Obama Voter Mort Zuckerman On The Obama Disaster
Mort Zuckerman, feels as I do, that the economy should have been job one, from day one -- none of this attempt at legacy making, or yummy, Democrat-friendly socialism that the Obama administration made a beeline for. I think Zuckerman is right on in his rant on the Daily Beast, writing, headlined "He's Done Everything Wrong":
This health-care plan is going to be a fiscal disaster for the country. Most of the country wanted to deal with costs, not expansion of coverage. This is going to raise costs dramatically.In the campaign, he said he would change politics as usual. He did change them. It's now worse than it was. I've now seen the kind of buying off of politicians that I've never seen before. It's politically corrupt and it's starting at the top. It's revolting.
Five states got deals on health care--one of them was Harry Reid's. It is disgusting, just disgusting. I've never seen anything like it. The unions just got them to drop the tax on Cadillac plans in the health-care bill. It was pure union politics. They just went along with it. It's a bizarre form of political corruption. It's bribery.
...One business leader said to me, "In the Clinton administration, the policy people were at the center, and the political people were on the sideline. In the Obama administration, the political people are at the center, and the policy people are on the sidelines."
...I hope there are changes. I think he's already laid in huge problems for the country. The fiscal program was a disaster. You have to get the money as quickly as possible into the economy. They didn't do that. By end of the first year, only one-third of the money was spent. Why is that?
He should have jammed a stimulus plan into Congress and said, "This is it. No changes. Don't give me that bullshit. We have a national emergency." Instead they turned it over to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi who can run circles around him.
Mort hasn't been paying attention. Obama did jam a stimulus package through. It was a pork-crammed POS. It didn't work. It wasted $700 billion dollars that we don't have.
What the economy needed was large tax cuts, targeting small businesses especially, getting rid of the regulations and red tape that are choking growth and innovation, closing down the black holes that are sucking up dollars, like Fannie and Freddie Mae, getting government out of the mortgage business and the car business.
The problem is, these guys aren't going to do that. They're big government. Bigger government is the answer to every issue, whether it fits or not.
So, yes, economy should have been the first priority, but does anyone believe these yahoos would have done the right things?
LauraB at January 20, 2010 6:22 AM
@LauraB - "So, yes, economy should have been the first priority, but does anyone believe these yahoos would have done the right things?"
Indeed - the idea that Obama had some grand noble plan to "fix" the economy and it somehow got ruined by Pelosi et al is ludicrous. The stimulus disaster was just as much Obama's fault as anyone elses, it didn't get perverted by Congress, it was wrong to begin with.
The idea that there's a "right way" to steal billions of dollars in taxpayer money and waste it on pork barrel projects, earmarks and payoffs to your supporters is delusional and idiotic.
JakeTaylor at January 20, 2010 7:01 AM
Little Morty's weathervane is very, very sensitive.
BlogDog at January 20, 2010 7:24 AM
the economy should have been job one, from day one
This would normally make sense, but if he'd been focusing more of his laser-like genius on the economy, things would be even further down the toilet than they already are.
Robin at January 20, 2010 8:18 AM
You do understand that we warned you that Obama was going to tank everything and that was his intention, right?
Well the people of Massachusetts learned the hard way that we were right, and have done what little they could to remedy the situation. We've made our first step towards reconciliation in Connecticut too, by forcing Dodd to retire.
As far as Obama goes, he's ex-president walking. Lame duck on the first anniversary of his inauguration.
Who's next?
brian at January 20, 2010 8:23 AM
"Who's next?"
If it's anyone with an R after his or her name, I'll be impressed. Republicans only seem to dislike "big government" when they aren't the ones in charge.
CB at January 20, 2010 11:49 AM
Lanny Davis in the Wall Street Journal trying to explain the Massachusetts results: "The Democrats have a simple message on health care that has still not really gotten through: If our bill passes, you never have to worry about getting, or losing, health insurance for the rest of your life. How is it that so few people have heard that message?"
The Democrats still think voter dissatisfaction is because the Democrats aren't shouting loudly enough, that the voters haven't heard them over Republican hysteria.
But this one isn't about Republicans. It's all Democrat.
People have heard the shouting. They understand the Democrats are offering cradle-to-grave health insurance. But they're worried about paying for it. And the Democrats are too busy bribing Senators for votes to bother listening to and addressing the voters' doubts and anxieties and explain how this boon will be paid for and what kind of healthcare it will deliver when implemented.
Instead, the Democrats offer platitudes about free surgery. They dismiss cost concerns, saying they'll meet the costs by eliminating inefficiencies from what will be a government system and taxing the rich (except the ones that belong to a union or live in Nebraska).
That's not what the people wanted.
With a few exceptions, people weren't worried about the quality of healthcare in this country, they were worried about the rising costs that were taking a toll on household budgets and, in some cases, limiting access.
The people took their functioning car in for a tune up and the mechanic is telling them they need to put a whole new engine and drivetrain in it...and they can pay the as-yet-unknown bill for that engine with the savings from the potentially better gas mileage.
And there won't be a warranty so if the new engine doesn't work, they won't be able to get the old working one back.
Conan the Grammarian at January 20, 2010 12:53 PM
> The Democrats still think voter
> dissatisfaction is because the Democrats
> aren't shouting loudly enough
Dude. You are so, so very right about this. Thank you for saying it. It's what I was getting at here.
There are a lot of people who believe themselves to be liberal who think they just haven't made other people understand how sincere and loving they are... And that once they convince everybody about that, by saying things over and over, then eventually they'll prevail in a socialist paradise (wherein they'll be chairing a committee, to be sure).
Really, dude, there are some great things in your comment.
Crid [CridComment at gmail] at January 20, 2010 2:38 PM
""How is it that so few people have heard that message?""
This is what you get when everyone forgets who works for whom, or at least wants to change it. I read that and the garbage that Sulli is spouting... and I was just struck by that worldview, where the government is some far off benevolent force of nature that shows up and does stuff. an by jabba you should just shut up and be happy about it.
Yeah, no.
Can you hear me now? Prolly not. It is kinda sad to me that everything has to go this far down the tubes before most people even care to raise a voice. I wonder if they even teach in civics class that 'of, by and for, the people' saying that some really tall dead white guy said once. Maybe he didn't know what he was talking about. :massive eyeroll:
SwissArmyD at January 20, 2010 6:38 PM
People are beginning to see what is in front of their eyes. They see the unexplained policies, elitist recommendations, faulty reasoning, and bad results. There are no examples of past success. The economy is falling apart because Obama is unrestrained by consequences, and so he is unpredictable. Worse, the parts that are predictable are awful. He is a bundle of promises unconnected to any plausable means of delivering those promises.
Why isn't he subjected to outright public ridicule? He has only one message.
"Life is complicated. Give us control and we will work out the details later. Even if it doesn't work out, we'll keep trying. You will know that your life is being directed by people who have pure hearts and care about you."
Leading The People
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They have a solution that will work if we would only stop arguing and agree with them.
They may need to omit some information about the new arrangements and what these will cost. They believe ordinary people do not think well enough to make decisions in their own long-term best interest.
Dissenters are either uninformed or selfish. There is no need to argue about the specific meanings of words. The good of the society justifies telling some lies, if it comes to that.
The solution requires that we all pitch in and not be greedy. The people with the most resources will put their extra income or property into the pot.
They will modify or replace the solution if it doesn't work. They will design a new solution the same way they designed the first solution, through thought, research, and discussion among themselves. Further solutions may require more resources.
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Andrew_M_Garland at January 20, 2010 6:53 PM
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