Rats From a Sinking Ship
The first sign things are looking grim for Barack Obama: usually dependable allies are starting to put some daylight between them and his record. Barney Frank, for instance, from Roll Call:
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) told New York magazine he urged President Obama not to press for health care reform in 2010 after Democrats lost their 60-seat majority.
Said Frank: "I think we paid a terrible price for healthcare. I would not have pushed it as hard. As a matter of fact, after Scott Brown won, I suggested going back. I would have started with financial reform, but certainly not healthcare."
Frank said Obama made the same mistake Bill Clinton did in 1993 by underestimating the concerns of people who already had healthcare coverage.
My guess is that lots of congressional Democrats will suddenly be remembering the excellent advice they gave their president. It's just too bad he didn't listen.
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Dec '11
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
I’d suggest it might also be a little “unfortunate” that they weren’t a bit more public with their “advice” at the time. Thus making their claims of having offered said “pearls of wisdom” to a then young, inexperienced President (full of promise though he was) a bit less, shall I say, fabricated?
Mar '11
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
It is blackest calumny to compare Barney Frank to a rat.
You, sir, shall be hearing from the Rodent Anti-Traducement Society!
Jan '11
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
This reminds me of Nobby Nobbs, one of many brilliant characters in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books. Before joining the City Watch, Nobby was a soldier. Instead of joining battles however, he would skulk around the edges, try to figure out who was winning and find a uniform whose former owner had no further use for. Generals learned to keep an eye on him to know from moment to moment who was winning.
The similarity to Mr. Franks doesn't stop there, because Nobby was a notorious looter and in his capacity as quartermaster lined his own pockets to the considerable detriment to his regiment's fighting capacity.
Aug '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
I am curious to learn which variety of bull____ they actually run with.
Hilary R. exploded their war on women meme, now Obamacare is looking a bit peckish. Populist Obama seems to be the flavor of this week, but I suspect he will be at least as clumsy as Al Gore at that game, he is no Huey Long. And he already killed Bin Laden.
I propose an over/under on Hillary for Veep, life imitating HBO. I'll bet early July, before the 4th.
Romney is elusively vanilla, how many times can you call the man rich or robotic before the electorate tunes you out?
Jul '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Wait a minute. It wasn't Obama's health care plan, it was Harry and Nancy's with help from the Louisiana Purchase and the Cornhusker Kickback. But he's taking responsibility now, I guess to take the heat off them. A real stand-up guy.
Apr '11
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Last December the Republicans were offering $100 for a photo of PA Senator Bob Casey, Jr. with BHO, during the latter's visit to the state.
OIIOHH
Casey's not taking any chances, even tho no current Republican office holder, & notably no PA congressman, is in the Republican primary to pick a challenger for November.
Sep '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
This is why I'm slightly--very slightly--more optimistic than Rob about the GOP's odds this November. Romney's boring inoffensiveness may save him. The American people chose an exciting possibility--hope and change!--last time, and we all know how that turned out. Even my die-hard liberal academic friends are discouraged by Obama.
This time, the electorate just might decide that someone competent and vanilla is preferable. I'm not exactly optimistic yet, but it's something.
Edited on April 16, 2012 at 8:03pmNov '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Just read another quip from that interview on "Future of Capitalism", Barney actually quoted Hayek's "Road to Serfdom", but then in the way only Barney can, uses it totally out of context. Claims the right wants to do away with ALL government, the reason there is no bipartisanship in DC, and even Hayek said that no goverment was disastrous for the any society. The guy still can't deal with reality or the truth.
Jun '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
To our politicos, is a growing number of liberal Democrats beginning to create some separation between them and Obama a reliable metric for his re-election chances? I'm no sure how you measure it, but it seems, at least to some degree, predictive.
Jul '11
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
This is an illusion. They will all support Obama publicly.
An all out aggressive and extremely negative campaign waged on all fronts imaginable is the only way to beat Obama. Complacency is the enemy as is underestimating the oppositions strength and willingness to do anything to win. I am not wrong here.
Apr '12
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Barney maybe knows something about the health care that we do not? Surely, after Hilary's debacle which cost her dearly, health care should be rolled out at State level, not national level, or am I missing something?
Apr '12
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Rob Long:
The whole phenomena of the PPAAC Act seemed extremely ill-timed. Mr. Frank is merely echoing concerns we heard voiced back during the crazy days of its passage. Not loudly back then; not voiced by the leadership, of course. But we heard much the same sentiment muttered here and there among the Democrats.
The easy thing to miss, especially when viewing the phenomena through a prism of raw politics--is the simple fact that Obama Care provided a way out of a very real disaster. The Titanic was steaming at 22 knots directly towards an iceberg everyone knew was there, but dared not mention; especially not to the passengers.
Medicare is far more broken than anyone seems willing to admit--even today. While Democrats and Republicans have been doing their best to minimize it to the public, behind closed doors they all know the exact dimensions of the berg; it's position, and the fast closing impact coordinates.
The most dull among them knew someone had to grab the ship's wheel and make that sharp turn...even if it panicked the passengers.
Even north was better.
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Barack Obama is the gift that keeps on giving.
Jul '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Barack Hussein Obama. The second.
I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. -- Thomas Jefferson.
Jul '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
I hope so. All that is at stake is the Republic.
May '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
These Democ-rats are not abandoning ship--they're simply finding a warm compartment in which to hide for a few years.
Jul '11
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
I supposed I should be wildly underenthused that everyone's favorite crapweasel, Barney Frank, is making sure as little stench gets slapped onto his coattails as he can possibly muster. If there's one word that can describe Mssr. Frank, that would be "self-interested".
OK, it's a hyphenated word, but you get the idea. If Frank's the canary in the coal mine, who are the miners?
Oct '11
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
ROFL, with scorn. Pound for pound, Frank's eponymous financial legislation is as much an offense against common sense and the Republic as Obama's health care takeover. The only difference is one of scale.
Jul '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
A perfect example to illustrate this is Sen Patrick Moynihan. One of, if not the most intelligent senator of the 20th c., wrote and lectured on very conservative ideas, but as WFB, Jr. reminded us, "always returned to the bosom of the Democratic party when it came time to vote."
Jun '10
Re: Rats From a Sinking Ship
Neolibertarian
...
The easy thing to miss, especially when viewing the phenomena through a prism of raw politics--is the simple fact that Obama Care provided a way out of a very real disaster.
...
What? I don't get the joke -- if this is one.
Please explain.