Dawn Johnsen’s withdrawal – a setback for the Obama administration

A “setback for the Obama administration”????? Bahahaha.

You mean the same administration that wouldn’t fight for her, that wouldn’t appoint her in a recess appointment, that neutered her voice for the 16 long months she’s been hanging out their as the “appointee”?

If the WaPoo [from which said quote was taken] had any brains at all, they would recognize that Obama got just what he wanted. He just, as usual, gets to “blame” someone else for it.

I guess this is what “11 dimensional chess” looks like.

It sucks.

Jesus, Obama, sack up.

What TBogg said. Twice. No, 500 times. LOUD!!!

Last year, I read that Rahmbo (my Congressman) was to be Obama’s ruthless hatchet man.

And he’s been the DLC appeaser-in-chief. Huge disappointment.

How can you say that?!? Why just today, because of Dawn Johnson’s withdrawal, he send Michael Steele a dead guppy!

Just reappoint John fucking Yoo, for god’s sake. Really, he’ll run into less opposition than Dawn Johnsen did.

I don’t think the size of Obama’s sack is in question. He seems to grow a pair every time he wants to fuck over the dirty fucking hippies, i.e. anybody to the left of Harry Reid.

Oh, dear. Here we go, taunting the Obama-bots again. If it isn’t the public option or the offshore drilling, then its the denial of accountability or the delusions of grandure (like, Sir Change-a-lot deciding he can issue a fatwa on an American as if he were some Kenyan tribal lord or something). And now he’s decided that Johnsen is just too much of a DFH for her own good. But c’mon, it’s pretty clear by now that, fundamentally, Obama and his evil little mini-me, Rahm, don’t really have a problem with ANYTHING that happened during the Bush administration, so why on earth would they appoint someone critical of that epic period in American history? This kind of extreme pragmatism wasn’t quite what I thought he meant by that whole hopey-changey schtick, but, hey, I’m sure the Republicans will play nice now that he’s caved yet again, right? Right?

Why doesn’t he just start swinging his big “bully pulpit” around and solve everything?!? Y’all were right…Obama does = Bush!!11!!!one. Also.

Y’all just don’t understand 13 dimension chess. The Muslim Kenyan usurper will not nominate Harold Ford Jr for the position because people like a black guy from Tennessee who tried to run the US Senate from Tenn and NY and also works for Merrill Lynch and gets a bonus and the cherry on top is that he flunked his bar exam.

Fer chrissakes. John Cole was taunting the Rahm-haters recently because Dawn Johnson’s nomination was due to be confirmed any day now.

You get the sense that Obama would nominate “commonsense liberal” Mickey Kaus to the Supreme Court except for the risk that Erick Erickson might say something mean about it.

Why not Glenn Beck for the supreme court? He’s on record supporting a President’s constitutional power to target US Citizens for extra-judicial termination, potentially side-stepping a looming problem for Obama.

Plus he’d co-opt the entire tea-party movement. They love Glenn Beck! It would be like taking eleven-dimensional chess to a whole new dimension.

I wonder if Lani Guinier and Dawn Johnson will get together and compare notes.

Why is Obama still listening to these schmucks. Newt, a bigger liar than Glenn Beck, has laid out the GOP plan going forward. Catering to these murderous lowlifes will only weaken the Obama presidency.

Gingrich Pledges Government Shutdown If GOP Wins Back House And Senate

In a speech last night at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Gingrich delivered an address that was touted to the press as a strategy for how the GOP can become “the party of Yes.” Instead, Gingrich –- the author of a forthcoming book titled To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine — explained his strategy of obstruction in further detail.

Since more Republicans are conceding the full repeal of health reform is unlikely to occur on President Obama’s watch, Gingrich offered a two-tiered approach that is becoming increasingly popular among conservatives:

Here’s my promise: … When we win control of the House and Senate this fall, Stage One of the end of Obamaism will be a new Republican Congress in January that simply refuses to fund any of the radical efforts. […]

Once upon a time, I used to be Speaker of the House and I actually understand the legislative process. And the truth is, under our Constitution, the Congress doesn’t have to pass the money. If EPA gets not budget, it can’t enforce cap-and-trade. […]

So Stage One of Obamaism being gone is to simply win this fall and not fund it for two years. Stage Two is…to ensure Obama joins Jimmy Carter in the tradition of one-party presidents (sic). And, that in that context, that we be prepared to commit that a Republican President and a Republican Congress in February and March of 2013 will repeal every radical bill passed by this machine.

Gingrich’s remarks were met with roars of approval from the right-wing crowd.

…Stage One of Obamaism being gone is to simply win this fall

Ironically, that’s likely to happen due to Obama failing to sack up. Hard to get the Dem base motivated when the choice is between “Drill Baby Drill!” and “We need to move beyond the tired debates between right and left and significantly expand offshore drilling”.

…Or perhaps Obama could neutralize the danger of a government shutdown by appointing Newt Gingrich to the Supreme Court. It would be another way to move beyond the tired debates between right and left, and to extend an olive branch to conservatives. Worth considering.

Obama is playing 11-dimensional chess. Unfortunately, the first rule of 11-dimensional chess is, “Lose to the Wookie.” Obama just can’t tell the difference between an inarticulate hair-covered malamute-molesting biped and a Wookie. Now you know.

Towards the end of his reign I got so sick of Clinton’s “I feel your pain” speeches that I stopped listening. Funny how that’s happening a lot earlier with Obama. Was there ever a larger gap between inspirational rhetoric and repeated acts of abysmal cowardice as we are seeing now?

From a comment at the Great Orange Satan last year:

Obama is clearly a deft politician, which, coupled with real political courage, might make him a truly great President.

I am still waiting to see the political courage part.
by andrewj54 on Sat May 16, 2009 at 07:42:42 PM PDT

“…after several Republicans objected…”

That’s all it takes? There will always be several Republicans objecting.

For all those disappointed by Obama’s failure to correct all of the wrongs done during the Bush Administration, immmediately move to 100% green power, and magically convince the united opposition of the GOP in the Senate; want to buy a bridge? Further, while you are fully entitled to your opinions, Mr. O. is the one sitting in the big chair. The guy has been in office for about 15 months, and some folks ON THE LEFT seem as though they are ready to impeach him. Please. Let’s be a little patient, not every single group can be satisfied, and our Constitution is framed on the art of compromise. These are the facts, let’s just stick with them, shall we? And screw Mitch McConell, that fat fuck; Johnsen was “…a bridge too far.” More like a fridge too far, you jowly old man! (With apologies to the Simpsons…)

Good post, T. Nothing like leaving the front door wide open and inviting your insane neighbors over for a visit.

Amen, they’ll never forgive Obama for putting Sammy Alito on the Supreme Court. Clearly, getting Republicans to really like him was Obama’s sole motivation for this latest betrayal.

DING DING DING! We have a winner!!!

That’s a really nice straw man you’ve got there, Xenocrates. Did you make it yourself?

Obama didnt appoint Dawn Johnson because she opposes everything this administration stands for. The surprise is that she was nominated in the first place.

When people accused Barack Obama of appeasing America’s enemies, I had no idea they were talking about Republicans

guess you’ve been asleep for the last year and a half? that would explain alot.

i brought cookies. and lots of chocolate.

This leaves the field wide open for Orahma to nominate John Yoo. I’m sure he’d sail through…

And precisly what has Obama done for us laely?

Please name the items.

I know I’m being a total fool here, but maybe the Prez was saving Dawn Johnsen for the SCOTUS.
(ducking)

She was nominated for the express purpose of keeping the position from being filled as long as possible so O could do whatever he wanted.

Oh, come on! Don’t you know that Rahm’s just this powerless little cupcake? And that he and Obama have no influence over Congress whatsoever?

I mean, that’s what the Booster Club tells us.

This has nothing to do with appeasing Republicans. Obama is continuing all the Bush era practices Dawn Johnson has been extremely critical of. If you were obama and wanted unlimited executive authority, which he apparently does considering he thinks he can just order Americans assassinated by presidential fiat, then johnson would be the last person you would want filling that position.

If Obama really wanted her he could have appointed her with a recess appointment. There is only one reason Johnson did not fill that position: Obama didnt want her. Arguing anything else is being a self-delusional obama apologist.

This has NOTHING to do with the republicans.

You know. I had that thought too. But then the cat woke me up. :-)

There have been some good appointments – most notably John Berry (an openly gay man) to run OPM, the government’s personnel office. And he does seem to be sincere about ridding the world of nuclear weapons (though not of nuclear power plants). But the stimulus was far too small, and the Dems will pay for that at the polls.

For the Court, I do really hope he picks another woman…a 3rd would begin to look like a critical mass and not a symbol. It’s time.

I am afraid you are correct. When it comes to presidential power Obama is making the tea baggers’ accusations look good.

All part of his master plan. He’ll nominate liberals, campaign on liberal policies, with no intention of any of it actually going through. It keeps his left flank happy, along with all the McHope rhetoric he tosses out from time to time. When it comes time for actual laws, nominations, policy, he goes as far to the right as he possibly can, on purpose.

Not terribly surprising. I had to give up on him when he made a post about what a great president Reagan was, or something like that. That’s just too much stupid for me.

Gingrich Pledges Government Shutdown If GOP Wins Back House And Senate

Good, then maybe the “Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent” -McCain/Lieberman Act legislation will get stalled…

Oh wait … second thought, it’s the one thing they all agree on

Appears O’damned by faint praise.

Unprivileged Enemy Belligerent

That’s you if you fart in the wrong direction. It’s a small step from applying that to brown people with attitude to applying that to people who embarrass.

does seem to be sincere about ridding the world of nuclear weapons

I refuse to place the hook in my mouth anymore so that Rahm can set it.

We’ll need to read the fine print as there’s a chance it only refers to older, less desirable or obsolete weapons.

that’s you if you fart in the wrong direction

yeppers

I mean, she did play Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice, so she seemed overqualified.

he’s just another politician. come to grips with it.

God, how I love this press-corp myth-making shit:

Dawn Johnsen’s withdrawal – a setback for the Obama administration – was announced late Friday by the White House

Obama wanted her heading OLC like he wanted a third nostril. Ever since Dawn’s appointment, I’ve imagined Rahm Emanuel muttering: “When will that bitch take a hint and go away?” I’d like to know how Obama ever made this mistake in the first place, but I’m confident that Greg Craig has something to do with it.

Nobody who believes in presidentially ordered extra-legal assassinations and preventive detention wants legal counseling from Dawn Johnsen or anyone else who respects the Constitution.

Name me one liberal group that has been satisified. You know who has been satisfied, torture lovers, people who run our corporations, our military. Obama has been in office only 15 months? I sware Obama defenders will be telling me he’s only b een in office 3 years and 9 months in 2012.

Does anyone know what’s happening? Marcy’s post is closed.

Me no know. I just left a similar message here, but now it’s gone. ?
Good Sunday Morning to you, dear Twain.

Hey, Demi. How are you?

What model can we create that will predict the executive branch’s future decisions?

How about this:

Is the AEI or some other right leaning think tank saying, “Hey, for corporations to continue to grow we are not going to be able to depend on population growth because our resources won’t support that. It’s becoming a zero sum game where future corporate growth will have to be at the expense of taking from working classes.”?

Won’t taking away individual rights and heading toward a more authoritarian state help corporate growth? Works for China.

Less Freedom. More Control.

Obama- the master of pissing on progressives and getting them to believe it’s raining. Honestly, that’s become pretty much the modus operandi of the entire Democratic party- Talk like populist reformers before the election and then make sure after they get re-elected that the TV camera isn’t on when they throttle any hope of progressive change that doesn’t enrich their corporate benefactors.

I fell for it once. I won’t the second time.
As Cornell West has said, we are a decaying society in a declining country.
I don’t much like this country anymore. If I thought voting for Sarah Palin would hasten its’ downfall, I’d do it in a minute.
This system doesn’t work anymore, we need to try something different.

Jeez, Tbogg, did you forget to close the screen door last night?

Info – U.S.-Russian Nuclear Arms Control Agreements at a Glance

“American and Soviet/Russian leaders have used a progression of bilateral agreements and other measures to limit and reduce their substantial nuclear warhead and strategic missile and bomber arsenals.” – Since 1969.

Even former President Reagan:

START I
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), first proposed in the early 1980s by President Ronald Reagan and finally signed in July 1991, required the United States and the Soviet Union to reduce their deployed strategic arsenals to 1,600 delivery vehicles, carrying no more than 6,000 warheads as counted using the agreement’s rules. The agreement limited deployed warheads by imposing limits on delivery vehicles and requiring the destruction of excess delivery vehicles. The destruction was verified using an intrusive verification regime that involved on-site inspections and regular exchanges of information, as well as national technical means (i.e., satellites). The agreement’s entry into force was delayed for several years because of the collapse of the Soviet Union and efforts to denuclearize Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus by making them parties to the agreement and consolidating their nuclear weapons in Russia. START I reductions were completed in December 2001 and the treaty expired on Dec. 5, 2009.

Although it is GOOD to reduce nuclear arms, it isn’t unusual for a President to do so.

Think about this for a minute. Barack Obama moved to Honolulu in 1971 at the age of 10 to live with his grandparents until he graduated from high school. He attended Punahou School there, a private college prep school. His grandmother became one of the first FEMALE Vice President’s at the Bank of Hawaii in the late 60′s and early 70′s. If someone wants to understand how ambitious his grandmother must have been to reach that position, read about feminism and lack of opportunities for women during that time frame.

So, given that his “formative” years were spent with his grandparents, I don’t find it at all surprising that he has sided with the banking industry repeatedly, OR that he is very much a corporate – “new way” conservative Democrat.

Is that going to be the 2012 campaign slogan? We have only been in office 46 months and your forced insurance payments don’t start until next year!

I am going to have to buy a SUV to hold a bumpersticker big enough for that slogan.

You know, this never would have happened if Rahm Emanuel was still alive.

Remember, the Cossacks work for the Czar.

I don’t think Rahm’s appeasing the DLC, I think he’s working for them–happily. Actually, I think Rahm has no party principles and ran as a Democrat because that’s how to get into the game in Chicago. Elsewhere, he might have run Republican. Party is all the same to Rahm, it’s the power and the action he’s attracted to.

Obama is turning out to be the best Republican president the Democrats ever elected.

I don’t know if Johnsen’s proposed appointment began that with that thought, but I’m sure the WH pols recognized the opportunity and took it.

Your Honor, in his defense, I think Obama knew Stevens would retire and if he did an appointment recess of Dawn Johnson, his nominee process for the Supremes would be even more tortured than it will be.

And then, again, maybe Dawn got fed up and is holding out for a Supreme nom when Ginsburg retires in Obama’s second term.

Or something.

Obama’s second term.

I’m going to place my money there

Oh this must have been the Republicans’ fault. Oh wait, it must have been Rahm’s fault. It couldn’t have been Obama’s fault. How could it have been Barack’s fault. He’s the bestest my most favoritest president of all time. Leave my president aloooone. Jesus, koolaid love goes deep. Hey but on the bright side, he got to slam another woman, right? Keep dipping that toe in the water. It won’t kill ya.

Gingrich Pledges Government Shutdown If GOP Wins Back House And Senate

I do not think and I hope it would not be a repeat. Hopefully a real progressive party like Green Party which does not take corporate donations will hold enough votes to make a majority to be a minority and force the democrats to become progressive as they state themselves to be before elections. Democrats will be happier to use this excuse to pass progressive agenda ignoring clamor of lobbyists and country will be better off in the long run.

Is that going to be the 2012 campaign slogan? We have only been in office 46 months and your forced insurance payments don’t start until next year!

Whether it is republicans or a Green Party or progressive & chastened democrats after 2010 elections Individual Mandates for private corporations need to go ASAP. It sets a bad precedent for other abusive companies to exploit, is un-constitutional, not aligned with the spirit of our declaration of independence.

Just make insurance affordable through variety of means like Public Option, Anti-trust exemption removal, splitting companies or all of these not possible simply bring in single payer as other first-world countries do.

Looks like Obama is on track to steal the title of Best Republican President Ever from Bill Clinton.

Oh, FFS, Tbogg. Is it part of your contract now that every couple weeks or so you have to do an anti-Rahm post to draw in the firepups with their single-line chat-commenting?

to be Obama’s ruthless hatchet man

And he has been — with great effectiveness. Hooda believed that he’d wield that hatchet against liberals and progressives?

If Obama really wanted her he could have appointed her with a recess appointment

If Obama REALLY wanted her (Dawn Johnsen), he could have tweeked an arm or two to get the 60 cloture votes LAST YEAR, then the 51 for confirmation would have been a breeze.

I think the lack of recess appointment, in combination with Obama’s assertion that he can kill U.S. citizens without due process, were the last straws for Dawn.

Keep dipping that toe in the watersulfuric acid. It won’t kill ya until after 2012

No.