that recognizes all its citizens. Most people have a hard time believing that this insane opposition to every one of Obama’s policies is anything other than racism, as opposed to true concern for the direction he wants to take the country. However, the money is with the Right…the People will have a hard time being heard over the cha-ching of the corporate cash register.
That was sarcastic license on my part to illustrate the difference in the description of the protesters based on their political views.
I’ve said about four times now that the people are protesting government spending from both parties. Bush spent a lot of money trying to buy votes just like Obama is doing. If you are interested in the basis of the protests, here is the link.
But they are not at all representative of the millions of Americans who voted for Obama’s agenda. Who happen to outnumber you. Tough titty, that’s democracy. I had to suffer eight years of Nixon, waiting patiently for my fellow Americans to wise up. They did.
In a democracy, losing is a privilege. The only thing better than that is winning, and the only thing better than that is deserving to win.
So 29% of people thought Bush did a good job, and torturing people was okay. Does that mean Bush did a good moral job, or does that mean 29% of the population is either evil or retards?
Do you think the protester’s view is correct? If so why? If it is incorrect, what mislead them?
All your post seems to be is “look at these protesters! the left is idiots”. So what, if the protester views are based on false information then all that shows is there’s a mob of idiots, and people fooled by conservative propaganda.
How do you think the “socialism! evil! death squads!” LIES from the RIGHT (the same subhumans all for torture) has shaped their views?
In short, since the right has shown themselves to be complete and utter 2-faced liars, how do we know these protests are based on a sincere knowledge of current events, as a possible to a bunch of ditto heads to stupid to think for themselves?
That was pretty much my reaction to the OP. There could be good thesis to be made on this subject, but none has been made so far. It’s not even a good Pit rant, so I wouldn’t suggest moving it to that forum.
So, Evil One, take another shot at it and see if you can make an argument worth arguing with.
As is your invocation of racism for those who have a legitimate concern over Obama’s fiscal policy and ideology. It’s the intellectual hubris of someone who thinks that anyone who disagrees with them must be a closet racist…because they’re so obviously stupid. By the way, I chose “utopia” intentionally. It’s the best word to describe a place of perfection that can just be reached if everyone will just give socialism a chance. It sounds great on paper to the superfical and naive…but has failed or is failing everywhere it’s been attempted.
More disdain for those who disagree. As for being a “miniscule smattering”, the numbers have certainly exceeded those of other protests revered in leftward circles.
Correct. Entitlement spending must be addressed. As must deficit spending. The “spend now, pay later” mentality has been in place far too long. Republicans had just as many earmarks as Democrats…and the Iraq was was painfully expensive.
Agreed. First among them, tort reform and allowing intra-state competition. Followed by prohibiting denial of coverage and tax breaks for those below a certain income level. Also, federal money spent on building medical schools and forgiving medical education debt.
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Agreed.
Some who oppose…and support…Obama do so for no other reason than the color of his skin. Such superficial thinking is destructive and unhelpful. I saw video of Jay-Z “rapping” at the inauguration quote: “No more white lies! My president is black!” Yes he is. And?
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If you are referrring to excessive lobbying on both sides of the aisle, you’re right. You aren’t naive enough to think that only Republicans are getting cash stuffed in their pockets, are you?