Whose Side Is Barack Obama On?

Yes, boys and girls, we do that by supporting the enemies of healthcare reform, from John Barrow and Jim Matheson to John Boehner

Although pressured to do so, Blue America didn't endorse anyone in the presidential primary-- or even in the general election-- last time around. In the primary we didn't feel there was anyone really worth endorsing enough to take our efforts and resources away from helping elect now Congressmembers Alan Grayson, Gary Peters, Carol Shea-Porter and Donna Edwards or from assisting in the heroic efforts by Darcy Burner, John Laesch, Charlie Brown and Vic Wulsin. And in the general, while Obama was an inspiring and historic figure-- and clearly a far better choice than the increasingly truculent, pandering, senile and out-of-touch John McCain-- there was nothing in his record as a senator that indicated he would be anything more than another disappointing corporate shill. Not as bad as a Republican, but not even close to the barest standards Blue America holds candidates. I admit I voted for Obama even knowing that his voting record was almost identical to the worst Democrats in the Senate, your Ben Nelsons, Joe Liebermen, Max Bacusii and Mary Landrieux.

He never gave any of the big money boys a reason to seriously worry-- or oppose him too strenuously. And the selection of Wall Street's favorite Democrat, their own Rahm Emanuel, as his chief of staff, reassured them after he won that no one had anything to worry about but the smoke and mirrors and that it would be business as usual. Politically, it's been a nightmare as we've watched Rahm and his ridiculous henchman, Messina, back every single corrupt corporate shill against a progressive reformer time and again. Grassroots Democrats are sickened that they flushed $12 million down the toilet in forcing through the renomination of Blanche Lincoln, a sure vote for McConnell more often than almost any other Senate Democrat, against a moderate Democrat who, unlike her, could have stood a chance to win in November. Wednesday night Obama's inexperienced and astoundingly incompetent political team struck again. This time OFA head Mitch Stewart, who reports to conservative Democratic shill Tim Kaine at the DNC-- a bastion of people power under Howard Dean, now, once again, a failing cog in the corporate machine-- sent out an emergency letter to Utah Democrats begging Obama to help save the mangy ass of anti-healthcare, anti-Choice, anti-gay, anti-environment, anti-reform corporatist and Blue Dog Jim Matheson, whose support has been crumbling as Tuesday's primary nears. With Claudia Wright surging and Matheson panicking, OFA asked Democrats to forget Mathson's putrid voting record-- not putrid by GOP standards; he's one of the original Boehner Boys-- and remember that there was one vote sometime this year where Matheson voted with Obama:

President Obama needs us to elect strong allies who will help him continue his fight for change. This week, one of those allies-- Utah Rep. Jim Matheson-- needs our help. The primary election is June 22nd, so there's no time to lose. [Please kick me if I vote for Obama in 2012, even if the GOP runs Palin or Romney.]

Rep. Jim Matheson stood with the President in support of the Recovery Act in 2009-- creating or saving 25,000 jobs in Utah and helping millions more around the country. He fought hard for the recovery-- and was a major reason we all won this huge victory for families and small businesses. Now, we need your help to fight for him.

Can you help us get the word out? With our Neighbor to Neighbor tool, you can easily make calls from home to voters in Utah's 2nd Congressional District.

I bet Obama pulls the same crap next month in Georgia 12 on behalf of John Barrow, another horribly reactionary Democrat who has betrayed him at every single opportunity, who's now in danger of losing his primary against a proven progressive leader, Regina Thomas, who is unlikely to ever stand against Obama and with Boehner. Or is it Obama who's standing with Boehner? Seems like an odd question, right? Well, maybe not so odd if you read Ryan Grimm's post today the HuffPo, White House Flip Flops On Reining In CEO Pay:

The White House is intervening at the last minute to come to the defense of multinational corporations in the unfolding conference committee negotiations over Wall Street reform.

A measure that had been generally agreed to by both the House and Senate, which would have affirmed the SEC's authority to allow investors to have proxy access to the corporate decision-making process, was stripped by the Senate in conference committee votes on Wednesday and Thursday. Five sources with knowledge of the situation said the White House pushed for the measure to be stripped at the behest of the Business Roundtable. The sources-- congressional aides as well as outside advocates-- requested anonymity for fear of White House reprisal.

The White House move pits the administration against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who told Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to stand strong against the effort.

There it is, when push comes to shove-- especially in an instance where campaign contributions could be at stake-- Obama, along with Blue Dogs like Matheson and Barrow-- are siding with Boehner against reformers and against the Democratic mainstream. Boehner and his team of misanthropes shout most loudly about too much government spending. Even if most Americans aren't buying his drivel, Obama and his own team seem to... constantly.

Among four pieces of legislation Congress could consider this year, Americans are most supportive of authorizing more economic stimulus spending. Specifically, according to a June 11-13 USA Today/Gallup poll, 60% of Americans say they would favor "additional government spending to create jobs and stimulate the economy." ... Nearly as many Americans-- 56%-- favor regulating energy output from private companies, a key element of the "cap and trade" bill that has been stalled in Congress and that President Obama alluded to in his Tuesday night Oval Office address. However, it should be noted that the question highlights the positive goal of reducing global warming, but not any of the potential costs for business and consumers.

These are issues Obama campaigned on. And ones he still pays some lip-service to-- although he always seems ready to barter away the most crucial parts of any program even before the bargaining commences. I hate to say it, but-- for all that talk about what a cool poker player he was as a state senator in Springfield-- Barack Obama is the last guy I want to see negotiating with any of America's enemies, be it Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong Il, Abdullah Bin Saud, Bibi Netanyahu or... John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. As Swiftspeech pointed out yesterday, Obama, you suck:

In the 18 months since he took the White House, President Obama has managed to reinvigorate this useless and worthless GOP, the opposition party that was on its deathbed, has deflated his own base, has alienated independents, hasn’t made any friends among Republicans although he has embraced many parts of George Bush’s horrendous policies while watering down or staying away from anything remotely Progressive. When he took power, the Democratic Party look as strong as it has ever been. The Party seemed poised to keep power for generations to come. Now, the question about the upcoming election is how bad a beating are the Democrats going to take in November.

America needs a serious progressive movement, presumably inside the Democratic Party. Defeating conservative corporate shills like Jim Matheson on Tuesday and John Barrow next month will help send Democrats in Congress a message they absolutely must hear to survive. Please send that message here.