Barack Obama has attacked his party for its unwillingness to challenge institutional obstructions to enacting their agenda. It’s a fair criticism, but the 2009–10 retreat on a public option in Obamacare might be Exhibit A of this tendency.

However, amid Obama’s media tour unveiling his new $850 million presidential center, documents obtained by Zeteo and the Lever through an open records request show Obama as president scoffing at demands that he more forcefully navigate those same barriers on health care policy, when he and his party controlled the White House and large majorities in Congress.

The documents also show Obama’s staff cheering him on after he rebuffed a supporter who was disappointed by the president’s surrender on his promise to enact a public health insurance option — a proposal that conservative Democrats continue to tout today as an alternative to Medicare for All.

  • DagwoodIII@piefed.socialEnglish
    3·
    2 days ago

    How old were you that year?

    The adults were biting their nails every day.

    The GOP was doing everything they could to stop him, and not a single one of them every gave an inch.

    Meanwhile, Dems were wavering all the time.

    • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      9·
      2 days ago

      You know that’s really dismissive to those of us who were clearly fucking adults when this was happening. You don’t have to act like “you must be a child to not see the world the way I do!” Doing that is what is fucking childish. Surprise, people who lived through the same events have different feelings on it.

      Did no one read a fucking word of the article? Is everyone that desperate to miss the point and jerk off Obama? I thought we didn’t treat our guys like gods like Republicans do? Yet we’re not allowed to critique them? Fuck me, you need to grow the fuck up. Obama hasn’t even been directly involved in politics for a long time now, why do we need to jerk off his legacy?

      • DagwoodIII@piefed.socialEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        Like I said, if you were paying attention to the news then you’d remember how tough the going was.

        If youre going to critique, get the facts right.

        • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          7·
          2 days ago

          The tough was going because they were too busy following procedure and decorum instead fighting tooth and nail for citizens.

          He literally used the parliamentarian as an excuse, when the Republicans had already dispensed with following rules.

          He could have steamrolled the parliamentarian and gotten the public option. A lot of us spend time thinking what could have been if Democrats hadn’t been so focused on decorum and gentleman handshakes and working across the aisle and instead rammed it down everyone’s throats like fucking GOP claims they did anyway.

          Trump is literally president again because Biden was too focused in decorum and gentleman handshakes too. There wasn’t a good reason to make Merrick Garland AG, for example, but Garland got put in anyway.