(Mild Mannered White Guy is turning into Shouty White Guy)
OK, this is infuriating. Everybody’s talking about the “enthusiasm gap” and how Democrats are going to get trounced this fall because nobody can bring themselves to be excited to vote for them. Everybody’s all depressed because Obama’s been a massive disappointment, and who cares who’s in office anyway?
WHAT. THE. FUCK!?
Here’s a list of ten things that have been accomplished in the past 18 MONTHS. All of which are of historical importance. Most of which would not have been had there been ONE MORE additional Republican Senator or ten more additional Republican Representatives.
1. A stimulus bill that has created/saved between 2 and 3 million jobs, and created tax cuts for everybody earning below $250k a year. Could it have been bigger? Sure. Could it have been smaller? You know it. Three Republicans in the Senate voted for it, one of whom was immediately kicked out of the party.
2. A healthcare reform bill that revolutionized the way our country treats medicine. Whatever your quibbles with the content of the bill, healthcare is now a RIGHT in this country and not a commodity. Every single Republican opposed it, on the basis of – I’m not shitting you here – the current system works and is the best in the world. In case you were wondering, it’s not.
3. The most significant set of reforms to the financial sector in a generation, including the creation of a consumer watchdog agency to push back against the shady alliance between banks and ratings agencies on Wall Street. If you don’t think this bill had teeth, just take a look at how angry the billionaire bankers (who led us into this mess) are about it.
4. A landmark credit card reform act that finally limits banks ability to charge abusive interest rates and defraud consumers of their money. This amidst calls from Republicans to deregulate the industry even more.
5. A well-run, efficient bailout of the auto industry that took three companies on the edge of bankruptcy and collapse and returned all three to profitability. Seriously, last quarter, all three major car companies turned a profit. In this economy.
[more mild-mannered stuff after the jump]
6. The first nuclear disarmament treaty with Russia in over two decades; a breakthrough of diplomacy that will cut the number of active warheads in our nations by more than half, and create a new program of inspections and a new investment in security that will lock down “loose nukes” in Russia. It should be pointed out that Republicans are massively opposed to this.
7. The end of combat operations in Iraq, making the best of a horrible situation by withdrawing with dignity and honor, while committing our resources and know-how to help the new Iraqi government maintain order. This in addition to a roadmap for achieving a similar goal in Afghanistan next year, freeing up the necessary resources to go after the actual villains and to repair our own economy.
8. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which was opposed by McCain and defeated by Republicans in 2007. It reverses a Supreme Court decision that says you can’t sue for unequal treatment in the workplace if the treatment *first* happened more than 180 days ago, even if you only found out about it afterwards. Fixed.
9. Student loan reform. In a neat legislative trick, we took the middleman out of the student loan industry, which will mean $70 billion more available to students, as well as increased flexibility in repayment. This together with increased funding for Pell grants, pre-school education and charter schools like the Harlem Children’s Zone, this adds up to a massive investment in our kids’ future.
10. The confirmation of two new young justices to the Supreme Court (including the first ever Hispanic justice) who understand that the law is intended to protect the least of us – the poor, the minorities, the oppressed – not consecrate the ascendency of the wealthy, the police-state, and corporations. Both narrowly escaped filibuster.
Holy shit. This is a huge list of pretty awesome stuff.
A Republican majority in the House and none of this happens. None of it. You know what we’ll get instead? 2 years of phony scandals and investigations into everything. Purposeless, intentional, malicious gridlock. You think the scandal-mongering of the late 90’s was shameful? Wait until you see this. Only now, the economy is at stake.
The moral of the story? VOTE FOR PROGRESSIVES. But more than that, BRAG about this shit. Stop moping around. Get excited. Mobilize. Tell your friends. We fucking kicked ass in the past 18 months; let’s act like it.
Let’s shout it from the goddamn mountaintops.
Because this enthusiasm gap thing is bullshit.1
1As one of Mild-Mannered White Guy’s friend’s pointed out: “I’m not even particularly liberal. Really. But rewarding Republicans for their lies, hate-mongering, and crazy is simply deranged. Anybody who votes for them this time around is crazy, stupid,ignorant, evil or a combination of the four.”
[Editor's Note: Mild-Mannered White Guy is Angry Black Lady's Friend. He usually isn't so shouty, so when he shouts, you should listen. Thanks, Lane!]
I am now a fan, of you, sir.
I love this post. It is going to be some scary shit if we get a bunch of Brewers and Angles and “sorry if you got raped, it was God’s plan” people in office.
We’re heading down the road to Palin 2012 and that scares the shit out of me.
enjoy your babyade!
Don’t forget his first major act on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade: Reversing the Gag Rule!
For a well-mannered, if not necessarily mild, white guy, I’ve got a pretty gosh-darned swell feelin’ of Patriotic Pride right now from reading that excellent article! I’m not as well informed as MMWG, so reading all those accomplishments was indeed an incentive to “get excited,” rather than just relieved now that we’re fortunate enough to have this President at this time, so I’m particularly grateful for the renewed motivation.
While no rational human being could, or should, worry about President Obama even coming close to doing or saying anything nearly as ‘full-on retard’ that Bush and his cronies managed to pull off during that miserable last decade, I’m not going to get all gushy about the man- hopefully we’ll have a lot more to be excited about if he can serve two full terms.
However, there’s still a MAJOR problem I’m having with President Obama, because I’m a whiner, and whiners are never completely satisfied.
Unlike this young, handsome, verbiose President who comports himself in a manner that I had totally forgotten a President was capable of-
I hold grudges. I don’t let go of shit that never gets resolved. My ex-wife screwed me for four long years, and much more regularly, than she did in our one-year marriage, w/ a divorce that had me contemplating– never mind that.
The ‘Bushwhacker’ made almost 10 years of my life the most depressing ever, but you pile on the war, the 1000′s of unnecessary deaths and hundreds of thousands of Americans grieving the rest of their lives; turning the first balanced budget our country ever had into the most disastrous national debt we’ll ever see; allowing countless people to lose their jobs while the corporations they labor under give their executives millions in ‘bonuses’;
Aw SHIT, Mr. President: why aren’t Bush and Cheney (at the least) not presently on trial for war crimes and recklessly bankrupting our economy, thumbing their nose at the UN and the rest of the world, generating more hatred, while sanctioning the deaths of thousands of our country’s greatest hopes for the future – the young men and women with discipline, education, morals, the ones who were supposed to be our leaders of the future?
I know, I know: there’s a lot of Bush shit that needs cleaning up, and plenty other matters of immediate concern. But, with all due respect, you are TOTALLY LACKING in the ONE quality I was counting on from you:
Where is your VINDICTIVENESS, man?!? Your sense of responsibility to enact REVENGE on those beady-eyed fucknuts?!!?? Just where the hell is your GRUDGE, Mr. President??!!!!! You’re letting precious time pass that softens the memory of how destructive and irresponsible those bastards were/are!! Y’ think Cheney’s gonna survive EVERY heart attack before he strokes out in a federal prison? – we gotta NAIL that fucker while he’s still alive, and frankly, sir, I just don’t see you putting any effort into initiating this legal process to IMPEACH and IMPRISON these monsters for life!
You can’t do shit about the oil spill in the ocean, it’s a waste of time to dwell on something like that – appoint a special PROSECUTOR and get this fucking trial started…
a man who doesn’t hold a respectable grudge? hmmmmmm, we’ll see
seriously. lord knows if the republicans take back the house, it’s going to be subpoenas, subpoenas, subpoenas.
people need to read this.
i am bumping this post up to the top of recent comments.
bump it, bump bump it up!
It will be a political bloodbath on election day. The Democrats got in power and blew it big time. Nancy and Harry couldn’t hold the party together and the undertone of racism left some Dems resigning from office.
Plus, President Obama and the Dems let Fox News set the agenda. The Republicans was lockstep with Fox and the radio jockeys. Dems sat around and let Sean and Rush tell Americans how everything has went to crap since Obama and not of the Dems had the balls to fight the BS.