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Monday, April 18, 2011

If only Obama wasn't so 'uppity'

When Obama finally came out swinging last week, sticking to core Democratic principles and calling the GOP on their smoke and mirrors budget that not only demolishes the New Deal safety net but conjures up numbers that defy the simple laws of arithmetic, never mind math, the GOP were mightily offended and said so repeatedly, alternating between mock indignation and hurt feelings.

It's amazing how members of the party of John Wayne can turn into the party of a cloying victim-hood that would embarrass a sensitivity group in less time than it takes Lindsay Lohan to relapse. And so Ryan, Cantor became utterly mortified and offended that Obama suddenly went all 'partisan' on them by accusing them of trying to destroy the social compact that had unified America for the past 70 years or so.

How dare he go partisan on them, especially after Sarah Palin's 'lamestream liberal media' had been fawning over Congressman Ryan's selfless act of bravery in standing up for those defenseless, abused millionaires and going after those out-of-control teachers, cops, and firefighters as well as senior citizens who refuse to pay for all their medical bills out of their own pockets.

Maybe it has something to do with the first line of the GOP budget which reads, “Where the president has failed, House Republicans will lead." That's not partisan according to the GOP. Neither is the perpetual namecalling, birtherism etc partisan but calling the GOP agenda mean, destructive and unfair is a bridge too far.

What we need is more of the 'uppity' Obama. The open mike left on inadvertently should be welcomed by all Democrats. Many progressives who had been doubting Obama saw evidence that he does get it, that if the GOP think he's stupid, they're making a big mistake. The GOP, giddy with power after 2010 have totally misread the mood of the country. The emergence of the Tea Party, the first post Citizen's United election and the state of the economy will prove to be too intoxicating for the Republicans. They have overreached to an absurd level especially in attacking public union workers and medicare.

It is partisan and it is a class war, no matter how loathe we are to admit it. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Democracy is a terribly unfair system but it is better than all the others. At least in a Democracy citizens generally get to vote and while few if any elections are ever totally clean, most are and the votes do get counted in the end and when it comes down to a situation such as we currently have in America the 'have not's' and the 'have too little' vastly outnumber the 'have too muches'.

As Obama said, "we're not that stupid."

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