Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie isn't running for president after all. This is bad news for the journalists who seemed so eager to promote his candidacy, but also for establishment pundits like New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, who thought a Christie/Obama contest would have been a victory for…. wait for it… centrism!
He writes today (10/5/11):
Had Christie–a moderate on gun control, climate change and immigration who has also backed Simpson/Bowles–run and won significant support, he would have forced Obama back to the center.
Then, instead of a race between the Democratic left and the Republican right–in which the whole country would lose because the winner would not have had a mandate for the real change we need–we would have had a race between the Democratic center, independents and the Republican center. Then the whole country would win.
Apparently Barack Obama has been veering too far to the left, mostly because he rejected some sort of Simpson/Bowles "Grand Bargain" fiscal reform plan. Friedman quotes economist Tyler Cowen saying that the plan Obama has proposed "seems to be an extreme Democratic response" because it "is moving away from entitlement reform and embracing multiple tax increases on the wealthy."
Friedman agrees–Obama decided to "shift back to his base with a weak fiscal plan." What he should have proposed was something that "shares the burden of cutbacks fairly–takes from defense programs and entitlements and asks the wealthy to pay more but everyone to pay something."
This criticism is bizarre. Most people should know that the Affordable Care Act included significant Medicare savings–contrary to the media messages about the failure to rein in spending.(Those cost controls are in large part what gave us a Republican House of Representatives in 2010.) And as Friedman's paper reported, Obama's new fiscal plan includes another round of rather serious cuts to Medicare and Medicaid:
Obama Proposes $320 Billion in Medicare and Medicaid Cuts Over 10 Years
Perhaps Friedman wants deeper cuts, or cuts to Social Security. To him, that is "centrism." But most people in the country don't support these policies–making it strange to call them "centrist."
Friedman has been making a habit of late of wishing that Obama would propose some economic policies that he's already proposed–some mix of cuts and tax increases. This is exactly what Obama has been offering–and none of it resembles what the "Democratic left" is calling for.
The discussion on the economy in the media and among political elites is basically between the far-right Republicans and Obama–whose policy ideas might be considered center or center-right. Tom Friedman wants that debate to move even further to the right.
About Peter Hart
friedman, though, despite his nutty prose, is on to something. He was among the first to realize that Obama is hopelessly incompetent.
Fuck Tom Friedman. Why anything this boob has to say is relevant anymore is beyond me.
It's truly astounding that center-rightists like Friedman are making the claim that Obama's pandering to his base especially given the way Obama's left his progressive base in the dust on issue after issue after issue. Just shows that the "center" in the U.S. is actually "right".
Why empi, that's rude. But true. A "center" Republicanism? Wow! Clearly Freidman is deeply sunk into a hopeless fantasy world of his own making. A sad end to a once-mediocre success. At least he and his wife still have a tremendous amount of dough to squander, despite the Earth having been round, after all.
I learned all I needed to know about Friedman's brainpower when he supported Bush's lie-based, catastrophic, invasion of Iraq back in 2002-3. Chubby-chasing Christie is par for the Friedman course. Friedman's primary thing is crafting dimbulb slogans that become the titles for unreadable books resulting from million dollar publishing deals. Bleh.
Obama is to the right of Reagan if not farther and his present stance is way to the right but not that close to the Tea Party extremists. But it depends not on what he says but what he does. Looking at his record in the military, immigration and corporate economics he is right in their with the worst of them. But he has done some social work in the liberal areas. Like DADT and a few other places but I think more for show than reality. He isn't to be trusted, he needs to be forced to help us. But I don't know how beyond getting a staunch Progessive at his side like Grayson might work to our favor. Maybe not.
I love this play that all republicans are hard right ,and Obama is soft right.And THAT is why things aren't working.Bottom line to libs is…things would of been oh so much better if Obama would of "really" pushed the lefts agenda.And if it was not for the obstructionist Tea party of course.Wake up call.Reality check.Ding ding ding.Republicans sound hard right today as a counter weight to what has been a swing to the left(health care).
Obama started hard left.Nothing worked .So he started lying,and trying door number one,two,and 152! He reverted to his natural state of being a cameleon .Trying to be something to everybody.But those damn Tea party types would not let his jello body take form.They kept nailing jello(somehow)to a tree.Never having any private sector experience beyond being a rebel rousing community activist ,he had to rely on his much vaunted (and never proven) intelligence.All his core beliefs, far from taking hold, were left suspect.He is failing on all levels.Just as he did in his time as a community activist.Just as he did in the senates.An unbroken stream.Cant say we did not warn you.
Christy is miles better.On every level.And here is a big surprise.He has EXECUTIVE experience!What a shock.His core values are solid.He is a great communicator.And has generally been a success.If not president- i would love to see him as attorney general.Obama for instance would of been a great press secretary for Hilary.
I stopped reading Friedman years ago. He seemed to make a sharp turn to the right after 9/11, perhaps an indication of his own fearfulness about the world. Obama is anything but a left-wing politician. If he was, there would be no need for the Occupy Wall Street movement now underway around the country. http://mediapoliticsinperspective.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/obama-misunderstands-the-wall-street-movement/
For the first time, I skipped reading a michael e letter. It feels good.
Sorry you feel that way Cass(love that name.One of my favorites)It is not easy to be one of the only people on these blogs who attempts to point out that there may be a different view out there .I think the great silence that was heard on the right over John Mccain's candidacy -is what got us "Obama".I think we tea party types decided early on that we need to speak up and be heard this time round..Simply use the free speech we are blessed with.At least give our opinion.Give people a choice.
We are in a battle with a government that seems to want to create a worker class, and a user class.A giant plantation system.The worker class will be small but usefull.The user -very large and useless.With government the benefactor and ultimate depository of the distribution of the worker classes wealth, to benefit……..voting blocks.This is is far from what the design of this country was ever supposed to be.What was once a creeping fear of what an Obama presidency would look like..has now become a full scale panic as the reality takes form.Pretty much in line with what his harshest critics warned.
As far as Christie…… I think Christie would be more acceptable than almost anyone else on the right……to the left!Like Obama he would be seen(not true in Obamas case)to be a man who uses his noggin -without fist reading his ideology book.And in plain speak ,things would get better under Christie(no pun).
So Im sorry Im a tough read.That seems to be the consensus here.Be well
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