The lies they tell the rubes (and each other)
by digby
Former press secretary Ari Fleischer reluctantly admits that the Tea Party overreached with their effort to defund Obamacare. He says they were perfectly right to want to do it, it's just how they did it that was wrong. And that's because the Obama of his nightmares (since the one he describes bears no relationship to the president)is the Real Extremist:
The tea party rebuttal? That type of practical approach is why Washington is a mess to begin with. They say they don't care about the politics, they ardently are trying to save the nation. Fair points. But the nation won't be saved if they can't muster the votes to save it.
As for President Obama, if he wanted to achieve a fundamental grand bargain with Republicans, he would have done so in 2011 when an agreement with Republicans was in sight. He talks like a centrist willing to break with liberal economic ideology, but from the stimulus to Obamacare to his push for tax increases, he has no record of governing like one.
Instead, he is driven to redistribute things, whether it's income, wealth or in the case of Obamacare, health insurance. He views the role of government as taking things of value from one citizen so they can be given to another. He promised that if you liked your health insurance you could keep it. Of course it's not as simple as that, as people are now realizing. For example, some companies may be dumping part or all their health coverage as Obamacare comes online, leaving employees to pay higher premiums and in some cases getting less coverage on the exchanges, according to a National Journal analysis.
Obama says the debt is a "long-term" problem, ignoring that it has grown from $10.6 trillion to nearly $17 trillion on his watch. He refuses to make any fundamental changes to Obamacare but he insists that Republicans agree to additional tax increases. Throughout the recent impasse, he refused to negotiate.
His poll numbers are around the worst levels of his presidency. The Real Clear Politics average shows more than half the country disapproves of the way he is handling his job. He is an unpopular president.
The tea party gets stuck with the extremist label, but for many, it's Obama's policies that are extreme.
Funny, I came to this article from another CNN story:
According to the survey, 54% say it's a bad thing that the GOP controls the House, up 11 points from last December, soon after the 2012 elections when the Republicans kept control of the chamber. Only 38% say it's a good thing the GOP controls the House, a 13-point dive from the end of last year.
[...]
Forty-four percent say they approve of the job the President is doing with 52% saying they disapprove.
"Barack Obama's numbers are pretty anemic, but he remains in much better shape than the GOP," Holland said. "Even though Obama's approval rating remains stuck in the mid-40s, it didn't take a hit during the shutdown -- 44% just before the shutdown began; 44% now."
Cruz: I don't work for the party bosses McCain: Shutdown tactics 'fool's errand' Could the Democrats retake the House?
According to the survey, 44% also say they have more confidence in Obama rather than the GOP in Congress to deal with the major issues facing the country today, a 5-point drop from last year; 31% say they have more confidence in congressional Republicans, unchanged from last December.
I can't say that the people are very impressed with any of our political leaders at the moment. But this is a two party country and people choose between them. I'd bet even Fleischer can do the math.
.