Obama, Dems spread the condescension around
How enraging it must be to the liberal left for their hero talk about them like a bunch of bitter clingers. From MSNBC.com:
President Barack Obama’s lecture to his supporters to snap out of their lethargy is getting a frosty reception from some on the left side of the Democratic coalition.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Obama made a point to argue — “with intensity and passion, repeatedly stabbing the air with his finger” according to the magazine — that his followers in 2008 must not stay home this year.
“It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election,” Obama said.
Whatever complaints they might have about climate change or other issues, Obama said, it is “just irresponsible” that some Democrats and progressives were lacking enthusiasm for the election.
“If people now want to take their ball and go home that tells me folks weren’t serious in the first place,” he said. “If you’re serious, now’s exactly the time that people have to step up.”
“I think it is a remarkably condescending message,” said Darcy Burner, the executive director of ProgressCongress.org and the Progressive Congress Action Fund.
Progressives, she said, continue to be deeply involved in policy and in politics and are not at all lethargic or disengaged.
“The fact that they are frustrated and discouraged has as much to do with the rhetoric coming out of the White House as anything else,” she said. “And this is the latest example of that.”
Rolling Stone may have punk’d former Gen. Stanley McChrystal, but something tells me its editors didn’t intend for this interview to make Obama look worse.
Of course, Obama is one of many Democrats chiding voters for their perceived apathy. Vice President Joe Biden recently told liberals “to stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives. This president has done an incredible job. He’s kept his promises.”
Sen. John Kerry didn’t stop at the Democrats’ base, saying, “We have an electorate that doesn’t always pay that much attention to what’s going on so people are influenced by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth or what’s happening.”
A simple slogan, huh? Like maybe “Hope” or “Change”?
Nah.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
79 comments Add your comment
Ragnar Danneskjöld
September 29th, 2010
5:39 pm
Dear TMW @ various times, I thought about yanking your chain by using a deceptive negative, “when was the last time a democrat house finished the year without a budget screaming red innk? Of course the technical answer is “this year, since the democrats haven’t even passed a budget at all. Cowards.
AmVet
September 29th, 2010
5:42 pm
“Who was in charge when we had the last balanced budget?” Answer, Newt,…
This message brought to you by your friends at the Simple Answers Corporation.
Linda
September 29th, 2010
5:59 pm
AmVet @ 4:06 & 4:29, Sorry for ignoring your comments to me, but it’s difficult to make you a priority when you call me anti-American, demented & fake & accuse me of wishing to implement my wishes for quasi-dictatorship in America.
If you are indeed a vet, I bough to you on my knees.
I’ve been where you are. I was raised in a Dem. family & town & registered as a Dem. My husband married me in spite of my past. The older I have become, the more conservative I have become.
We’ve lived under 12 presidents & this is the 3rd time we’ve experienced both a Dem. president & a Dem. congress, but the first time we’ve experienced progressives in action. We are frightened at what we have seen. Obama is probably one of the most intelligent, most highly educated presidents we have ever had, but with the least experience.
America is in trouble, more than most people probably know. I just want my country back & if you think I’m all of the above for that, so be it.
VOTE 4 NATHAN THE THIEF DEAL,CAUSE HE IS LIKE BUSH
September 29th, 2010
6:06 pm
YEAH YOU LET THE EVIL REPUBLICANS BACK IN AND THEY WILL FINISH THE JOB OF BREAKING AMERICA,KYLE AND HIS KLAN FOLLOWERS ARE READY AND WILLING TO SELL-OUT THEIR FAMILIES FOR THE SAKE OF GOP DUMB PRIDE!
P.S. HOW DID THOSE BUSH TAXCUTS FOR THE RICH,WORKOUT FOR YOU DUMMIES IN RURAL GEORGIA? WHERE ARE THOSE JOBS THE GOP PROMISED WHEN THEY SAID 8 YEARS OF TAXCUTS WERE NEEDED?
HOW MANY GEORGIA BANKS FAILED IN RURAL GEORGIA BECAUSE OF THE REPUBLICANS?
VOTE 4 NATHAN THE THIEF DEAL,CAUSE HE IS LIKE BUSH
September 29th, 2010
6:17 pm
RAGNAR WHY ARE YOU NOT IN AFGHANISTAN FIGHTING THE TERRORIST AND DEFENDING THIS COUNTRY?
P.S. OBAMA HAS KEPT YOU SAFE SINCE HE’S BEEN IN OFFICE,NO ATTACKS,IT’S PEACEFUL,REMEMBER YOUR BOY BUSH HAD THE TERRORIST TRYING TO KILL US!
Not So Casual Observer
September 29th, 2010
6:25 pm
Amvet must hire sycophants to tell him he is relative to the discussion and they “love” his comments. There is no other explanation for the pablum he drools into his keyboard and the blog.
Linda
September 29th, 2010
6:27 pm
Vote @ 6:06, All capital letters don’t make you a capitalist. You are misguided & misinformed on what caused the economic recession & unemployment.
Not So Casual Observer
September 29th, 2010
6:29 pm
Vote 4…
You have been prescribed those meds for a reason, please follow the directions and then double the dose. Unfortunately for you the resulting sanity will make your posts very embarrassing.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
September 29th, 2010
6:30 pm
This is sad-larious. He won’t shut up on TV, so we’ve tuned him out. We just flat-out don’t watch. So now he’s coming over and crashing our backyard barbecues. And if we turn off the propane, put the cooler away, and douse the citronella tiki torches–just leave him in the backyard, that is–will he still be in the backyard when we wake up?
Hey, at least he’s in the libs backyard and not ours, know what I mean?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
September 29th, 2010
6:37 pm
He continued: “But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people and do our best to help them find … their own grace. And so that’s what I strive to do. That’s what I pray to do every day. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith.” -Urinal
So how’s that “separation of Church and state” working for you libs?
Oh yeah, I forgot, you know he’s lying, just sayin…
Not So Casual Observer
September 29th, 2010
6:38 pm
Amvet and Vote 4,
Obama is by far the worst thing to happen to the US since FDR but a great thing for the manner in which he has exposed the Left for the America haters they have always been.
Obama is a proven failure, a liar (many times over) and makes the conservatives you two rant about look like the very saviors they will be for our country.
“Democrats Lose 100 House seats” has a very nice ring to it, don’t you think? And with that we see the end of the Wretched Witch of the West, Nancy Pelosi.
I frankly haven’t much use for either party but compared to Liberals of the Democrat persuasion any Republican looks grand. Now, if the R’s fail to see the demand for Constitutional governance, fail to see the demand for an end to profligate spending, fail to see the demand for SIGNIFICANTLY smaller government and all that oozes from this grotesque Congress, then – goodbye to them in 2012.
Not So Casual Observer
September 29th, 2010
6:40 pm
I report…
Muslims are commanded to lie to infidels.
josef nix
September 29th, 2010
6:40 pm
IR/YW
Just so you’ll know, some of us over to Jay’s place are missing ya! Good to see you’re alive and well…seriously.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
September 29th, 2010
6:50 pm
Yosef- I saw that.
You now know where to find me. I hope Wingnut doesn’t mind crowds.
Mike
September 29th, 2010
6:52 pm
I’m a liberal, and I don’t plan to make a huge effort this year. Obama caters too much to the right. I know many of you think I’m crazy, but I believe Obama should have: 1. Immediately withrawn all troops from the Middle East as quickly as they were assembled there…quicker. 2. Close Gitmo in a year as promised. 3. Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. 4. Gone after Bush and Cheney, tooth and nail, on all the war crimes they committed. 5. Dump the Federal Reserve. Much more.
lars
September 29th, 2010
6:55 pm
bush saved wallstreet money men, obama saved middle America when he saved automotive manufacturing….
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
September 29th, 2010
6:57 pm
“I can make a firm pledge. Under my plan no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.”-obozo
Read those big lips!
They have another lie on them, just sayin…
@@
September 29th, 2010
6:59 pm
Too funny! Obama spreading the luv….errr blame.
Some of the progressive organizations are saying he’s preparing to lay the blame at their feet in the event of mid-term losses.
They’ve come to realize what conservatives already knew. Obama thinks he’s untouchable.
Obama defines narcissism.
Linda
September 29th, 2010
7:03 pm
lars @ 6:55, When Obama saved GM & Chrylser, he saved 2/3 of GM jobs overseas.
josef nix
September 29th, 2010
7:10 pm
Mike
I don’t think you’re crazy. I’m still waiting on the Fierce Advocate to look up the meaning of the two words!
VOTE 4 NATHAN THE THIEF DEAL,CAUSE HE IS LIKE BUSH
September 29th, 2010
7:21 pm
WHEN CLINTON-BARNES WAS IN OFFICE WE HAD JOBS,BUT ONCE BUSH-PERDUE GOT ELECTED ALL OF OUR JOBS AND BANKS LEFT BECAUSE OF THE GOP!
@@
September 29th, 2010
7:27 pm
From my perspective, Rahm Emanuel’s exit is Obama’s loss.
Rahm’s always been the left’s target of choice. With him gone, there’s no one left to target but Obama, himself.
I did see some left-wing media pundits trying to shift the blame to Pelosi. Don’t think it’ll work though.
Entertainment abounds.
Linda
September 29th, 2010
7:38 pm
VOTE @ 7:21, Just because 9/11 happened a little over 7 mts. after Bush was inaugurated does not mean he was flying the planes, certainly not all 4 of them. You are misinformed & misdirected.
CAIR Bears
September 29th, 2010
9:20 pm
“Stereotyping anyone and everyone. You don’t see the liberals stereotyping you cons as toothless, redneck, hill-billies that are looking to sponge off the government by claiming disability for your obesity problem that requires you to use a scooter to get around your trailer park.”
Two hillbilly presidents from the Democrap Party were from the south. Oh, and one grew up in a trailer.
Guess that debunks your asinine thought.
CAIR Bears
September 29th, 2010
9:21 pm
Mike
Sucks to be you.
TaxPayer
September 30th, 2010
7:27 am
How enraging it must be to the liberal left for their hero to talk about them like a bunch of bitter clingers.
There. Fixed that for ya, Kyle. By the way, how’s Phil Gramm doing these days. Hear from him much.
Not So Casual Observer
September 30th, 2010
8:12 am
lars,
ACTUALLY, Obama crushed middle America with the manner in which GM and Chrysler were restructured.
The bond holders and shareholders, most all of whom were from middle America, were wiped out and billions of dollars were lost by ordinary Americans in order for the Lefties to stand up and proclaim a profit on the shares of the new companies.
The Left proclaims their love of the “little people” but stomps all over them when the mood suits or a union wants our money.
I also see Obama now attending a Christian church when he needs votes. Where was he the past year and a half? Oh yes, campaign season is Obama’s Christmas and Easter for the casual believer. The Christian casual believer, on the other hand, is at least honest about faith and not simply a liar attempting to trick the voter.
Boogers, Biscuts and Gravy
September 30th, 2010
10:37 am
LMAO…the final days have arrived and watching the internal discord and the dems flailing about like a 11th round punchdrunk boxer is hilarious. So fullfilling to see the smug grins draining from their faces from the realization of the public flogging that is about to occur.
LMAO!!
JF McNamara
September 30th, 2010
11:16 am
rdh said:
“Its the Democratic Party way: insult those who don’t agree with you or do what you want.”
…and how is that any way different than Republicans.