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The Faces of Those Obama is Betraying
President Barack Obama lost a vote the hard way this past week. My Uncle Paul died. It might not have been Obama’s vote to lose if my uncle had just lived a few days longer — long enough to see Obama turn his back on Social Security.
I have to admit I’ve been a little busy this week, what with all the chaos that accompanies losing someone you love. And my uncle was the perfect guy. I kid you not. There was a little something for everybody in that guy.
Paul Judge was the child of Irish immigrants and my mom’s younger brother. He served on the USS Midway as an enlisted seaman, went on to Boston College undergrad and then to Harvard grad school. Paul loved his country, believed in her vigilant defense and once educated, went to work at the Pentagon. After his retirement he settled into the life he’d built for himself as a world class-husband, father, grandfather and, you guessed it, uncle.
And Paul Judge was politically engaged. He had strong opinions about equal rights for all regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender or sexual orientation. He believed that a government that was strong enough to protect the free world was only worthwhile if it protected folks back home. He believed that social welfare programs were worth paying for because the children of the poor needed education and opportunity to rise out of poverty much the way he himself had.
Lastly, Paul liked people. He would especially have liked a gentleman who lives on the fourth floor of the shelter where I work. Tall and skinny, the man I’ll call Edgar went to work at a scrapyard the year he quit school to help provide for his family. Edgar was 15; it was 1955.
I asked Edgar to come to my office — I work in a homeless shelter that provides emergency, transitional and permanent housing — so that I could ask him a few questions about his life. He lives in our permanent housing program which caters mostly to very poor elderly folks in the area. While we house a number of families, the vast majority of our permanent residents are older folks who worked all their lives but whose benefits aren’t enough to provide decent housing.
Edgar can’t remember not working. He does remember his favorite job. When he was about 24 he got a job working for U.S. Steel in Kansas City, Mo. It was a union job and the pay was the best he can ever remember getting. Eventually the plant was closed and with his limited education he never had a job that good again.
Now at age 71, Edgar receives a Social Security check each month for $573 and $200 a month in food stamps. His Medicare benefit allows him to get many of his prescription drugs for a low co-pay of about $3 per scrip and because of the generosity of folks in the area he can live here at our shelter for about $180 a month. The going rate for a one-room efficiency not connected to our homeless shelter is $500 a month: an amount he could never afford.
Perhaps now you can understand why a man who spent his entire life working, serving his country, paying his taxes and being a vital part of our national defense might have walked away from a president who has suddenly turned his back on a man who likewise spent the last 55 years struggling to do the thankless menial tasks that keep our nation running. Uncle Paul would never have approved of President Obama bailing on Edgar.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in his article “Hands off Social Security,” summed up the frustration so many on the Left feel with President Obama’s abandonment of his ideals: “Let us be clear, Social Security has not contributed one nickel to our deficit or our national debt … I am especially disturbed that President Obama is considering cuts in Social Security after he campaigned against cuts in 2008.”
President Obama has forgotten who got him elected in 2008 — people like Uncle Paul. And while there’s no winning Paul’s vote back, by being untrue to his word he’s losing the rest of our votes the old-fashioned way.
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75 Comments so far
Show AllMs. LaNarche notes:
"President Obama has forgotten who got him elected in 2008 — people like Uncle Paul. And while there’s no winning Paul’s vote back, by being untrue to his word he’s losing the rest of our votes the old-fashioned way.'
Indeed he has. The only question that remains is who in their right mind will allow their vote to be driven by the 'fear brigade' of Dem apologists who keep telling you to vote for the lessor of two evils?
"the lessor of two evils" The Business Party has two right wings, Democrat and Republican, and ping-pong's them back and forth. each worst than before. and they tell us this is Democracy. There comes a time when the obvious truth overwhelms the closest held beliefs. I'll not vote for either wing of the Business Party again.
Obama doesn't really care if he gets re-elected.
Like Palin, Obama would rather be flying high in some seven or eight figure corporate gig rather than being teathered to a six figure goverment job,
I respectfully diagree.
His cowtowing to corporations who donate hundreds of millions to his campaign indicates that getting re-elected is the ONLY thing he cares about.
Obama's implication/claim that he does not care if he is a one term President is simply a lie (like all the others he has told) intended to make people believe he has principles, which he most certainly does not.
The guy is a classic con artist and I'm actually surprised that so many people (including some who post here) are STILL willing to overlook the obvious and assume otherwise.
Yep. The guy lies without shame.
@ Ocean,
Viktor Frankl offers a rather prophetic explication when he tells us:
"Eveything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Viktor Frankl
I guess you've decided to take the "Blue Pill" if I can use a metaphor from a rather popular film of a few years back.
Not me!!
For an answer to your "who in their right mind ..." question, see my post of Jul 13 2011 - 11:44am. Then again, one could argue that your qualification of the question excludes the 84% of liberal Democrats who approved of Obama's performance as of last week.
SNERK!! You voted for an obvious corporate tool in 2008, and you've just figured it out?
Well, another fake election's comin' in '12. Buck up, little buckaroos.
The DNC says "Jump" and the apologetic wing of the Dem party asks, "How High?"
god: how true
i was posting here at the time that bummer was a shill - a shill without a past - and folks were flaming me
they hoped - in good faith
but there is no such thing as good faith in politics
all these folks found out the hard way that the chump club has a few more members than they once thought
Okay. You guys are geniuses. You figured it out long ago.
Now what the fuck are we going to DO about it!?!?!
Your still a shill, medmedude. Maybe someday you can learn how to self validate without the help of your handlers in the apologetic wing of Dem party to hold your hand for you. Do the best you can!
Nice essay though I do take issue with Ms.LaMarche's former uncle's belief that the duty of the United States "was to protect the free world." One suspects that the majority of this planet would heave a sigh of relief if the United States would finally come to the realization that they should reject their role as being the policeman of the free world.
Which of course starts with the rejection that certain countries represent "the Free world" and those that claim to be part of such are very often the very Nations that keep the rest of the World in Chains.
Haiti is the clearest example of how "The Free World" keeps another people in chains.
I am beginning to despise Obama almost as much as I despise the last Bush. But given that Bush was responsible for the deaths of about 4500 of our servicepeople and several hundred thousand Iraqis, Obama has a way to go before he catches up with Bush. The way he is going, however, he may!
Let's look at the toteboard.
--Torture, both get a check...
--Check both for illegal renditions...
--Both started illegal wars, check...
--Both sold out the US and people around the world to the corporatocracy... Check there...
--Whistleblower oppression, check for twofer...
--Both attempted to kill Social Security, check there for both...
--Both are 'family men' who destroy others' families economically and militarily... check again, yeah...
--Responsible for routinely targeting civilians... hey, perfect agreement so far...
--Runaway militarization of the country: both get the big check-off again...
--Reward bankers with taxes paid with sweat and toil of US workers... yup, big check for both...
Let's see, what else? Hmm, both opposed single-payer... both refused to address global warming... both refused to embrace wind and solar power... am I forgetting anything? Both are tools of the elite capitalist class...
How a person can favor one over the other is a bit difficult for me to understand right now.
HYM: Great post! Succinct and powerful. I'll bet we could add to the list... things like the telecons, and spying on citizens. Also, the way big coal, oil, and nuclear power entities are treated with kid gloves. And how about the way the bankers get all the goodies? With sane or prudent forms of regulation the bygone dream of both parties!
How long are we going to blame politicians for an ignorant, violent, greedy, superstitious, citizenry. So depressing. I have to drive to the mall and buy something I don't need. All this anxiety just makes me hungry. Damn it, where did I put the remote.
Yes , these keptocrats would never have been elected if half the voters had exercised critical thinking (instead of sheeple behavior), and voted for Ralph Nader, rather than Dims and Repugs in the past four presidential elections.
When comparing Obama's stats to Dubya's, keep in mind that it took Dubya 8 years to kill those folks, Obama has only been at it for 2 1/2 years. On a pro-rata basis Obama is keeping up with, if not beating Dubya's numbers.
Opening up offshore drilling - Obama.
Pushing nuclear energy - Obama.
Attacking Libya - Obama.
Restoring military aid to Kopassus death squads - Obama.
Increased drone attacks and assassinations - Obama.
"How a person can favor one over the other is a bit difficult for me to understand right now."
It's not difficult, it's as plain as black and white.
You make a very salient point in the form of a pun.
ACT I,
Maybe you have forgotten Rahm Emanuel in January 2010 said, "Liberals Are “F–king Retarded”. And he mean YOU!
So are we to allow the far right the win, like we did in the mid term elections??? See: "Republicans even recruited fake Democrats to run in Tuesday's primaries. But voters chose the real Democrats by overwhelming margins": (John Nichols-The Nation) and How about the article here in CD re: "ALEC Exposed" with link to http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed So it appears that we just really need to take the campaign to the streets and expose the two party syst for what it is with True Information. Chis Hedges artlicle last week stated that "Nader is tired of running for Prez" So it appears that orgainization and uniting our most basic common causes to dis-fragmentalize our society needs to be a top priority. Another possibility to try is attending/hosting American Dream House Meeting at http://civic.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=245&search_distance=30&submit=Search&search_zip=32084
We are disgusted, too, Bernie. Obama has done nothing but pander to his corporate bosses.
He has already lost my vote, and even if he doesn't cut Social Security, he has done egregious damage to human rights and the social contract (not that there is one anymore).
But if he touches Social Security, I'm guessing that many will refuse to vote for him. Which leaves the question: can the big money buy him the 2012 election? He surely will have overflowing coffers.
HYM: Let's not forget Ohio or Florida. There are ways votes can be counted to insure that "the right individual" gets to sit on the Amerikan throne. Remember what Bev Harris said about the way the touch screen votes could be manipulated by computer codes, the very same ones under secret proprietary protection? Or, if things look close, a state need but hire a firm to instantly render a voting block exempt... just because the names resemble those of prior felons. And of course, that ever-indicative of sagacious wisdom and fairness in all things, our very own Supreme Court, can step in and decide... if voters don't get it "right."
Siouxrose, As a student of languages I had studied other cultures, especially Spanish speaking ones. I could never understand about the boycotting of elections at the time I became of aware of that action while I was in college. I just thought that was an apathetic response. Now of course, having attended the University of Hard Knocks as a "non-traditional" student, I understand. I am seriously considering not participating in any more elections because it is sanctioning the whole friggin mess. I don't trust the machines and I don't trust the city electors here. I think the whole stinking thing is rigged and who would blame me? I live in Wisconsin, where Prissy Prosser(R), Mr Battery to you Ms.Justice Bradley, just magically had 7000 votes conjured by his former employee in a stolen election. And Kloppenburg(D), his rival, was Al Gore 2 and didn't contest the ballots or recount method. How Vichy of the Deux. N'est plus de Pas de Deux pour moi, svp.
"I am seriously considering not participating in any more elections because it is sanctioning the whole friggin mess."
Good for you. Kick the monkey off your back for good. If only the millions of other disenfranchised, unrepresented, unemployed, uninsured, homeless, bankrupt, hungry, abused, incarcerated, etal. would take the same stance you have and follow your example we may finally see the beginnings of a real movement.
The murmurings of revolution begin with silence. Let your silence be heard at the voting booth.
I will write in NIONE OF THE ABOVE or else Nader. If Florida has a Green candidate on the ballot, I'll go with that. There is no more time to grant to corruption and complicity on so epoch a scale... with so much pain needlessly hitting so many.
I just had an idea... what if some of us used the Internet, the way the kids mobilize using Tweet or whatever... and we produced our own RIVAL ballot, perhaps something bright red or bright yellow so that it would stand out. And lots of us would enter the typical voting booth and submit THAT instead of the usual ballot with the usual candidates. Sure, our choices might not win, but if lots of states had lots of Red or Yellow ballots submitted... it would be a phenomenon rather tough for the media to dismiss.
Any comments on that? It's along the lines of something Code Pink or "The Yes Men," might devise.
I will be happy to comment. Though I live in a place where I cannot vote for POTUS, we do have a straw poll, and I can guarantee that if there were hundreds or thousands of colored ballots--protest ballots--the media would notice and report it.
In terms of third party influence, I understand that voting for a third party is not just a throw-away vote or a protest, but it can force a debate into the "mainstream", two-party debate. In other words, the third party cannot actually win, but can at least influence the discussion and bring issues to light that otherwise both Corporate (R&D) candidates would rather not engage.
On a national level, brightly-colored protest ballots would be a wonderful way to visibly illustrate the fact that millions of voters abstain from encouraging criminals from either faux party.
SR, I have been reading your posts with interest. You have some good ideas and insights, and this is a VERY good idea, in my hopeful opinion.
Thank you, Joe Noble, for the kind acknowledgement. Doesn't seem the idea gained much response here. Oh, well..
This essay puts a human face on the consequences of the deceits and betrayals Obama has perpetrated on the American people, especially working class Americans who deserve so much more.
There are millions more just like Uncle Paul and Edgar--people who gave their life's blood for this country and asked only that they be allowed to live out their last years with a little dignity. Yet, Obama is willing to betray them as he has betrayed every other promise he made during his presidential campaign.
I knew another elderly man in his early 80s who devoted his final years to knocking on doors and handing out campaign literature to get Obama elected. He believed very strongly that Obama was the last hope for this country.
My friend was in the latter stages of a terminal disease at the time, and he did not live long enough to see Obama inaugurated. I still miss him, but I am thankful he did not live long enough to watch Obama betray virtually every promise he made during his campaign.
My friend died with some hope. That would have been impossible if he had lived long enough to realize the man he helped elect president was a complete fraud and a shallow corporatist who cared nothing about lower- and middle-class Americans.
Old Guy,
"..... He believed very strongly that Obama was the last hope for this country."
I believe very strongly that Obama end the last hope for this country and Liberals Are “F–king Retarded.
I'm not quite sure what to make of your post. I have not supported either of the two major political parties for quite some time. My point was simply that there were people who were duped and supported a man who turned out to be even more duplicitious than the most cynical among us (myself included) had anticipated. I have sympathy for those people, even though I did not share their optimism. The fact that the major political parties use these people so shamelessly says more about our political leaders than it does about their victims.
Old Guy,
Please do not feel offended. I consider you one of the "good people" here where I can genuinely call you "brother.” I truly understand your feeling.
What I mean, the more Obama screwed his base the more determine his base blame the Repugs and donate even more toward to his reelection. I have resigned and believe he'll be reelected again.
We all are in the same boat, but differ in approach who will we vote in 2012.
Thanks much. I hope you're wrong, but fear you might be right about our next presidential election.
Old Guy,
You're welcome brother. Why don't you go to Politico website? It's sickening to read Democrats (Independent/Liberals) and Repugs throwing venom at each other. He'll be reelected again. I am sure of it, even after Rahm Emanuel called "Liberals Are “F–king Retarded”. They are really “Retarded”
GOPunishAmerica Party: NA Reply #3
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57595.html#comments
It's time for Ralph Nader to run again!!!! We need him desperately!!!! Maybe by this time, people will actually see who really cares for the average citizens!!!
In 2012 Nader will be in his late seventies.
Unless you are a Raygun or a Dubya, being president requires a lot of hours in motion each day. Nader would not be inclined to sleep through much of his presidency like Raygun did, or be out to lunch like Dubya was.
The author and many of those who posted comments believe that Obama is "losing the rest of our votes the old-fashioned way", but I think he's only losing enthusiasm, not votes. Many of those who voted for him will never vote for a Republican or a third-party candidate.
As evidence that Obama's fans are still pretty happy with him, here are some of Obama's approval ratings from Gallup for the week of July 4-10, 2011:
Democrat: 80%
Liberal: 76%
Liberal Democrat: 84%
Black: 83%
Aged 18 -29: 58%
Post-graduate education: 55%
Monthly income under $2,000: 51%
Interestingly, Obama's approval rating increases with education level and decreases with income level.
John Mitchell,
"...As evidence that Obama's fans are still pretty happy with him." So were the folks who drank Kool-Aid with Pastor Jim Jones.
In the end they weren't. Truth lies at the edge of oblivion....
Obama vs Romney is a lose lose for US. They are the same. Time for Americans to stop doing the lesser of two evils math. Time to do the right thing. I cannot in good conscious vote for Obama or Romney. I feel obligated to vote. If no one else steps up I will vote Green.
OCEAN writes..."The Business Party has two right wings, Democrat and Republican, and ping-pong's them back and forth." Precisely. It should come as no surprise that Obama is a clone of Bush et al. Uncle Paul, with his love of all things America obviously still believed in the Grand Illusion some refer to as the American dream. As long as Americans keep voting for the siamese twins of corporate politics, nothing will change.
Hymenaea courbaril writes..."How a person can favor one over the other is a bit difficult for me to understand right now." I couldn't agree more, yet the media will only discuss Obama and the Republican running against him in 2012 as if those are the only two choices Americans have or need! Watching CNN, NBC, FOX or any other corporate news trash, only reconfirms the intense corporate media pressure on the networks to avoid deviating from the corporate script day in and day out. It is the ultimate insult to our intelligence yet where is the outrage?
FrankS writes..."It's time for Ralph Nader to run again!!!! We need him desperately!!!! Maybe by this time, people will actually see who really cares for the average citizens!!!" I actually think that at some point (maybe not in 2012 though) people will vote for Nader despite the media blackout of his campaign (never invited to debates, never mentioned in the news except in a light, dismissive way) as more and more people come to the realization that we're being had in this artificially staged production we call the presidential election. No one with even a half a brain can possibly believe that the bottom 90% will be better off if we elect another Democrat or Republican. The backlash will culminate at some point when voters reject the MSM's biased polls, faux issues, hand picked corporate candidates, mindless rhetoric, staged debates, discredited paid analysts, intentional avoidance of key issues (like single payer, taxing the rich, slashing the military, tackling global warming and of course corporate manipulation of the media and electoral process!) and their 'beautiful people' on the air. The natural way to reject the status quo will be to vote third party. The argument that "a third party will hand the election to the Republicans" is meaningless as most people will come to the realization that both party's are two sides of the same coin.
Nice to see that some die hard liberal Obama supporters are beginning to wake up. He showed his true colors during the campaign when he wore the crossed american/israeli lapel flag pin. Put a dollar sign pin on the other lapel and you have a clear picture of the man's loyalties.
The first speech Obama made the day after winning the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for POTUS was to AIPAC. The flag has been flying high ever since.
Truth.
The fact is that Corporate America and the Military has control of this country. We are a 3rd world country. Even if we did elect a 3rd party, that person would be assinated very quickly
It's obvious that both parties have found a way around the ballot box. Whoever has the most money, by hook or crook, wins. Democracy is no more. Average Americans are too financially challenged/physically ill/misinformed/in denial/weak/uncooperative/afraid of our own military&police/afraid of each other...etc, to take the risks necessary to do anything about it.