Current Events > Democrats should listen to Obama

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/17/democrats-listen-obama/

The New York Times reports former president Barack Obamas remarks at a gathering of liberal donors:

While Mr. Obama did not single out any specific primary candidate or policy proposal, he cautioned that the universe of voters that could support a Democratic candidate Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans are not driven by the same views reflected on certain left-leaning Twitter feeds or the activist wing of our party.

Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision we also have to be rooted in reality, Mr. Obama said. The average American doesnt think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it.

Obama did not need to specify a candidate. The Democratic primary has been convulsed as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) rolled out a gargantuan Medicare-for-all plan funded by massive new taxes, premised on the destruction of the private health insurance industry and major changes in the way providers are paid, and that rolls in comprehensive immigration reform. While Obamas warning might apply equally to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and to ideas such as decriminalizing illegal border crossings, his admonition certainly has most immediate application to Warren, who has risen to the top of the polls in part by emphasizing bold transformation in almost every area of policy.

Obamas warning is buttressed by recent swing-state polling showing winnable voters are wary of abolishing private health care or legalizing undocumented immigrants trips across the border. The Blue Wall Voices Project found that in four key Midwest states, Majorities of [swing] voters view a ban on fracking (54%), a national Medicare-for-all plan (62%), and stopping border detainments of people coming into the country illegally (71%) as bad ideas. In the same study, self-described Democrats show higher levels of support for these policies.

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How bout no
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Remember that time Obama told people to vote for Hillary Clinton?
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ledbowman posted...

How bout no

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Love how he talks about reality when reality is telling us when polled, a majority of the country supports these progressive policies.

Obama ran on progressive ideas but then lead as a centrist. This dude built a 2 million+ strong grassroots movement that would've helped him get things done by pressuring obstructionists, and local and state officials, but instead he let it died.

BilalPowell posted...

Remember that time Obama told people to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Well she was the Democratic candidate. The f*** was he supposed to say
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iPhone_7 posted...

BilalPowell posted...

Remember that time Obama told people to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Well she was the Democratic candidate. The f*** was he supposed to say

Peace out y'all I'm gonna go skydiving. Good luck with the future.
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Obama is right in general, but I think people are jaded by left wing extremists online. In reality, even someone like Bernie Sanders wouldn't make the country socialist on his own (although the Presidency has a lot of influence so I can understand why people would be concerned).

This is how I understand this board's opinion of the Democratic candidates:

Bernie - love him
Warren - general support for her, but there is a fair amount of dislike for her as well
Buttigieg - general dislike for him
Yang - some are OK with him, but others hate him for some reason
Biden - hate him
Tulsi - hate her
Everyone else - doesn't matter

Based on that alone, someone who's liberal or liberal-leaning should look into Warren and Yang especially, considering how left wing this board is.
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BilalPowell posted...

iPhone_7 posted...

BilalPowell posted...

Remember that time Obama told people to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Well she was the Democratic candidate. The f*** was he supposed to say

Peace out y'all I'm gonna go skydiving. Good luck with the future.

That would have been great
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Damn_Underscore posted...

Obama is right in general, but I think people are jaded by left wing extremists online. In reality, even someone like Bernie Sanders wouldn't make the country socialist on his own (although the Presidency has a lot of influence so I can understand why people would be concerned).

This is how I understand this board's opinion of the Democratic candidates:

Bernie - love him
Warren - general support for her, but there is a fair amount of dislike for her as well
Buttigieg - general dislike for him
Yang - some are OK with him, but others hate him for some reason
Biden - hate him
Tulsi - hate her
Everyone else - doesn't matter

Based on that alone, someone who's liberal or liberal-leaning should look into Warren and Yang especially, considering how left wing this board is.

this board isnt very left wing
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https://twitter.com/CarlBeijer/status/1195788710136205312?s=09
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metralo posted...

this board isnt very left wing

Lmfao

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metralo posted...

Damn_Underscore posted...

Obama is right in general, but I think people are jaded by left wing extremists online. In reality, even someone like Bernie Sanders wouldn't make the country socialist on his own (although the Presidency has a lot of influence so I can understand why people would be concerned).

This is how I understand this board's opinion of the Democratic candidates:

Bernie - love him
Warren - general support for her, but there is a fair amount of dislike for her as well
Buttigieg - general dislike for him
Yang - some are OK with him, but others hate him for some reason
Biden - hate him
Tulsi - hate her
Everyone else - doesn't matter

Based on that alone, someone who's liberal or liberal-leaning should look into Warren and Yang especially, considering how left wing this board is.

this board isnt very left wing

In the political compass topic a few weeks ago, almost everyone was past the halfway mark in the economic left direction. Some were even at the very end of the spectrum.

I'm not sure how you can think this board is not very left wing unless you're very left wing yourself. It isn't as bad as reddit which is a total echo chamber thanks to its upvote/downvote policy, but the general consensus is every political topic is always left wing.

The fact that this board has a few right wing trolls (people who think of Donald Trump as a god) doesn't make it any less left wing. People like that get shot down all the time anyway. In fact, people who are right wing at all get shot down all the time.
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"Left wing" in this case meaning not little shitposting goblins. Who are the good faith right wingers on ce?
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Obama tried to cut Social Security and Medicare in the name of deficit reduction. Safe to say his opinions are terrible.

I dont care if its a leftwing candidate that wins the nomination. They can promises the moon if it will help him/her in the general election. Theyre gonna have to make comprises with Congress anyways.

If Trump can lie to get support from the uninformed then we can do it to, he plays dirty so play dirty too. Accuse his father of helping to kill JFK or criticize Melanias appearance. ****ing do whatever it takes to vote him out of the Oval Office and take the nuclear launch codes away from him.
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Let's listen to the guy who has a house in Martha's Vineyard and does private paid speeches to Wall Street on what's too left and what's not.
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Southernfatman posted...

Let's listen to the guy who has a house in Martha's Vineyard and does private paid speeches to Wall Street on what's too left and what's not.

Bernie and Warren are both real estate investors too. You probably shouldnt vote for them.
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CE skews so left that this place is basically a bubble.
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ledbowman posted...

Who are the good faith right wingers on ce?

these don't exist anywhere in life

and this board might be slightly left of center in the US. they are right wing in every other civilized country in the world

case in point, a lot of people on this board thing obama was left wing. he absolutely wasn't in any sense of the word.
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we tried that, and we nominated the only candidate out there that could possibly lose to Trump, and surprise surprise, she did.
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metralo posted...

ledbowman posted...

Who are the good faith right wingers on ce?

these don't exist anywhere in life

and this board might be slightly left of center in the US. they are right wing in every other civilized country in the world

case in point, a lot of people on this board thing obama was left wing. he absolutely wasn't in any sense of the word.

The people who want open borders or who think billionaires shouldn't exist or want to cancel student debt or who are fully anti-gun rights or who want to redistribute the wealth aren't "right wing" anywhere in the world. Even you saying there is no good faith right wing opinion in life is extremist left wing. The worst part isn't the views themselves, but the refusal to accept any dissenting opinion at all.

There are a few people who have said Obama was left wing, and there were several responses disagreeing with them. And there are a lot more people saying Obama shouldn't be relevant to the Democratic Party anymore.
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I love that leftists hate anyone who isn't completely insane. It's a good reminder that I'm on the right side.

didn't know obama was alt right
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It's crazy seeing some people turn on Obama like this after he left office.

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The Admiral posted...

CE skews so left that this place is basically a bubble.

And yet, here you are.
Bloodychess posted...

It's crazy seeing some people turn on Obama like this after he left office.

Yeah it's almost like they don't have blind loyalty and something one says might actually have consequences. Big crazy.

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Annihilated posted...

I love that leftists hate anyone who isn't completely insane. It's a good reminder that I'm on the right side.

I've been a liberal my entire life, and I'm embarrassed by the extreme left. Their use of digital vigilantism, their complete abandonment of the concepts of education and rehabilitation, their lack of empathy, etc. are so fucking backwards. They're worse than conservatives - who at least attempt discourse, even if it's not civil.

Obama was a great dude, and did tons of great things -- but they'll never acknowledge that because they can't think on a smaller scope and look at individual issues.

bobbaaay posted...

Annihilated posted...

I love that leftists hate anyone who isn't completely insane. It's a good reminder that I'm on the right side.

I've been a liberal my entire life, and I'm embarrassed by the extreme left. Their use of digital vigilantism, their complete abandonment of the concepts of education and rehabilitation, their lack of empathy, etc. are so fucking backwards. They're worse than conservatives - who at least attempt discourse, even if it's not civil.

Obama was a great dude, and did tons of great things -- but they'll never acknowledge that because they can't think on a smaller scope and look at individual issues.

They actually hate liberals now. It's why I haven't referred to them as liberals in quite some time.

CyricZ posted...

Yeah it's almost like they don't have blind loyalty

Keep telling yourself that.

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bobbaaay posted...

Annihilated posted...

I love that leftists hate anyone who isn't completely insane. It's a good reminder that I'm on the right side.

I've been a liberal my entire life, and I'm embarrassed by the extreme left. Their use of digital vigilantism, their complete abandonment of the concepts of education and rehabilitation, their lack of empathy, etc. are so fucking backwards. They're worse than conservatives - who at least attempt discourse, even if it's not civil.

Obama was a great dude, and did tons of great things -- but they'll never acknowledge that because they can't think on a smaller scope and look at individual issues.

The lefty hate for centrists is about you all you need to know to see that they're on the wrong side.
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How did he go from change we can believe in to spokesman for the status quo? Such a fraud.
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Anti-gun people are definitely liberals at best, not leftists. I'm pretty sure most actual leftists want the people to have all of the guns, and the government and their agents to be stripped of them, because the opposite of that, or any form of concession or compromise, would be a pretty right wing position.

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nexigrams posted...

How did he go from change we can believe in to spokesman for the status quo? Such a fraud.

Because he went to Harvard and is intelligent enough to know that Bernie and Warren's policies are a joke and would bankrupt this country if they ever got passed.
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The Admiral posted...

bobbaaay posted...

Annihilated posted...

I love that leftists hate anyone who isn't completely insane. It's a good reminder that I'm on the right side.

I've been a liberal my entire life, and I'm embarrassed by the extreme left. Their use of digital vigilantism, their complete abandonment of the concepts of education and rehabilitation, their lack of empathy, etc. are so fucking backwards. They're worse than conservatives - who at least attempt discourse, even if it's not civil.

Obama was a great dude, and did tons of great things -- but they'll never acknowledge that because they can't think on a smaller scope and look at individual issues.

The lefty hate for centrists is about you all you need to know to see that they're on the wrong side.

There are clearly more than two sides, though.
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the reason extreme liberal policies are getting popular

one word:

TRUMP

he's fucked things up so royally that the pendulum effect is on
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Damn_Underscore posted...

The Admiral posted...

bobbaaay posted...

Annihilated posted...

I love that leftists hate anyone who isn't completely insane. It's a good reminder that I'm on the right side.

I've been a liberal my entire life, and I'm embarrassed by the extreme left. Their use of digital vigilantism, their complete abandonment of the concepts of education and rehabilitation, their lack of empathy, etc. are so fucking backwards. They're worse than conservatives - who at least attempt discourse, even if it's not civil.

Obama was a great dude, and did tons of great things -- but they'll never acknowledge that because they can't think on a smaller scope and look at individual issues.

The lefty hate for centrists is about you all you need to know to see that they're on the wrong side.

There are clearly more than two sides, though.

Only two that matter though. "Them" and "not them."

AlephZero posted...

didn't know obama was alt right

I think people are tired of being told they can't have policies that lead to high quality of life in the richest country on earth because it's just impossible and you must settle for the corporate center
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Idk about you but I'd rather try to make my own life better than rely on the government to do it for me.
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A couple things:

• Neither of Obama's campaigns was marked by the moderation he preached in office or now. In 2008, he promised big change to a system at a time when people were very much opposed to the GOP. In 2012, he painted Romney as an out of touch billionaire whose taxes should be raised. These were very successful strategies!
• So much of Obama's presidency was spent reaching across the aisle and trying to find common ground with Republicans, which was also a big theme of the 2004 DNC speech that really rose his national profile. His healthcare policy was based on the one Romney signed into law in Massachusetts, he ramped up deportations to try and convince them he wasn't soft on immigration, he nominated pro-death penalty Merrick Garland to the Supreme court. His reward for all this? 0 GOP votes for the deeply flawed ACA, a Trump administration that alternately claims "we need to get tougher on the border" and "we're just doing what Obama did," and Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court.

I think there are lessons to be learned from the Obama administration's struggles; I'm surprised that he doesn't.

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BilalPowell posted...

Idk about you but I'd rather try to make my own life better than rely on the government to do it for me.

Go get em tiger
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The Right: "WTF We love Obama now"
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Wasn't he supposed to be a far left radical socialist?
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ZMythos posted...

Wasn't he supposed to be a far left radical socialist?

Fun to revisit this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l46t_nrySg4

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bobbaaay posted...

They're worse than conservatives

Really? They must have killed a lot of people, then.

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Well he might be talking about Bidens dumb ass constantly making uninformed firearms comments and the democrats as a whole throwing the word ban all over the place. Want four more years of trump? Thats how youll get it.
https://reddit.com/r/LiberalGunOwners
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