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We decided to go back and check what President Obama has achieved since last year’s State of the Union address.
In that 2010 speech, Obama made a lot of promises, and he fulfilled many of them -- with high-profile, hard-fought successes like the passage of health-care reform, a jobs bill, the New START treaty with Russia, and the repeal of "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell." He also saw the last combat troops leave Iraq, cut out the middlemen from college loans, championed credit for small businesses, and established protections for consumers.
But he also had some failures, mostly due to bills stalling in the Senate. Those included bills to combat climate change, require more campaign-finance disclosure, and fine banks that were bailed out. And compromising with the GOP on the Bush tax cuts meant that while he kept his promise to extend middle-class tax cuts, he also extended cuts for those making over $250,0000.
The legislative branch wasn’t the only thing beyond his control -- the economy was, too. But given the sluggish economy, he didn’t fare too badly. The president promised last year to add 1.5 million jobs. But he fell a little short, with 1.1 million jobs created in 2010. And although it’s too soon to tell if he’ll meet his goal to double exports in five years, top trade officials said in July that things were looking promising.
Beyond policy, Obama also promised to change the tone in Washington, and to hold monthly meetings with both parties’ leadership, joking, “I know you can’t wait.” Turns out, they could wait -- the meetings were sporadic at best, and, of course, the rhetoric remained heated for most of the year.
Here's a list of the promises Obama kept, broke, or achieved mixed results:
Promises kept (16)
Promise: Pass jobs legislation
What Obama said: "That is why jobs must be our No. 1 focus in 2010, and that's why I'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight"
Result: Congress passed at least two jobs bills, one in March and another in August
Promise: Give small businesses credit, using $30 billion paid by banks
What Obama said: "So tonight, I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat"
Result: The Small Business Lending Fund was passed as part of the fall's Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.
Promise: Create small business tax credit for more than 1 million businesses
What Obama said: "I'm also proposing a new small business tax credit -- one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages"
Result: Passed as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act in March
Promise: Give tax incentives to businesses investing in new plants and equipment
What Obama said: "... provide a tax incentive for all large businesses and all small businesses to invest in new plants and equipment"
Result: Passed as part of the bipartisan tax-cut deal
Promise: Invest in infrastructure
What Obama said: "Next, we can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow"
Result: The two-year Recovery Act did this, as did $50 billion more on Labor Day
Promise: Give consumers protection at banks
What Obama said: "We need to make sure consumers and middle-class families have the information they need to make financial decisions"
Result: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law in July
Promise: Freeze discretionary spending for three years
What Obama said: "Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years"
Result: Spending is currently frozen -- but by a continuing resolution
Promise: Launch a deficit-reduction commission
What Obama said: "That's why I've called for a bipartisan fiscal commission..."
Result: By executive order, Obama created this commission, co-chaired by Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson
Promise: Invest in science and tech innovation
What Obama said: "Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history... And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy"
Result: The American COMPETES Act of 2010 was reauthorized in May. In July, the Obama administration awarded nearly $2 billion in conditional grants to a pair of solar energy companies that have pledged to build plants in the U.S.
Promise: Build nuclear power plants
What Obama said: "And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country:
Result: In February, Obama supported plans for two new nuclear reactors in Georgia, the first since the 1970s
Promise: Make college, especially community college and vocational training, more affordable
What Obama said: "That's why I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges"
Result: The reconciliation legislation from March cut out the banks to give direct loans; it expanded the Pell Grant program; and it capped loan repayments at 10%
Promise: Pass health-care reform
What Obama said: "Here's what I ask Congress, though: Don't walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people"
Result: The health reform passed in March
Promise: End combat operations in Iraq
What Obama said: "As a candidate, I promised I would end this war, and that is what I am doing as president. We will have all of our combat troops out of Iraq by the end of his August"
Result: The last combat troops left in mid-August, though thousand of U.S. troops (for security and training) remain
Promise: Reduce nuclear stockpile
What Obama said: "To reduce our stockpiles and launchers, while ensuring our deterrent, the United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades. And at April's Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring 44 nations together here in Washington, D.C., behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years, so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists"
Result: The Senate ratified the New START treaty with Russia in December; the leaders at the summit adopted his goal and created a work plan to be reviewed in 2012
Promise: Invest in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
What Obama said: "That's why we're building a 21st Century VA..."
Result: In April, the president secured the biggest increase in VA spending in 30 years
Promise: Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
What Obama said: "This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are"
Result: In December, Obama signed into law legislation repealing the policy
Mixed (3)
Promise: Add 1.5 million jobs to the U.S. economy
What Obama said: "And we're on track to add another one-and-a-half million jobs to this total by the end of the year"
Result: 1.1 million jobs were added in 2010, according to Bureau on Labor Statistics
Promise: Eliminate capital-gains taxes on small business development
What Obama said: "While we're at it, let's also eliminate all capital-gains taxes on small business investment"
Result: They'll stay at 0% until the end of the year, when they revert to a previous level of 50%
Promise: Double exports in five years
What Obama said: "So tonight, we set a new goal: We will double our exports over the next five years"
Result: Too soon to tell. Exports increased by 17.7% in the first five months of 2010
Failed (6)
Promise: Continue middle-class tax cuts and end others
What Obama said: "To help working families. we'll extend our middle-class tax cuts. But a time of record deficits, we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, for investment-fund managers, and for those making over $250,000 a year. We just can't afford it"
Result: In December, Obama signed legislation into law extending tax cuts for all income levels, including those who make more than $250,000 per year.
Promise: Propose a fee on banks
What Obama said: "To recover the rest, I've proposed a fee on the biggest banks. Now, I know Wall Street isn't keen on this idea. But if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need"
Result: The "Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee" never got off the ground
Promise: End tax breaks to companies that outsource
What Obama said: "It is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America"
Result: Bill stalled in the Senate
Promise: Pass a comprehensive energy/climate bill
What Obama said: "And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America"
Result: While the House passed such legislation in 2009, the Senate was unable to advance a bill
Promise: Require more campaign-finance disclosure after the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision
What Obama said: "I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people. And I'd urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems"
Result: The DISCLOSE Act failed to advance in the Senate
Promise: Change the tone in Washington; hold monthly meetings with both parties' leadership
What Obama said: "So, no, I will not give up on trying to change the tone of our politics... I'd like to begin monthly meetings with both Democratic and Republican leadership. I know you can't wait"
Result: Throughout most of 2010, the tone in DC remained harsh. As for the meetings, a few took place, but they were described as "sporadic" and didn't accomplish much
Leave a Comment:
Actually the last 2 presidents didn't really do a lot cept watered down bills and got us further in debt. Lets see we are in 2 money debting wars. We have a watered down immigration bill, Medicare bill, Health Care bill, a Jobs bill and tax cuts that really didn't hire more jobs.
Republicans failed to achieve good bills with a full congress and so did the democrats and poll numbers show it. Telling me things will be different when Republicans are back in control is like a ole fairy tale.
Just curious: why wouldn't you put the "tax cut" and "civility" promises in the "mixed" category? After all, the president always said that keeping the cuts on income under $250,000 was his primary concern, with stimulative cuts for job-creating business investment a very close second. And, though he wound up having only a few bipartisan meetings with congressional leaders, he did have some. Overall, Obama achieved an amazing portion of what he called for in the last State of the Union. And he did it in spite of the fact that Democrats had at most 59 votes and normally only 54 or 55 reliable votes in a Senate where 60 percent has become the new de facto definition of the "majority" required by the constitution to pass legislation. Not a bad year's work given the constraints!
regarding the comments linking the Tea Party to racism, please explain the presence of people of color within the party. try telling THEM that they are Uncle Tom's.
For sure. I mean, just LOOK at them all. Minority faces for as far as the eye can see!
These libs, especially Feisty Redhead, always like to bring 'race' into a discussion. Most leftie libs like to push that.
Donno if the TeaBaggers are racists or not, I do know that they are bigots!
Just check out their signs and listen to their language. Bigots!
Nothing like looking at the pictures of a 'sea of white' for as far as the eye can see to formulate that opinion!
I don't have to try! LOL
All 4 members!
There is a difference between promises kept and promises that failed...
I think that some of his "kept" promises are misleading.....at least as far as the number of jobs created. It is a well known fact that these statistics were muddied up by the temporary census jobs.
How come I haven't heard anything about what he is doing about the price of fuel going up? When Pres Bush was in office, gas rose a penny and everyone was screaming for his head, yet gas has risen 60 cent in the past two months and nobody is saying a word. You want to kill the economy, let the price of gas go up and up.
We can't control gas prices and I think it was the $5 gas price people were complaining about.
Obama hasn't 'created' any jobs; where? We're at 9.1% and will climb not to mention the $$$$ he's spent. You have to remember, these libs love to screw with facts. They had a love fest going at the beginning of these comments. What a hoot!
Hmmmmmm,,,,,Trying to think of ANY year over the past 50 that gasoline has not gone up in the middle of Winter, Maybe you can give me a clue, Or,,,,,,,,,,,Maybe I gave you one?
We can control petroleum prices. First we need to prevent speculators from driving the prices up, next we need to open up domestic drilling. All valid points when GW was in office.
Bo-1925019 are you serious?
Sounds good but,,,,Gas prices are still CHEAPER than when GW was in office
Very serious Jeff, Take a look at the records,,,,,,,,,,Petroleum prices go up in the Winter, Alway's have, Probably alway's will,,Folks keep the tank full in bad weather,,,,Supply/Demand,,,,,,,Delivery cost, Just the way it is
JefffmFla
We can control petroleum prices. First we need to prevent speculators from driving the prices up, next we need to open up domestic drilling. All valid points when GW was in office.
From 2004 -2006 gas prices went through the roof, the reason why, China, the reason why their going up again, China. there economy is rebounding from there recession and there demand for crude is going back to 2005 levels. No we can't control the world wide price for Crude, but what we can do to control our pricing at home is what going on right now, Electric cars, fuel efficient commuter trains, a new effecet to get us where Europe is regarding high speed rail, wind farms,
Domestic Drilling is only a band aid, Geroge Bush said his self that we have a addiction to oil and our big cars. domestic drilling wil only cause that crude to go on the world market and China will end up buying it before we can use it.
Opening up more drilling in areas in Alaska and the deep will harm our Enviorment as we saw last summer in the Gulf. so you really trust a oil company not to have another accident this time in Alaska after we saw BP screw up the gulf.
Bo-1925019
Very serious Jeff, Take a look at the records,,,,,,,,,,Petroleum prices go up in the Winter, Alway's have, Probably alway's will,,Folks keep the tank full in bad weather,,,,Supply/Demand,,,,,,,Delivery cost, Just the way it is
I don't know what your talking about, in the summer gas goes up (summer driving from memoial day to labor day), it was after labor day in 2006 that oil hit the cieling at 147 per barrel and them went rock bottom by christmas to 43 per barrel. (winter time)
In the winter Home heating oil and natural gas goes up. also in the summer electic rates go up (air conditioner)
Don't worry about thanking me, i love to help the mis informed.
'They had a love fest going at the beginning of these comments. What a hoot!'
Y' ever notice how some folks just can't stand the thought of comaraderie? They WANT everyone to be MISERABLE all the time? What's that all about, anyway??
Seems to me you just made my point,,,,,,Gas prices peaked after September,,,,They went down for a couple of weeks at Christmas, Then shot back up like a rocket
Bo-1925019
Seems to me you just made my point,,,,,,Gas prices peaked after September,,,,They went down for a couple of weeks at Christmas, Then shot back up like a rocket
they shot back up because of china, yes gas peaked in september the end of the summer driving season.
I have something to say about jobs created. My daughter got a job this summer, actually more than one. However, the first job did not give her working hours-they put her "on call" and kept hiring more workers who, in turn, were put "on call." None of these new employees knew when they would be actually called in, and it was never put on a calendar-they had to check weekly. Week by week she would check (and others she knew as well), and there would be no "on call" hours for her; but STILL the company was hiring more people! Finally she had the sense to quit this large company and find a job that would actually give her working hours. I don't know much about these things, but I saw that a lot of people working for that first company had a job; but they were not actually working any hours.
Not really much to say but,,,,,,,,,,,,,GREAT job Mr. President
Brag away Dems, You deserve it
Repubs,,,,,,,,,Grit your teeth,,,,,2012 is right around the corner and you have pretty much thrown 150 million minority votes to Obama and ANY Democrat that runs for office, You'll be lucky to have an opinion in Government by 2020 if the Party even exists
make me gag; are you one of the paid commenters? Sure sounds like it.
Just stating facts and you know it as well as I do
Bo: if amnesty is pushed through by the Progressive/Socialists you could be right. Ever watch the History Channel's Rise of Hitler??? Interesting stuff!
Uhhhhhhhhhhh,,,,,,,,,,Hitler was a Republican, Chancellor of the Weimer Republic which bred the Nazi Party that GW's Grandpa was caught dealing with in WWII
Your gonna have to do better than that, Check some FACTS
Bo --you were right--You did not have much to say. How about telling use how Obama is going to pay back or bring the budget in line with trillion dollar debts which his leadership and so called successes conrtibuted 90% of. If being a success is defined as going into a debt you can not possibly pay off then Obama is a success.
Olbermann...is that you!?!?!?!
It's gonna be rough considering Republicans just insisted on adding a trillion to the deficit to give taxcuts to the rich (Immediately after pledging to cut $100 billion from the deficit)
What part of that don't you hell bound rities get? Go Hate over in the corner somewhere! You all need a timeout! Go sit next to Glen and Rush. LOL
Funny, no mention of more transparency, posting legislation for 5 days promise before votes, no lobyist in the admin! Just proof of FR bias!
That transparency thing drove a lot of Republicans crazy didn't it,,,,,,,,,It wasn't aired on FOX
We all watched HCR public debates and discussions on TV, Then listened to Republicans claim they were shut out of them the next day,,,,,,,,Deciding not to go does not equal being "shut out"
Almost everything Obama has done was available 5 months before it was voted on, Not 5 days
All things considered (inherited mess from Bush, Republicans who sat down on him and stalled legislation, Republican run supreme court decisions, oil spill, Arizona shooting, haiti and unprecedented disrespect mingled in partisan, race motivated hate/fear mongering), I'd say this President handled himself pretty well and got alot done in his first 2 years! Certainly more than his predecessor. Leaders persevere and get things done.
First, I think it is pretty good performance.
But, how is every idea or proposal that a president makes during a speech, SOTU or otherwise, a promise???
I know MSNBC is desparate to get people to read their articles, but I think "promises broken" is ridiculous.
A president (or candidate for that matter) should put forth all his ideas. That is by no means a guarantee that he is going to accomplish everything.
Jeff, TRILLIONS in deficit spending after promising "fiscal responsibility" is a "good performance" to you? How about bankruptcy, would that be "excellent" to you?
9.4% or higher unemployment for 22 straight months, with a "stimulus" that "created or saved" jobs in districts that don't exist, and calling pay RAISES a jobs "saved" at a cost of $500,000 per job, is a "good perfomance" to you?
Hundreds of billions of dollars given to unions, cronies, friends, and paybacks, bribes, and payoffs is a "good performance" to you?
Bailouts and tax exemptions given to SEIU and UAW while the rest of the nation pays is a "good performance" to you? Guaranteeing union MISMANAGED union pensions, while not even contributing to any other pension plans is a "good performance" to you?
Exemptions to mandated ObamaCare given to unions and supporters (despite the fact that according to Obama and Democrats ObamaCare was the next best thing to sliced bread) is a "good performance" to you?
What kind of standards do you have Jeff that what this man, who has decided that the government can FORCE you to buy a product or service, AGAINST the Constitution of the United States, while being a Constitutional lawyer and KNOWING it's illegal (they are now arguing in Federal Court that it's NOT a mandate but a "tax"), comes out with a "good performance" rating from you?
Close Gitmo within one year....OOOPS, little problem there even though it's the FIRST executive order he signed.
Illegals will NOT be covered by ObamaCare....OOOPS, another little problem, since ObamaCare is based on income, NOT citizenship.
End income taxes for seniors making less than $50K a year....OOOPs, didn't happen.
Allow importation of drugs if found safe.....OOOPS, another one that didn't make it.
Allow 5 days of public comment before signing bills.....Wow, did we EVER get to read ObamaCare before it was shoved down our throats?
Ban earmarks......OOOPS, not only did he NOT ban them, he actually signs RECORD earmark legislation.
Won't force Americans to buy health insurance (In a Feb 2008 interview Obama said the following about forcing Americans to buy insurance, "If a mandate was the solution, we could try to solve homelessness by mandating that everybody buy a house.".....ObamaCare MANDATES that all Americans buy health insurance........OOOPS, not only a promise not kept, but and out and out LIE!!
Health care negotiations will be on C-SPAN....Obama promised at least EIGHT times that, "we're going to do all the negotiations on C-SPAN, so the American people will be able to watch".....OOOPS, not only did the American people NOT see the negotiations, there WERE no negotiations, as Democrats not only shut out the cameras and locked the doors to Republicans, they locked the doors to the American people.
Cutting spending......Another HUGE OOOOOPS.........In Obama's second presidential debate he said "Actually I'm cutting more than I'm spending, so it will be a spending cut." Then proceeded to sign off on RECORD 1.3 or higher TRILLION dollar deficit spending budgets for two straight years, with another 1.2 or more Trillion that he will have in 2011.
Sacrifice.....In January 2010 Obama said, "Everybody in the country is going to have to sacrifice something, accept change for the greater good. Everybody is going to have to give. Everybody is going to have to have some skin in the game." (Is not Obama part of EVERYBODY??)........
From lavish half million dollar (or more) trips to Spain where a beach was blocked off to everyone except Michelle Obama, to reportedly flying Bo, the President's Portuguese water dog, on a separate aircraft to vacation with them in Maine, to a date night in New York City that cost the taxpayers around $100,000, it seems as the idea of "sacrifice" by this President is just a little bit different than the nation's.......well, I guess HE doesn't have to make the sacrifices, so that's not really a promise is it?
And what do we get from the Obama Campaign Website....oooops I mean MSNBC......The usual propoganda about some weak garbage he didn't keep his promises to, while they just plain FORGET I guess, to show the TRUTH to REAL promises not kept.
Geez people, GO LOOK IT UP, instead of actually going along with the usual liberal garbage of what a wonderful job he's done and the promises that he gave to ALL OF US that weren't met because it wasn't his fault and he was "close" to keeping them anyway.
Cheryl: look forward to 2012. The ONLY way he'll pull that off is by pushing amnesty through in the middle of the night like the Dems do most things. VOTE ALL DEMS OUT 2012
With the increasing minority vote and Democrats turning out,,,,,,,,,,Republicans will be lucky to hold a seat in 2012 let alone gain any
At this time it looks like Rush isn't getting what he'd hoped for.
...ah.....wait until 2012; we'll see.
Yup,,,,,,,,Democrats with a full boat, Both houses and the Presidency in the bag
anni
We will see what? Rush's 25 wedding? I am sure we will see it.
Keep thinking that Bo....I beleive YOU were the one that said just before November that Democrats would GAIN seats in the House and Senate.
Keep up those great predictions Bo.
And Emma, who cares about Rush Limbaugh, he's NOT the one with THREE straight years of over 1 TRILLION dollars in deficit spending. He's NOT the one with 9.4% or higher unemployment for 22 straight months, while he gives tax and ObamaCare exemptions to unions. He's NOT the one bailing out unions with money that we'll NEVER get back. He's NOT the one that supports giving Fannie and Freddie a 400 BILLION taxpayer "line of credit" so that Congress won't have to bail them out again as they CONTINUE to lose billions of taxpayer dollars every month buying up toxic mortgages (and are STILL unregulated by the way, despite the crowing by Obama and Democrats about how they "regulated" the financial areas of this country)
I said Democrats would gain in a mid-term??? LOL Republicans gaining a few seats in the mid-term is probably the best thing that ever happened for the Democrats, Especially after they insisted on adding a trillion to the deficit to give taxcuts to those making millions off of a recession
Gaining a "few seats"? The LARGEST turnover in Congress in seventy years is "gaining a few seats"???
As for insisting on "adding a trillion" to the deficit, why do you keep lying? The cost of the tax cuts for two years is 544 Billion dollars, with 463 Billion of it for the people making LESS than $250K. The "rich" make up only 180 Billion of the tax cuts genius.
But don't let the FACTS get in the way of making garbage up.
There had to be an historical gain for the GOP. The Democrats had gained such huge amounts of seats in 2006 and 2008 it was unsustainable. Remember, the huge, filibuster-proof Democratic majority was there because the American people voted them there. No way they could keep that sort of huge number forever.
The Democrats kept the Senate, making it a smaller change of power than in 1994. And already, only 25% of Americans believe the GOP can make things better. It was only "historic" in the sense that the Democrats had to lose a huge amount of seats to lose the House and still keep the Senate.
That high approval rating for Obama and the Democrats really has the Fox Newsies seething, doesn't it?
Obama promised he would help repeal the unfair WEP/GPO which discriminates against state, federal workers and teachers in 13 states by not allowing them if they paid into Social Security collect this and to spousal benefits. He has not come out to support the Social Security Fairness Act as he promised.
It would not matter how much this President accomplishes, the other side will never be able to admit or see any of it, we are blinded by our politics. The 1.1 million jobs created is not myth or a lie, it's a fact that you can obtain from the department of Labor and Statistics, you can also get it from any reputable news source, not to include political talk shows. To my friends on the right, and I say friends because I have a lot of friends on the right, even if you believe this Presidents policies are not working and the republicans have a better way, please at least stop with the Socialist, Communist rhetoric. The man was elected by a majority of Americans to do exactly what he said he was going to do, like him or not, he is doing the best job he can, just like President Bush did, I didn't agree with President's Bush way of doing things, but I never questioned his loyalty to this country and that he believed he was doing the right thing.
Obama also broke his word on his promise to have DOMA repealed. Marriage equality doesn't cost the taxpayers a dime, doesn't hurt straights in any way, and would give critical legal protections to same-sex couples.
You can blame the Republican majority in the House for that. Obama is President, no all-powerful dictator.
http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/294/support-repeal-of-the-defense-of-marriage-act/
Just like the "close Gitmo" promise, you can blame Congress for refusing to fund the closure. He can't make them do it if they won't.
I want Obama to be in the center. It has to be 50-50, because that's how peoples believes are build in America as well. We cant ignore ones to over please others. He struck the right balance and I hope he will stay in the middle. Broken promises unbroken promises, I don't want to have stubborn president I want him to be flexible in the smart and common sense way.
The problem we have in this country is that most people to include most of the people who post on this Blog don’t seem to know the difference between political speak and actually reality. Politicians and Political commentators on both sides speak in political terms, which mean they bend, twist and in some cases completely misrepresent the truth. Their goal is to demonize the opposition for political purposes to win elections. They use incendiary terms like Socialist, Marxist and Communist (both sides have used these terms) to scare a certain portion of the electorate, without any regard for the truth. Unfortunately we the people on both sides tend to believe some of this stuff hook, line and sinker. What we as Americans need to do is quit listening to the talking heads and do our own research and analysis. For example the right has come to demonize unions, now I will grant you that in some cases unions can go a bit too far in their demands, however most unions consist of hard working middle class families (Democrat and Republicans) who just want to be paid an honest days wages for an honest days work. Yet somehow ALL unions and their members are evil and bad for this country. You think it would be obvious to most folk why business owners hate unions, it simply hurts the owners chance of maximizing profits, I don’t blame an owner for trying to get rich and make as much money as possible, but I also don’t blame workers for trying to make a decent wage. Another is that all CEO’s are greedy lying thieves who do nothing and make millions, like with unions I’m sure they’re some but they’re also some hard working honest CEO’s looking out for their employees. I think that with all this political trash talking the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of what both parties are saying.
The Health care and budget debate is a perfect example, the republicans are simply playing the political game, they know well that the repeal of the health bill will not go anywhere, the Senate will never pass it even if republicans had the majority(which they don’t) and of course they know the President would never sign it, so they can vote for no other reason than to use it for political points, to be able to run adds against democrats saying they voted for Obamacare. As for reducing the deficit, once again they can vote for all the cuts in the world, but the reality is they will never have to live with any of the consequences because it will never pass the Senate of get signed by a democratic President, once again just the way the political game is played. Some of you really need to cop a clue.
With the way HCR is gaining in popularity,,,,,,,,,I think airing an ad stating Democrats voted for it might backfire big time
You may be right, but that's not what the Republicans are counting on.
I think it will be the next
Social Security (Republicans have been trying to repeal or destroy it for 100 years)
Medicare (Republicans have been trying to repeal or destroy it for 50 years)
HCR (Republicans have been trying to repeal or destroy it for 1 year)
Yet, Try to take the benefits away from Republicans for any of the above
Gee Bo, that's pretty good, Republicans have been trying to "repeal or destroy" Social Security for 100 years, when it's only been around for UNDER 70.
And of course they've been trying to "repeal or destroy" Medicare for 50 years when it hasn't been around that long.
And you're damn right they are trying to repeal or destroy the largets WELFARE scam in our history for LESS THAN one year!
CHANGING something so that it doesn't bankrupt the country is NOT "trying to repeal or destory it". I would have LOVED to have been able to INVEST my Social Security taxes in what I wanted to instead of giving it to the government for a PITTANCE of a pension that Congress can take away anytime they want to. I would have loved to have been able to INVEST my MediCare money in the insurance that I wanted to, instead of having the Democrats STEAL 500 BILLION DOLLARS of it to pay for ObamaCare.
And I LOVE the health insurance I pay for now, which does NOT meet the "standards" of ObamaCare and I will be FORCED to buy something else in 3 years.
Social Security Act of 1935 OK,,,,,,,,76,,,,,,,,,Not 100, LOL
Social Security Act of 1965 OK,,,,,,,,46,,,,,,,,,Not 50, Hahaha
I think I was close enough for R&R
Regardless,,,,,,,,,,Once a Republican reachs the age to qualify, Their the first in line;)
Yeah, "close enough", something you libs live on.
You lie and call it "close enough".
And if you check, Republicans BY LAW are in the same line as everyone else because they are FORCED to be.
Do you have ANY truth in you at all Bo? Or are you just a chronic liar?
You do know you CAN opt out don'tcha??
How many hundreds of billions did Reagan steal from SS??
How many hundreds of billions did Bush Sr steal from SS??
How many hundreds of billions did Bush Jr steal from SS??
There is only one way to dive into the SS stash,,,,,,,,,Declare war (with or without a reason)
Reagan,,,,,,,,,,,Libya, Grenada
Bush Sr,,,,,,,,,,,Iraq
Bush Jr,,,,,,,,,,,,Iraq, Afghanistan
Why does this article focus only on the past year since the last address? Obama had full control of congress since the beginning, he should of passed everything that he promised when he was running for president. The list of accomplishments are a joke! Job creation bill huh, how is that working out? He was supposed to focus on jobs but I believe he spent more time focusing on that ghetto Health Care Bill. Obama is so inexperienced in all aspects of being president. That is okay because no single person is an expert on all matter, but the people he surrounds himself with are just as incompetant.
What they don't mention are the strong arm and corrupt back-room deals he made in order to get his precious health care bill passed. This President is a puppet on the strings being turned by others in his party. He does not act on behalf of the people, just in the interests of his party and their radical beliefs. They think that morality and ethics are progressive and evolving over time. So what was wrong years ago can be morally right today. Not so Mr. President. God has defined His Law and the ways that he desires a country to walk in. By turning from that path, paying lip service to the Master, while kicking against the goads, you are making a fool out of yourself while calling it wisdom. This country is and will continue to deteriorate as we continue to support the marriage of homosexuals, murder of the unborn, universalizing all religion, and taking away our support of Isreal.
In regards to man's wisdom: There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end the way is destruction.
In regards to supporting Isreal: I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse.
Independent voter here. I think Obama is doing a pretty decent job. I wish to see more jobs and maybe a reduction in the money I am kicking out bi-weekly. I almost pay 30% of my check out to various programs. I have no problem and in favor of some of these programs my money helps(head start, small business etc..) but if he can reduce my payout about 5% percent. I am a happy camper.
Give him credit, he is doing the best he can despite the circumstances.
Hey, I am not rich and I am a republican so get off that idea. Yes, supposedly 1.1 1.2 million jobs were"created or saved" But before everyone says well done think about just one small thing--MOST INVOLVE THE UNIONS. Great Job for those of us who aren't in a union we are still looking
Just out of curiosity, you know this to be a fact because?
Because Retired Military, they called pay raises to teachers a "job saved". Because of legislation that actually gave 10's of Billions of dollars to the teachers unions to save their jobs. Because of Billions of dollars given to states that were in trouble, that did NOTHING except pay off the state employees unions and didn't put a single DIME toward their deficits.
Because of 54 Billion dollars the union jobs were saved. The jobs would have been there EVEN IF the companies had failed because they would have been bought up by other car companies, but the unions contracts would have gone away.
"He is doing the best he can despite the circumstances." The circumstances, of course, were the Republican opposition in the Senate. Had it not been for that, think of the progress that could have been made. Naturally, you right wing Obama haters disagree that this progress would have been a good thing for the country. But on this, you are in the minority.
Jamie.....You do realize when Obama first took office he had control of congress, don't you? No republicans could stop him unitl Ted Kennedy's seat went to a republican. The circumstances...lol that is funny and with it being Monday I could use a good laugh.
No, the Republicans were able to make everything much more difficult. Because of the hundreds of filibusters the Party of No used to foil Obama's efforts, the House and Senate were required to get 60% of the votes instead of the usual 51% needed to pass legislation. It wasn't even about legislation or the country, it was all about "Obama's Waterloo."
The last two years it's been "This is Obama's Waterloo. Wait wait, THIS is his Waterloo. Darn. OK, THIS will be his Waterl...What? His approval has gone way up? Nooooo!"
Most people don't realize that, as difficult as it is to get 51% of the votes, getting 60% of legislators on board for anything is exponentially more difficult. There were many times where a vote failed, despite getting more than 51% of the vote. That was because of the minority GOP. So yes, even with a minority, they put the brakes on a lot of the progress that we had voted for.
So in summary, even with the 40% of the vote that the American people has relegated the GOP too, they still managed to hurt this country significantly. Now of course, the GOP is screaming for a straight up or down vote on their silly repeal thingy. Imagine of the Democrats ever dared a filibuster of their own.
Wow! Just Wow! MSNBC strikes again.............this article is so full of lies it's laughable! Let's all hope that comcast does a complete overhaul when they take control. Maybe then we can get some honest reporting!
Well, I hope the "Donkeys and Elephants" truly learn to work together. If they can reach a common ground it may go a long way in repairing America, in terms of the common goal of helping the ALL americans
While I can appreciate the altruism of your statement, I don't see anything like that happening as long as there is no regulation of term limits and lobbyist money in congress not to mention, getting rid of the citizens united SCD.
None of what has happened over the last 3 years has been about Obama or Bush! Read and learn:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark-to-market_accounting#Marking-to-market_a_derivatives_position
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932010#Predictions_for_a_second_wave_of_the_financial_crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_crisis_impact_timeline
He created what will turn out to be the most expensive entitlement program to date. As a self employed small buisinessman I can tell you at 1300 per month for my blue cross hmo plan I do not see where obama and the d bags in congress have the right to claim they reformed anything!