Early signs are Obama has to guard his left

[stephanie]

you lay with dogs, you get fleas.:beer:

Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer

Friday, November 14, 2008

11-13) 17:44 PST --

As he prepares to enter the ring of White House politics, President-elect Barack Obama might need to perfect that left jab just as much as his right hook.

Not only can the Democratic president-to-be expect the predictable shots from the conservative right, but eventually a pounding from the left if he doesn't deliver "change you can believe in" on issues that concern liberal voters - health care reform, an end to the war in Iraq, environmental protections and taking care of the economy and the housing crisis.

"We gave him a 24-hour honeymoon - and that was generous," joked Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the anti-war group CodePink, Thursday about the chances of Obama's election silencing protests for the foreseeable future. "We believe in celebrating and then moving on."

Her grassroots organization has wasted no time doing just that. On Thursday, CodePink members hit five consulates in San Francisco - those representing Bolivia, Venezuela, Syria, Cuba and Iran - delivering flowers, apple pies and cards with a message as much for the president-elect as for the leaders of those nations: "Yes We Can ... Live in Peace."

"We told them we are embracing Obama's message, and part of that is to push him," said Benjamin. "He's getting a lot of backlash on issues like direct talks with preconditions. But that is what the American people voted for - and we will hold him to that."

read the rest and lots of comments...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/14/MNHV143VF0.DTL

[Kathianne]

I still remind everyone that is why Rahm Emanuel was brought in, not for the right, but the left.

[Hull]

you lay with dogs, you get fleas.:beer:


You know it. Remember what happened to JFK. His daddy used mafia influence to get him elected, he didn't deliver, he got whacked. Obama has a plethura of seedy characters, racists and terrorists as friends. Who knows what they're capable of if their boy doesn't deliver like he promised.

[Des]

We live in a democracy. Since when is it one mans job to deliver change in all areas of our lives? What ever happened to that personal responsibility I hear so many conservatives talking about?

[Kathianne]

We live in a democracy. Since when is it one mans job to deliver change in all areas of our lives? What ever happened to that personal responsibility I hear so many conservatives talking about?

Do you mean like not bailing out AIG, GM, AmEx?

[Des]

Do you mean like not bailing out AIG, GM, AmEx?

Exactly, and the tax breaks many political conservatives seem to support for corporations. If we had a truly fair market and capitalist society, we wouldn't be doing this.

It doesn't matter to us that we've become dependant on these corporations, and THAT'S where personal responsibility comes in. We are the ones who made this mess, we can learn from it. Personally, I think it starts with education. Civics should be one of, if not the, most important subject in school. An educated democracy (before anyone points this out, a republic is a form of democracy) is a functioning one.

[Des]

I meant "free market".

[No1tovote4]

Corporations do not pay income taxes. Their customers pay taxes.

A corporate tax is an unprogressive consumption tax and hurts those who can least afford it by raising the price on everything.

[Kathianne]

Exactly, and the tax breaks many political conservatives seem to support for corporations. If we had a truly fair market and capitalist society, we wouldn't be doing this.

It doesn't matter to us that we've become dependant on these corporations, and THAT'S where personal responsibility comes in. We are the ones who made this mess, we can learn from it. Personally, I think it starts with education. Civics should be one of, if not the, most important subject in school. An educated democracy (before anyone points this out, a republic is a form of democracy) is a functioning one.

It's not 'conservatives' pushing this. Doesn't matter if there's a d or r after their name, they aren't conservative.

[Des]

It's not 'conservatives' pushing this. Doesn't matter if there's a d or r after their name, they aren't conservative.

True, there are all types of conservatives.

[Des]

Corporations do not pay income taxes. Their customers pay taxes.

A corporate tax is an unprogressive consumption tax and hurts those who can least afford it by raising the price on everything.

The government has it's hand in private business, and you described it perfectly (if that's what you were trying to do). Corporations made trillions of dollars in profits in the 1990's- why does it make sense to give over $150 billion in tax breaks each year? More bandaids...

[Kathianne]

True, there are all types of conservatives.

Quite the contrary, regardless of what they claim.

[Des]

Quite the contrary, regardless of what they claim.

People belonging to a group, liberal, or conservative, will never all agree with one another 100 percent of the time.

[Kathianne]

People belonging to a group, liberal, or conservative, will never all agree with one another 100 percent of the time.

Seriously sir or madame, you are making no sense. Not by the one quote above, but by the scant postings you've made.

[Yurt]

The government has it's hand in private business, and you described it perfectly (if that's what you were trying to do). Corporations made trillions of dollars in profits in the 1990's- why does it make sense to give over $150 billion in tax breaks each year? More bandaids...

so you believe in higher taxation

[Des]

so you believe in higher taxation

No, I believe that by allowing corporations to have tax breaks and passing the savings onto the consumer, the government is giving the corporations an unfair advantage over smaller businesses. That's not true capitalism. Look at some of the "bigger" businesses in trouble now, Home Depot, Circuit City, etc...