President FAIL
It’s times like this I wish we had a parliamentary democracy. A vote of no confidence would be just the thing right about now. Instead we’re stuck with Opossum for the next three and a half years.
Didn’t take long, did it? Two weeks of noisy town halls and batshit propaganda, and it’s bye-bye, healthcare. Not that Opossum’s plan was much to write home about in the first place. It wasn’t Medicare for All; it didn’t even feature a very robust public option. Now it’s going to be…what? Some kind of insurance company giveaway, with a “healthcare reform” label on it so Opossum can pretend he won. “I passed healthcare reform!” he’ll say. The bill could be about Arbor Day for all he cares, but as long as it’s got that all-important “healthcare reform” label on it he’ll have his bragging rights.
Fucking incompetent jackass.
29 Responses to “President FAIL”
-
mamabroad says:
Just what I expected. All PR, no substance. Empty suit politics. What exactly has been reformed? What victories can he claim? Why do people always fall for this crap?
August 16th, 2009 at 6:57 pm EST -
Adrienne in CA says:
Funny when something you knew was inevitable happens, it still feels like crap.
*****A
-
Simone says:
If this were a righty blog, you’d get called a racist for “Opossum.” Personally, kidding aside, I think this represents a positive effect of electing a black man (mulato, actually) President. The election shows the race barriers have dissolved, the epithet confirms it.
Nothing to say about the sex barriers, which seem as impenetrable as ever. I’ve gotten vituperation from (had almost said, “gotten bitched out by”)educated women twice recently about Palin, in terms that could have been quoted from the lunch room in junior high. It’s pretty depressing to see women pulling down other women for being uppity.
Other than the initial “O,” what’s your resonance with the opossum image? Just alliteration? Those I’ve seen down south have been rooting through through the garbage, feigning death, hanging upside down by a hairless tail, or squashed in the road.
-
Unree says:
“Some kind of insurance company giveaway, with a “healthcare reform” label on it so Opossum can pretend he won. “I passed healthcare reform!” he’ll say.”
Perfect. Exactly right. Obama never does ANYTHING except rub, spit-polish, and shine his resume. Health care is just another talking point for his re-election campaign. I truly believe he has no goal for his administration other than to appear successful.
-
Violet says:
If this were a righty blog, you’d get called a racist for “Opossum.” Personally, kidding aside, I think this represents a positive effect of electing a black man (mulato, actually) President. The election shows the race barriers have dissolved, the epithet confirms it.
Simone, what on earth are you talking about? What does Opossum have to do with race?
Other than the initial “O,” what’s your resonance with the opossum image?
Obama has been Opossum since his ridiculous “possumus” motto — the fake Latin thing. He’s the one who thought it would be a great idea to translate his “yes we can” into Latin. “Possumus” my ass.
-
sister of ye says:
Well, I don’t believe Obama failed at anything, since I never thought he actually wanted all Americans to be able to receive health care. My only idle question is whether he considers it more of a victory to force Americans to patronize his insurance buddies, or to kill the idea of universal health care outright.
I truly, truly cannot understand how any decent human being can put profits or ideological purity over people’s actual lives. For those agitated at the thought of government waste – please name me any human endeavor that doesn’t involve someone scamming the system to some degree. I’ll give you a hint: It won’t be a private business.
What cheeses me most is “liberals” who excuse the bloodsuckers with assertions like: “I don’t think they’re being deliberately evil,” or “Companies have an obligation to make profits.” Well, I guess that justifies every fucking hit man who was just in it for the money.
-
yttik says:
Health care is accomplished, not by negotiating with the pharmaceuticals and the insurance industry, but by negotiating with the American people.
You don’t negotiate with the American people by calling them names, like racist and un-American or batshit crazy.
-
myiq2xu says:
What does Opossum have to do with race?
All criticism and/or mockery of Teh Precious is racist.
(Including calling him Teh Precious)
-
Sameol says:
Totally agree, sister of ye. Obama got exactly what he wanted. Destroy any chance at UHC, preside over a massive giveaway to the insurance industry and collect their donations, and have stupid liberal dudez swoon with terror at right wingers who scarily attend q + as, while giving him a complete free pass.
-
JLawson says:
“Perfect. Exactly right. Obama never does ANYTHING except rub, spit-polish, and shine his resume. Health care is just another talking point for his re-election campaign. I truly believe he has no goal for his administration other than to appear successful.”
Every job he’s had, Unree, has been used as a stepping stone to the next. Makes you wonder where he’s going to go from President of the US – head of the UN or something equally ‘prestigous’? Or does he think the UN might appoint him World Emperor?
You know, that might not be so bad, come to think of it. Hire the Disney Imagineers and Halliburton to build a very nice and terrifically ornate complex on Johnston Atoll in the South Pacific – and install him as the World Emperor there as soon as practical, abdicating his current lowly job as a mere President of the US. For ‘security’, he’ll have to be almost totally isolated, but run a few fiber cables to the island and he’ll be able to contact anyone in the world, who would then be promptly cut off by automated security software since they’re not worthy of talking to the World Emperor…
It’d leave us with President Biden… but that’s a cost we’ll just have to bear.
-
John M. Rogers says:
Violet: What myiq2xu says is true, any criticism of The One is criticism of an African-American man and is thusly racial, ergo RACIST. (Not that it is accurate or true, that’s just how the racial grievance-mongers think.)
And, as for Simone, I can’t speak for her, but she may be referring to the fact that backwoods Southern blacks (and whites for that matter, but in this case that’s not relevent) are known to eat possum. Ergo (again) RACIST.
I am very, very conservative. But, Violet, I love reading your blog. Not that I agree with many of your positions, but your positions (unlike those that come out of Washington from either party) are honestly held and well argued, therefore they are interesting.
One things we do have common ground on, however, is the horrible treatment of both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin in the 2008 elections. Your arguments have made me reflect back on many of my prior positions with regard to Ms. Clinton and, to my shame, I found myself to be one of the many right-wingers who joined in the stampeded to condemn her (many times in an obviously sexist manner). Your calm, reasoned arguments in favor of Ms. Clinton have made me reevaluate both her and my past behavior and positions, to Ms. Clinton’s benefit and to my past behavior and positions detriment.
One feather in my cap, however, is that I chose to vote in the Democratic Primary this year since I considered (and still consider) the Republican Party a lost cause for conservative principles. So I voted for the Democratic candidate I thought would be most trustworthy to at least know and defend her positions: Ms. Clinton. I knew I wouldn’t get conservatism out of either candidate, but I at least wanted someone I felt that I could trust in the White House to at least be honest with the American people.
And I could feel the snake-oil oozing out of Mr. Obama’s pores even then.
-
sister of ye says:
Makes you wonder where he’s going to go from President of the US – head of the UN or something equally ‘prestigous’?
Maybe we could talk him into resigning to become Mr. Universe. I think it would fit his aptitude levels better, and he could get all the photo ops his heart could desire.
-
Nina M. says:
I knew we’d never get health care reform under Obama, so I can’t even say I feel like crap about this. I decided not to invest any energy in this nonsense. I saw how much work went into the Clinton plan, and that went down. No one, as far as I can tell, was putting in even a fraction of the effort.
Now that the inevitable has transpired, though, things get interesting. How badly will we (regular people) get screwed? How much more will the insurance companies bleed out of us, with the administration’s help? At this point I have to admit that some of the wingers – the ones who haven’t left orbit – may have a point in terms of “government” making things worse. (Though of course its not “government” – its *this* administration.)
I agree with Sister of Ye – Obama’s people will consider this a success, because they’ll get a bill they will call “health care reform” AND they didn’t piss off anyone who matters to them. I bet they think they are effing geniuses – “we got reform, and we made business happy!”
As for the opossums, I take umbrage. Opossums are not just about rooting through garbage and hanging upside down by hairless tails. Opossums are gorgeous, omnivorous creatures with pointy snouts and thumbs on their hind feet. I dare you to look at these faces and tell me they aren’t precious. http://www.opossum.org/
-
Jen the Michigander says:
Obama’s people may consider this a success, but how many Americans will still be uninsured or underinsured when this whole thing is said and done? I don’t think Obama is capable of running a lemonade stand, much less the United States of America.
-
Briar says:
I’m afraid a parliamentary democracy wouldn’t help. For the past 13 years, votes of no confidence would have saved this country from self-inflicted disasters like joining the US led coalition to invade and occupy Iraq. They didn’t happen because they would have required Labour MPs to vote against their party. They don’t. A proportion are neoliberal Bliarites anyway. Others (like Robin Cook) had the guts and integrity to stand up for old Labour principles. But the vast majority are (a) swayed by old-boy loyalty to the gang and (b) afraid of losing their seats in any ensuing election. Result: the government can count on winning every vote, especially if (as with the 42 day detention vote) it can hand out a few goodies to members of small parties to bolster its turnout. As for Obama – your very own Tony Bliar – his cowardice and treachery haven’t done him any good. The right are still screaming that he is unAmerican. Just having mentioned the possibility of health as a right for all seems to have been enough: actually delivering wasn’t required for the crazy narrative to be set in stone.
-
propertius says:
Like Nina, I can’t be disappointed because I didn’t expect anything from him in the first place. When Obama made his first speech on healthcare reform back in May, 2007 in Iowa City, he said he wanted to give the insurance companies “a seat at the table”. He’s been true to his word. My only reaction to this fiasco is mild astonishment that he actually told the truth about something during the campaign.
-
Naa says:
‘batshit’ propaganda?
Violet, are you serious? The ‘left’, even the reclusive ones, always amaze me.
-
Nina M. says:
@ propertius,
For me, the moment was when the Obama campaign went after Hillary over “mandates” (and then Krugman for pointing out the ramifications of doing that). I interpreted this two ways:
(1) they couldn’t care less about health care reform as a matter of policy. Rather, “health care reform” was a noun with the special value of polling well, to be deployed in sentences promoting Obama. It was an element of marketing, like the color chosen for a new Saturn based on market research.
(2) they were signaling to the powers that be (GE, etc) that while they were going to paint their Saturn “health care reform” blue, they weren’t really going to change anything. Very much like the choice of Biden for VP, the anti-mandates language signaled “don’t worry about electing me – it’ll be business as usual.”
-
Nina M. says:
By the way, am I correct in understanding that they sent Kathleen Sebelius out to break the news on the Sunday shows?
I guess Axelrod must have been busy doing something… else.
Well, looks like I can’t complain anymore about them not letting women speak for the administration – lol.
-
Violet says:
Nina, I personally like possums. I like most all animals, except of course for s….s. Possums’ tails are pretty freaky though, and are what gives them the look of overgrown rats. But aside from the tails, I’m quite fond of possums. It breaks my heart that they aren’t better at dodging cars.
I am not fond of Opossum, though. It’s funny that people apparently don’t remember the Possumus sign. Into the memory hole! Must sweep away embarrassing evidence of O’s absurdity.
-
Swannie says:
How could anyone forget that ridiculous attempt to make the idiot campaigning for president look “official ” I totally cracked up ..and so did the rest of the world ..so much so they got rid of it and then have been pretending it didn’t happen ever since …
IN VERO POSSUMUS .. I saw that and having had three years of latin .. I STILL immediately thought
In Truth I AM A POSSUMI laughed so hard .. thanks for the memories
-
Gidget Commando says:
To steal a phrase from Charles Pierce, the guy could screw up a two-car funeral if you spotted him the hearse. We had a frakin’ MAJORITY in both chambers of Congress, huge public support, and he STILL couldn’t beat the mouth-breathers?
It’s getting awfully crowded here under the bus. We’re gonna need a bigger bus.
-
yttik says:
“It’s getting awfully crowded here under the bus. We’re gonna need a bigger bus.”
I’m not sharing the bottom of this bus with just anybody, now! The blogger boyz at the giant cheetoh are simply going to have to go slither under their own bus. Preferably one that leaks oil.
This is an unpopular position, but for those who care about health care reform, take heart. It’s not necessarily in the hands of the Dems at this exact moment in history. It was a Republican president who signed in the first civil rights legislation and ironically our beloved President Kennedy, a senator at the time, who opposed it. It was primarily Republican appointed supreme court justices that gave us Roe v Wade. My point being that truth is stranger than fiction and that politics is a dance that often appears to have no rhyme or reason.
I suspect health care is going to be an issue front and center, much like cutting taxes, because whoever pulls it off successfully wins the big political carrot.
-
julia says:
Nobody is talking about the consequences of this mandate. If you can not afford to buy insurance you will be fined. And the fine goes up year after year, and this ebing the private prison country of the world, they may put some people in jail.
I am disgusted.
And maybe I have to leave the country.
But after Bush, nobody will take me.Anyone notice that ‘mandate’ has the word ‘man’ in it?
-
DancingOpossum says:
Nina M., thank you for taking up the cause of the undeservedly maligned Didelphis Virginiana.
This lovely creature–that I chose as my pseudonym looong before the advent of Mr.Barack Obama–in no way resembles our current POTUS. Opossums are lovely, gentle, shy, intelligent creatures who do no harm and much good, have insanely cute offspring and keep your garden clean and rat-free. (And no, Virginia, they don’t carry rabies; their body temperature actually makes it physically impossible for rabies to incubate.)
I get where you got the joke of Opossum, and no I don’t think it’s racist — I mean, opossums are mostly gray — but on a serious note, a lot of people think of them as evil disease carriers and few animals are as routinely beaten and killed as opossums are.
-
DancingOpossum says:
And I do remember the Opossum sign very well…it was of a piece with the fake presidential seal and the Obama-as-Christ iconography and the Caesar’s Palace (the Vegas one, not the real one) pillars.
How the Obamotti remain unembarrassed, it baffles me.
-
Violet says:
-
jackyt says:
“I truly, truly cannot understand how any decent human being can put profits or ideological purity over people’s actual lives.”
It is, however, consistent with a society which lures its young into volunteering to be cannon fodder.
And Violet 20: Wouldn’t that be and Obsurdity?
-
paper doll says:
I have to say I think the town halls happened in order to cover Dem ass as they caved in. There aren’t enough GOP in DC to do the job….the Dems had to take the show on the road.
Who in thier right mind believes Obama inc would want to explain to or listen to the American public about a bill they haven’t a clue about themselves ?…or anything really . To the Dem and GOP elite, we are pavlov dogs.
In short, the town halls did not cause Obama to cave in. The town halls happened so he could execute the cave-in planned long ago . imo
