OBAMA'S AFRAID OF RUSH

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Registered: 01-09-2009
OBAMA'S AFRAID OF RUSH
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Mon, 01-26-2009 - 12:48pm

Obama: Quit Listening to Rush Limbaugh if You Want to Get Things Done

Obama warned Republicans to quit listening to Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats, during a White House discussion on his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

One White House official confirmed the comment but said he was simply trying to make a larger point about bipartisan efforts.

"There are big things that unify Republicans and Democrats," the official said. "We shouldn't let partisan politics derail what are very important things that need to get done."

That wasn't Obama's only jab at Republicans today.

While discussing the stimulus package with top lawmakers in the White House's Roosevelt Room, President Obama shot down a critic with a simple message.

"I won," he said, according to aides who were briefed on the meeting. "I will trump you on that."

The response was to the objection by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to the president's proposal to increase benefits for low-income workers who don't owe federal income taxes.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 8:45pm

Ummmm, you do know that the fired attorneys were Republican, right? Ponder this: apparently, DoJ was being run as a fiefdom of BushCo for the specific purpose of choosing bureaucrats with a personal allegiance to Bush (See: Monica Goodling); and to aggrandize election results for Republicans (See: David Iglesias, Pete Domenici, Heather Wilson, Manny Aragon and Republican congressional incumbents insisting that certain cases be rushed to hearings/trial in order to affect election results favorably for Republicans).

Would you accept the same behavior from Democrats without howling for some sort of investigation and accountability? As a reminder: government is supposed to serve the people, NOT the party. Justice is supposed to be fair, impartial and Constitutional--under Bush it was anything but (See: John Yoo).

Provided the same standard is applied to both parties, demanding accountability is reasonable AND a vital component of democratic forms of governance. Vindictive? No. Silly? No. And only those enamored of authoritarian regimes and/or partisan goals above national interests would use such adjectives.

Edited to add--I'm no fan of Hilary Clinton but it's more than a little ironic to see Democrats called vindictive when one remembers the grilling she endured over a little investment scheme called "Whitewater". And that business didn't even affect how the nation was being led.




Edited 1/27/2009 9:08 pm ET by altered08ego
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 8:55pm
If his audience can think for themselves, why do they call themselves "ditto heads" ????
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2009
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:03pm

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/23/obama-quit-listening-rush-limbaugh-want-things/


saying quit listening to rush if you want to get things done is telling them not to listen to rush, semantics is fun however


iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2009
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:07pm
Yes he is and that is what Obama is doing.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2009
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:08pm
I agree, you need all views and opinions to find the best solution.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2008
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:14pm

I'm not trying to guess why Obama said what he did. I was going from the comments made by Boehner and after hearing him make them, I thought he sounded bothered by them. If Obama did make the comment about Rush for the reason you suggest, I still am not sure that I think it was appropriate. Obama is making some rather negative assumptions about the Republicans in Congress to even think that they are listening to Rush and letting Rush's opinion influence them.

I really can't comment anymore on the Hugh Hewitt interview of Boehner that I had heard, the transcript has been posted, it's pretty clear. The only thing missing is the tone Boehner used when discussing the Obama comments.

I don't think you are going to find a transcript of Obama's words, I don't know that anyone was taking a word for word account of the meeting. Here are 3 articles that discuss it. It's not a huge deal, but I am surprised that Obama even went there. The other comment I thought inappropriate was "I won", in a back and forth with a Republican. I think everyone is aware of that.

Brevity Is The Soul of Wit
Posted 1/24/2009 8:09 AM CST
“Brevity is the soul of wit.”

President Obama yesterday confirmed these words, spoken by Lord Polonius in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in this two word retort to would-be Republican obstructionists and heel-draggers who are questioning the size and scope of his proposed economic stimulus package.

“I won.”

From Politico:

“President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.

The exchange arose as top House and Senate Republicans expressed concern to the president about the amount of spending in the package.”

More from the New York Post:

“Not that Obama was gloating. He was just explaining that he aims to get his way on stimulus package and all other legislation, sources said, noting his unrivaled one-party control of both congressional chambers.

"We are experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis that has to be dealt with and dealt with rapidly," Obama said during the meeting.”

But the Republicans, whose symbol of an elephant needs to be replaced by an ostrich, apparently don’t think economic stimulus is necessary. According to the National Republican Congressional Committee web site:

“Thanks to Republican economic policies, the U.S. economy is robust and job creation is strong.”

As someone commented here earlier this week, I wonder what color the sky is in the Republican’s world.

But President Obama wasn’t finished with Republicans, adding this:

“You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been sleeping better at night since January 20th. My country is once again in good hands.
http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=desperado&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3AdesperadoPost%3Ad3656ce7-b1b1-4888-bf1a-ada50e7023db

By CHARLES HURT, BUREAU CHIEF

Last updated: 3:47 pm
January 26, 2009
Posted: 8:13 pm
January 23, 2009

WASHINGTON -- President Obama warned Republicans on Capitol Hill today that they need to quit listening to radio king Rush Limbaugh if they want to get along with Democrats and the new administration.

"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package.

Limbaugh Responds, Slams Obama

One White House official confirmed the comment but said he was simply trying to make a larger point about bipartisan efforts.

"There are big things that unify Republicans and Democrats," the official said. "We shouldn't let partisan politics derail what are very important things that need to get done."

That wasn't Obama's only jab at Republicans today.

In an exchange with Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) about the proposal, the president shot back: "I won," according to aides briefed on the meeting.

"I will trump you on that."

Not that Obama was gloating. He was just explaining that he aims to get his way on stimulus package and all other legislation, sources said, noting his unrivaled one-party control of both congressional chambers.

"We are experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis that has to be dealt with and dealt with rapidly," Obama said during the meeting.

Republicans say the $825 billion price tag is too big a burden for a nation crippled by debt and that it doesn't do enough to stimulate the economy by cutting taxes.

"You know, I'm concerned about the size of the package. And I'm concerned about some of the spending that's in there, ... how you can spend hundreds of millions on contraceptives," House GOP Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) later said.

"How does that stimulate the economy?"

But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs countered: "There was a lot of agreement in that room about the notion that we're facing an economic crisis unlike we've seen in quite some time ... that we must act quickly to stimulate the economy, create jobs, put money back in people's pockets."

Gibbs disagreed with those who called the meeting window dressing.

"The president is certainly going to listen to any ideas," he said.

"He will also go to Capitol Hill the beginning of next week to talk to Republican caucuses and solicit their input and their ideas."

With Post Wires

churt@nypost.com
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01232009/news/politics/prez_zings_gop_foe_in_a_timulating_talk_151572.htm

Obama to GOP: 'I won'
By JONATHAN MARTIN & CAROL E. LEE | 1/23/09 1:25 PM EST Updated: 1/24/09 12:37 AM EST
Text Size:
President Obama meets with Congressional leaders.
President Obama meets with Congressional leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. From left are House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Minority Leader John Boehner and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Photo: AP

President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.

The exchange arose as top House and Senate Republicans expressed concern to the president about the amount of spending in the package. They also raised red flags about a refundable tax credit that returns money to those who don’t pay income taxes, the sources said.

The Republicans stressed that they want to include more middle class tax cuts in the package, citing their proposal to cut the two lowest tax rates — 15 percent and 10 percent — to ten percent and five percent, rather than issue the refundable credit Obama wants.

At another point in the meeting, sources said Obama told the group: “This is a grave situation facing the country.” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama would hold another economic meeting in the White House Saturday for a "broader group."

After Friday's meeting, Democratic and Republican leaders publicly wrangled over the developing stimulus plan.

But perhaps taking a cue from Obama’s “I won” line when Democrats were asked if they were concerned about Republicans blocking the package, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had a swift one-word answer: “No.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill was on track for passage by February 16, while Republicans continued to voice their opposition.
See Also

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“We expressed our concerns about some of the spending that’s being proposed in the House bill,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said after meeting with Obama.

“How can you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives?” Boehner asked. “How does that stimulate the economy?”

Boehner said congressional Republicans are also concerned about the size of the package.

“Government can’t solve this problem,” he said.

Reid said a Congressional Budget Office report that says the stimulus funds won’t be pumped into the economy until 2010 doesn’t provide an accurate picture.

Republicans have used the report to back up their argument against a near $1 trillion package. But Reid said Obama Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag told them CBO only analyzed 40 percent of the bill.

He also said Orszag guaranteed “that at least 75 percent of the bill would go directly into the economy within the first 18 months.”

Pelosi suggested that the package, currently at $825 billion, could become even larger.

“It has grown,�� Pelosi said, “and we’re still in the process.”

At the meeting, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the No. 2 House Republican, passed out copies of the Republicans’ five-point stimulus plan. At first blush, Obama said, “Nothing on here looks outlandish or crazy to me,” Obama said, according to a source familiar with the conversation. He seemed particularly receptive to some Republican ideas about increasing benefits to small businesses.

But when the conversation got down to other specifics, it was clear that some of the Republican ideas were clearly non-starters with the new president – including calls to put off tax hikes during the recession. “He rejected that out of hand and said we couldn’t have any hard and fast rules like that,” Cantor said.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17862.html

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"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." --Eric Hoffer
*****

"The two parties have combined against us to nullify our power by a ‘gentleman's agreement' of non-recognition, no matter how we vote ... May God write us down as asses if ever again we are found putting our trust in either the Republican or the Democratic Parties." -- W.E.B. DuBois (1922)

**** **** **** **** **** **** "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." Gerald R. Ford
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2009
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:16pm
Some dems are not
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2009
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:22pm
I would agree if Obama had taken something to the table to offer the reps, he said no more tax cuts.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-07-2009
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:22pm

Oh you mean by Obama going into a meeting with the GOP leaders and trying to hammer out a deal and then

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2009
Tue, 01-27-2009 - 9:28pm

Exactly, he wants what he wants a huge government and private cos going to the gov.

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