Question: What is the cost of crossing President Obama?
The following article and/or blog post reveals the answer to this question-You Decide:
The costs of crossing the president–Posted on Politico-By BRUCE J. SCHULMAN-On April 20, 2010:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36029.html#ixzz0lgU5YJgE
These are pertinent excerpts from this article:
“Will the White House punish Democrats who defected on the monumental health care overhaul?
“There is not a whole lot of [President] Barack Obama and [Vice President] Joe Biden to spare on a good day,” one senior White House official told POLITICO. “We’re going to have to focus on our friends.”
As for the five House Democrats who reversed their positions to vote against the final bill, another Obama aide said, “We appreciate the people who hung with us.”
The implied political hardball has drawn protests from some legislators. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, for example, now talks about the need to help all Democrats.
But Obama’s approach is hardly novel.
Many presidents have aggressively disciplined wayward legislators: manipulating committee slots, stripping privileges, even campaigning against them in primaries.
Effective presidents, particularly those with ambitious agendas, need to clarify for members of Congress the benefits of cooperation — and the costs of opposition.
But they must calibrate their actions, avoiding the impression that they are interfering on congressional prerogatives or voters’ preferences.
Like Obama, President Franklin D. Roosevelt came to Washington with a large Democratic majority. His was also divided into competing regional and ideological blocs, with many freshmen.
The administration and its Capitol Hill allies created new committees to siphon away opposition.
If anyone doubted the identity of the real chief legislator, House Speaker Henry T. Rainey made it clear: “We will put over Mr. Roosevelt’s program.”
During the 1938 midterms, Roosevelt stepped up pressure on recalcitrant lawmakers, campaigning against conservative Southern opponents of the New Deal.
He worked behind the scenes to unseat powerful critics like Virginia Sen. Harry Byrd. But FDR was so incensed by Democratic New Deal opponents in Georgia and South Carolina that he openly targeted them.
FDR, according to one aide, wanted “to make an object lesson” of Georgia Sen. Walter George “because he thought such a defeat would furnish a lasting lesson to the Southern bloc in Congress” — conservative Democrats who helped torpedo parts of Roosevelt’s agenda.
FDR assured Georgia voters that George was his “friend” but said that if he were voting in his “other state” primary, he would “most assuredly cast his ballot” for George’s opponent.
Roosevelt also lambasted South Carolina Sen. Ellison “Cotton Ed” Smith — a mossback opponent of reform (Time magazine called him “a conscientious objector to the 20th century”) — who was facing a tough fight from popular pro-New Deal Gov. Olin Johnston.
Angered by Smith’s actions, FDR miscalculated the effect of his involvement in local politics. Normally a shrewd tactician, FDR allowed his actions to become a campaign issue.
George called Roosevelt’s appearance “a second march through Georgia.”
FDR’s statements even forced some liberal state officials to remain aloof. But after Georgia Gov. Eurith Rivers, architect of the state’s “Little New Deal,” remained neutral, FDR halted Georgia’s public works aid for nearly a year.
Despite this, Smith and George held their seats.
Though President Lyndon B. Johnson was aware of Roosevelt’s overreaching, he still subjected Capitol Hill Democrats to tough love. After 30 years in the House and Senate, Johnson made management of Congress central to his presidency.
Though there wasn’t an explicit quid pro quo, cooperation yielded congressmen myriad benefits: invitations to the White House and flattering photo ops, appointments for associates, junkets and big donations from Johnson backers.
After his 1964 landslide, LBJ induced House leaders to change the criteria for assignments to the Ways and Means and Appropriations committees.
“This change,” said Larry O’Brien, LBJ’s congressional liaison, after which both committees were stacked with loyalists, “means half the battle of enacting the Johnson program is over.”
The other half required riding herd on the Democratic majority. As O’Brien said of one key vote: “If we can just keep the boys that should be sober, sober, and the ones that should be drinking, drinking, that’s our job for the afternoon.”
Obstructionist Democrats found themselves with no influence on appointments, relegated to insignificant committees and excluded from politically beneficial events. When they sought money for their districts, they found coffers bare.
So they often folded at even the hint of discipline.
Consider Rep. Otto Passman (D-La.), long a thorn in LBJ’s side, who regularly cut funds from crucial foreign aid bills.
But after the 1964 victory, Passman feared that Johnson and a loyal Texan installed as appropriations chairman might weaken his hold over the Foreign Operations subcommittee. So Passman began approving higher aid budgets.
He was no fool. Working through House Speaker John McCormack, LBJ stripped recalcitrant members of their seniority.
The caucus similarly rebuked two Democratic opponents of civil rights, Reps. John Bell Williams of Mississippi and Albert Watson of South Carolina, for supporting Johnson’s opponent in 1964.
The punishment drove Williams out of Washington and Watson into the Republican Party.
But Johnson rarely asked members of Congress to cast votes that might put them in political jeopardy. Unlike FDR in 1938, he understood he could push only so far.
Obama seems to be similarly fine-tuning his tactics. He refrained from punishing Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). Choosing House members who had initially voted for health care, he first targeted disloyal Democrats with seemingly little to gain from a “no” vote — because they had already voted yes on health reform.
Withholding support signals the costs of recalcitrance without resorting to heavy-handed punishments.
Strategically stealing pages from the FDR and LBJ playbooks, Obama may prove a more deft chief legislator than anyone imagined.
Bruce J. Schulman, Huntington professor of history at Boston University, is the author of “The ’70s: The Great Shift in American Culture” and “Lyndon B. Johnson and American Liberalism.”
Note: The following articles and/or blog posts and videos reveal Andrew Breitbart’s investigation into President Obama’s background, to include Obama’s college days and his connection to the Weather Underground’s founder Bill Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrn, along with revealing that he had his last glass of wine and talked politics at a local bar minutes prior to his death and his interview with Sheriff Arpaio regarding the Cold Case Posse investigation results the day prior to his death-You Decide:
BREITBART’S LAST INVESTIGATION? OBAMA: ‘I’ve got videos from his college days…’–Posted on WND.com-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/03/breitbarts-last-investigation-obama/
Shocking Video: Andrew Breitbart’s Last Interview Was With Sheriff Joe Arpaio About Obama Eligibility!-Posted on Western Journalism-By FLOYD BROWN-On March 1, 2012:
Video: Jerome Corsi: Breitbart’s Last Contact Was With Sheriff Joe Arpaio!-Posted on YouTube.com-By ntyranny1-On March 3, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyefXVZ7rZc&feature=player_embedded#
Video: Breitbart Memorial: “Man Against The Mob!”-Posted on Accuracy In Media-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.aim.org/video/breitbart-memorial-man-against-the-mob/
Andrew Breitbart Talked Politics in L.A. Bar an Hour Before Dying (Exclusive)!-Posted on The Hollywood Reporter-By Matthew Belloni-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/andrew-breitbart-dead-la-bar-politics-296386
Was Andrew Breitbart Murdered?–Posted on NewAmerican-By SAM BLUMENFELD-On March 19, 2012:
http://thenewamerican.com/opinion/sam-blumenfeld/11235-was-andrew-breitbart-murdered
MICHAEL SAVAGE: WAS BREITBART ASSASSINATED? ‘Media activist recently promised to publish revealing Obama videos!’-Posted on WND.com-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/03/michael-savage-was-breitbart-assassinated/
Video: Michael Savage on the Passing of Andrew Breitbart – (Radio Commentary Aired on March 1, 2012)!–Posted on YouTube.com-By imitator777-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttnX7UYfOIc&feature=related
Video: Did OBAMA KILL Andrew Breitbart?-Posted on YouTube.com-Posted on YouTube.com-By Fabian4Liberty-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1×1-qpqyqAI&feature=relmfu
Video: Breitbart’s Death Needs to be Investigated!-Posted on YouTube.com-By ATLAHWorldwide-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUt2dpDxchM&feature=related
Video: Breitbart: Illuminati Assassination for Obama?-Posted on YouTube.com-By TheScariestMovieEver-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VpS0N5rHt8&feature=related
Video: Did The Obama Crime Machine Kill Breitbart?-Posted on YouTube.com-By TheAlexJonesChannel-On March 1, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p14Bj0cnxk&feature=related
Video: Was Breitbart Obama’s FIrst Victim Under NDAA (Licence To Murder)?-Posted on Before It’s News-On March 4, 2012:
The Death of Andrew Breitbart!-Posted on USA Survival-By Cliff Kincaid-On May 12, 2012:
http://www.usasurvival.org/ck05.08.12.html#axzz1ub1kpiaU
BREITBART WITNESS: HE DROPPED LIKE SACK OF BRICKS: ‘Describes ‘thick white band’ around forehead at death!’-Posted on WND.com-By Jerome R. Corsi-On May 10, 2012:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/05/breitbart-witness-he-dropped-like-sack-of-bricks/
CORONER’S OFFICE SPEAKS ON BREITBART MYSTERY: ‘Addressing speculation on forensic technician who dropped dead!’-Posted on WND.com-By Joe Kovacks-On May 9, 2012:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/05/coroners-office-speaks-on-breitbart-mystery/
Video: Breitbart’s Coroner Found Dead; Was He A Loose End?-Posted on Western Journalism-By DANIEL NOE-On May 3, 2012:
http://www.westernjournalism.com/andrew-breitbarts-assigned-coroner-dead/
Breitbart’s Coroner Possibly Poisoned to Death!–Posted on Obama Ballot Challenge-By GeorgeM-On May 1, 2012:
http://obamaballotchallenge.com/breitbarts-coroner-possibly-poisoned-to-death
BREITBART’S CORONER POISONED TO DEATH? ‘Police probe mysterious demise of L.A. medical examiner!’–Posted on WND.com-By Joe Kovacs-On April 29, 2012:
http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/breitbarts-coroner-poisoned-to-death/
Note: What follows are two eye-opening articles and/or blog posts and a website that reveal some extremely alarming information, which, if true, I believe relate to the above issue-You Decide:
Did Obama Assassinate Clinton Delegates?–Posted on Politijim.com-By POLITIJIM-On March 18, 2012:
http://www.politijim.com/2012/03/did-obama-assassinate-clinton-delegates.html
Obama Issues Ron Paul “Kill Order” As Russia Prepares For War!-Posted on EU Times-On November 30, 2011:
http://www.eutimes.net/2011/11/obama-issues-ron-paul-kill-order-as-russia-prepares-for-war/
Body Count:
http://www.newsfollowup.com/obama_body_count_obama_death_list_re-election_cia_gay.htm#Obama
Note: what follows are numerous articles and/or blog posts and videos that relate to and/or support the above articles and/or blog posts and videos-You Decide:
Border Whistleblower Sheriff Dead After Testifying Against Obama Administration!–Posted on Obama Ballot Challenge-By Pamela Barnett-On September 21, 2012:
If Even Some Of This Is True, Obama Is So Much More Dangerous Than We Thought!–Posted on Western Journalism-By GEORGE SPELVIN-On April 24, 2012:
http://www.westernjournalism.com/if-even-some-of-this-is-true-obama…
ROMNEY DONOR FINDS OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ON PRESIDENT OBAMA‘S ’ENEMIES LIST’!–Posted on The Blaze-By Becket Adams-On May 11, 2012:
Video: Romney Donor on Obama’s Enemies List: They’re Stalking My Kids!-Posted on YouTube.com-By jackohoft-On May 12, 2012:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-xYfZjLNFc&feature=player_embedded
David Koch Faced 100 Death Threats Last Year!–Posted on NewsMax.com-By Newsmax Wires-On February 19, 2012:
Is IRS Targeting Obama’s Enemies?–Posted on The New American-By RAVEN CLABOUGH-On February 15, 2012:
http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/10875-is-irs-targeting-obamas-enemies
Video: Obama’s Intimidation Website on FaceBook!-Posted on ExposeObama.com-On October 9, 2011:
http://www.exposeobama.com/2011/10/09/video-obamas-intimidation-website-on-facebook/
‘No Freedom Of Speech If You’re A Conservative’: Hank Jr. Gives Glenn A Candid Interview!-Posted on The Blaze-By Jonathon M. Seidl-On October 12, 2011:
Video: “Keep The Change” – Hank Jr.!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cDvBmWOf8m0
ESPN Pulled Hank Williams Jr. Classic Football Intro Song For Comparing Obama to Hitler!-Posted on Christian Science Monitor-By Associated Press-On October 4, 2011:
CBS Reporter: White House Official ‘Screamed’ & ‘Cussed’ At Me For Coverage Of ‘Fast And Furious’!-Posted on The Blaze-By Jonathon M. Seidl-On October 4, 2011:
Obama Proudly Declares Class War: ‘But the rich are already getting soaked!’–Posted on National Review Online-By DEROY MURDOCK-On October 3, 2011:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/278930/obama-proudly-declares-class-war-deroy-murdock?page=1
BET Founder Rips Obama For ‘Attacking Success!’–Posted on Fox Nation-By Jake Sherman, Politico-On October 2, 2011:
http://nation.foxnews.com/herman-cain/2011/10/02/bet-founder-rips-obama-attacking-success
Christie labels Obama a ‘bystander in the Oval Office’ dividing the country to ‘achieve re-election’!-Posted on The Daily Caller-By Nicholas Ballasy-On September 28, 2011:
Senators see GAO budget cuts as payback: ‘Watchdog office was ‘singled out’!’-Posted on The Washington Times-By Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times-On October 2, 2011:
S&P Under Investigation for ‘Delphinus’ Credit Rating!-Posted on Chicago Agent Magazine-On September 28, 2011:
http://chicagoagentmagazine.com/sp-under-investigation-for-delphinus-credit-rating/
Attack Watch, new Obama campaign site to ‘fight smears,’ becomes laughing stock of conservatives!–Posted on The Washington Post-By Elizabeth Flock-On September 14, 2011:
Video: DOJ and SEC Investigating S&P After Downgrading U.S.’s Credit Rating?-Posted on YouTube.com-By NewsyBusiness-On Aug 18, 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU02EVBVsEY
S&P replaces president with Citibank exec after U.S. downgrade!-Posted on Reuters-By Abhishek Takle in BANGALORE and Wayne Cole and Mark Bendeich in SYDNEY-On August 23, 2011:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/23/us-sp-president-idUSTRE77M09520110823
Is Fed Raid on Gibson Guitar Company Enforcing Policy . . . or a Push to Target ‘Made in the USA’?-Posted on Fox News-By John Roberts-On September 7, 2011:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/07/does-white-house-want-to-ship-jobs-overseas/
Our White House Bully Problem!–Posted on CNSNews.com-By Michelle Malkin-On September 28, 2011:
http://cnsnews.com/blog/michelle-malkin/our-white-house-bully-problem
Is Fed Raid on Gibson Guitar Company Enforcing Policy . . . or a Push to Target ‘Made in the USA’?–Posted on Fox News-By John Roberts-On September 7, 2011:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/07/does-white-house-want-to-ship-jobs-overseas/
All the President’s High-Paid ‘Engagers’!–Posted on National Review Online-By Michelle Malkin-On July 6, 2011:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/271151/all-president-s-high-paid-engagers-michelle-malkin
White House uses Twitter to bully critics!-Posted on The Daily Caller-By Rob Bluey-On July 6, 2011:
http://dailycaller.com/2011/07/06/white-house-uses-twitter-to-bully-critics/
Why reporters are down on President Obama–Posted on Politico-By JOSH GERSTEIN & PATRICK GAVIN-On April 28, 2010:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36454.html#ixzz0mQG9q3MF
Obama’s midterm election strategy: Mock ‘Tea Party’ members?–Blog Posted on LA Times-On April 20, 2010:
Nelson’s Investment in Berkshire Hathaway–Posted on The New York Times-By ERIC LICHTBLAU-On April 27, 2010:
Update: Chronicle responds after Obama Administration punishes reporter for using multimedia, then claims they didn’t!-Posted on SFGate.com-By Phil Bronstein (Email, Twitter)-On April 28, 2011:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/bronstein/detail?entry_id=87978
Obama to reporter: ‘Let me finish my answers’ next time!-Posted on USA Today-By David Jackson, USA TODAY-On April 19, 2011:
Obama’s frightening new attack on the Constitution–Posted on Examiner.com-By Robert Moon-On April 14, 2010:
Note: This article relates to and/or supports my blog posts-You Decide:
Why did a black preacher from Harlem have a “hit” placed on his life?
Key Witness In Obama’s Passport Fraud Case Fatally Shot!
Do Alinsky’s Rules Define This Administration’s Governing Style?
Are We Witnessing Narcissism At Work?
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/are-we-witnessing-narcissism-at-work/
Is Obama Employing the Cloward-Piven Strategy?
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/is-obama-employing-the-cloward-piven-strategy/
Has President Obama Gone Off The Deep End?
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/has-president-obama-gone-off-the-deep-end/
Does President Obama Suffer From NPD?
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/does-president-obama-suffer-from-npd/
The Greatest Fraud Perpetrated in American History!
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/the-greatest-fraud-perpetrated-in-american-history/
Obamanites Get Violent in Support of the Agenda!
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/obamanites-get-violent-in-support-of-the-agenda/
Nearly 80 percent don’t trust the government!
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/nearly-80-percent-don’t-trust-the-government/
Where Is America Today?
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/where-is-america-today-2/
Washington Times Calls for Obama’s Impeachment!
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/washington-times-calls-for-obama’s-impeachment/
A Nation Adrift Theme and Disclaimer:
https://weroinnm.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/disclaimer/
“Food For Thought”
“God Bless & Keep Our USA Safe”
Semper Fi!
Your praise of Obama is disgusting. You are a typical cowardly, conservativre defeatist. Your jinbgoistic leftist propaganda will frighten no one.
Doom on you traitor.
Dear Brior: Thanks for taking the time to partially read my blog post on this issue, although It is quite evident that you did not take the time to read my other blog posts that were contained therein because if you had you would have figured out that I am far from praising the President and/or his Administration. Please take the time to read my recent blog post, which will give you an insight into my thoughts about what I believe is happening to the USA under this President and his Administration-You Decide:
Question: What are the Russians saying about what’s going on in America today?
My recent blog post contains:
1.) Articles from the Russian newspaper Pravda that reveals the Russian view of what has been happening in America;
2.) Articles where Igor Panarin, a Russian Scholar, predicts that there is a high probability that the U.S. will collapse in 2010; and
3.) Eye-opening videos of interviews with Mr. Yuri Bezmenov, a former KGB Operative that were conducted by Mr. G. Edward Griffin in 1985, approximately seventeen (17) years after Bezmenov’s defection to the USA from the former Soviet Union.
Note: Collectively they give us a disturbing insight into what seems to be happening in the U.S. today-You Decide:
“Food For Thought”
“God Bless & Keep Our USA Safe”
Semper Fi!
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