TenuredVulture wrote:Nevertheless, I do think it's ironic, though lamentable, that what seems to have happened is that the Republican strategy of opposing anything and turning "Obama" into a prefix has backfired.

jerseyhoya wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Nevertheless, I do think it's ironic, though lamentable, that what seems to have happened is that the Republican strategy of opposing anything and turning "Obama" into a prefix has backfired.

One might suggest the bigger irony is it has been accepted as fact among liberals that Republicans will work to deny Obama any successes, even if they agree with the policy, to spite him. And a large majority of Congressional Republicans are working to deliver Obama a win on a high priority target for him, over the objections of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

jerseyhoya wrote:I don't know why I bother, but one more swing through this. The team aspect of politics is vital to anything getting done. It strikes me as deeply weird to believe that it is why nothing gets done. If you had 435 individuals doing what they think is best in the House and 100 doing the same in the Senate, nothing would ever be accomplished. You need structure, order, leadership, rules in order to herd people into groups to achieve anything. ...If you think this is disgusting, I am curious what your proposed alternative is.

jerseyhoya wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Nevertheless, I do think it's ironic, though lamentable, that what seems to have happened is that the Republican strategy of opposing anything and turning "Obama" into a prefix has backfired.

One might suggest the bigger irony is it has been accepted as fact among liberals that Republicans will work to deny Obama any successes, even if they agree with the policy, to spite him. And a large majority of Congressional Republicans are working to deliver Obama a win on a high priority target for him, over the objections of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:I don't know why I bother, but one more swing through this. The team aspect of politics is vital to anything getting done. It strikes me as deeply weird to believe that it is why nothing gets done. If you had 435 individuals doing what they think is best in the House and 100 doing the same in the Senate, nothing would ever be accomplished. You need structure, order, leadership, rules in order to herd people into groups to achieve anything. ...If you think this is disgusting, I am curious what your proposed alternative is.

but this is just how free markets are supposed to work. What you've got in a legislature is a marketplace of ideas. And they'll all just work themselves out, kind of magically, sorted out by the power of market forces. You can believe me. Really!

But go ahead, have it both ways (or even more than two!) Because you should really stop to consider that what you describe as absolutely necessary to get things done wrenches the rhetorical, if not the philosophical/theoretical, underpinnings out from under the braying done by most adherents of the republican variant of this party thing you're so hung up about. I mean, just lower taxes and let freedom ring - that's how and only how anything good happens

TenuredVulture wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Nevertheless, I do think it's ironic, though lamentable, that what seems to have happened is that the Republican strategy of opposing anything and turning "Obama" into a prefix has backfired.

One might suggest the bigger irony is it has been accepted as fact among liberals that Republicans will work to deny Obama any successes, even if they agree with the policy, to spite him. And a large majority of Congressional Republicans are working to deliver Obama a win on a high priority target for him, over the objections of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

I don't think it's the Democratic opponents who have labeled this "Obamatrade".

jerseyhoya wrote:It's almost like Congress and the national economy are different things.

Doll Is Mine wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Nevertheless, I do think it's ironic, though lamentable, that what seems to have happened is that the Republican strategy of opposing anything and turning "Obama" into a prefix has backfired.

One might suggest the bigger irony is it has been accepted as fact among liberals that Republicans will work to deny Obama any successes, even if they agree with the policy, to spite him. And a large majority of Congressional Republicans are working to deliver Obama a win on a high priority target for him, over the objections of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

How long have you been waiting to point that out? 6 years?

As President Obama was weighing how to halt Islamic State advances in Iraq, some of the strongest resistance to boosting U.S. involvement came from a surprising place: a war-weary military that has grown increasingly skeptical that force can prevail in a conflict fueled by political and religious grievances

“So one of the areas where we’re going to have to improve is the speed at which we’re training Iraqi forces. Where we’ve trained Iraqi forces directly and equipped them, and we have a train-and-assist posture, they operate effectively. Where we haven’t, morale, lack of equipment, et cetera, may undermine the effectiveness of Iraqi security forces. So we want to get more Iraqi security forces trained, fresh, well-equipped and focused. And President Abadi wants the same thing.
“So we’re reviewing a range of plans for how we might do that, essentially accelerating the number of Iraqi forces that are properly trained and equipped and have a focused strategy and good leadership. And when a finalized plan is presented to me by the Pentagon, then I will share it with the American people. We don’t yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis, as well, about how recruitment takes place, how that training takes place. And so the details of that are not yet worked out.”