I don’t know if David Axelrod will see this, but maybe he will. He says the following:
“We’ll continue to do everything we can, understanding that recovery will require persistent effort. There are no silver bullets,” senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said in an interview Thursday. “At the same time, we have to make clear our ideas and theirs, and the fact that the Washington Republicans, having helped create this recession, have attempted to block our every effort to deal with it.”
Here is my advice. Stop defending what you’ve done on the economy. Do not say that the stimulus was big enough. Do not say that no one realized how badly the economy had been damaged. Focus like a laser on the second part of your statement. The Republicans created this recession and they have obstructed every effort to fix it. That’s your message. Stick to it.
And, what would help is having an actual fight on the Senate floor over a bill that would fix the economy. I know you’re going to lose the fight and that a bunch of Democrats are going to side with the Republicans. Don’t worry about that. Show people that you’re fighting for their jobs and that the Republicans are not. If you want to change the dynamic, this is the only way to do it.
At this point, I’m echoing Krugman.
via: Message: They Care
It’s clear to me now from Rattner’s screed that this economic program was completely driven by politics and not policy. I don’t know if what he said was true about Rahm, but I’m finding it hard to believe otherwise because unlike most people on the left, I don’t particularly have a problem with Tim Geithner.
So that leads me to a question:
Obama thus far has not had a problem with accepting responsibility for when he’s made mistakes. So why is it that he’s not accepting responsibility for a too small stimulus this time by trying to deflect it with “no one could have predicted?” They keep saying it worked, it worked, it worked, it was big enough, we just didn’t know the scope…when clearly it’s a lie and an attempt to save face. Is someone’s ego on the line here or something?
Why don’t you have a problem with Geithner? Because you should. Unless you don’t have a problem with the fox guarding the henhouse.
Because I don’t see it that way. I do have a problem with Summers, though. Always have, and I didn’t want him near economic policy.
As BooMan articulated in a post before, you will rarely not find a “fox guarding a henhouse” at his post, assuming that’s what you think his type is.
So the question I always ask if I want someone to step down is, who will replace them, can they be confirmed, and are they likely to be nominated? You’ll rarely find someone better than Tim Geithner not just in the contemporary, but throughout history, fitting those questions.
I’d appreciate HAMP being scrapped, though.
you’re right about the fox and henshouse analogy, but Geithner should be replaced because he’s not effective, doesn’t communicate well, has poor relationships with Congress, and can’t point to any real successes beyond averting catastrophe. Keeping him on is pointless. No one is fooled into thinking he’s done a great job.
That’s about it. And I guess yeah, he doesn’t have a good relationship with Congress…
Most people who’ve gone into conferences with him–including people like Felix Salmon and Yves Smith–have all said that he understands the problems and what must be done.
http://www.interfluidity.com/v2/933.html
Who do you have in mind to replace him, btw?
I don’t have anyone in mind to replace him. Someone who is telegenic and a people-person. Someone who radiates optimism. Someone people automatically like. The Senate isn’t confirming any college professors or well-known liberal journalists. I’ve probably never heard of the person who’d be the best replacement.
The question is, is the senate confirming anyone at all?
A tried and true approach to a controversial cabinet appointment is a well-respected insider, a current or former Senator or prominent Congressman. The Senate always treats them with kid gloves.
They wouldn’t have to be an economic genius, just understand enough to be able to absorb staff briefings. I’m thinking of General Groves from the Manhattan Project. He wasn’t a physicist, but he was great at making decisions and getting things done. A hundred percent backing and carte blanche from Roosevelt didn’t hurt, either.
I don’t know if someone like Krugman or Stigliz would be so good at the administrative and political job requirements. They would be great as economic advisers.
So then why doesn’t he do it(like HAMP)? It’s one thing to know what the problems are. It’s another thing to have the balls to do something about it. Something Geithner has little inkling to do.
Boo:
I have a question for you. Can’t someone like Roubini run Treasury? Stiglitz? Someone that’s not a Robert Rubin toady(or worse).
No, as Wilderness notes above.
In addition, such a fight would have the added political virtue of building the case for eliminating or weakening the filibuster in the Senate.
It could help inside the Senate by providing another strong example of the Republicans’ “lack of comity”, and thus giving Democrats added proof that Republicans really aren’t serious about governing and addressing the nation’s problems. (Note: this seems to be what happened with Baucus’ “Gang of Six” endless summer last year. When it came time to vote in the fall, Republicans had lost every Democratic vote they might have gotten (even Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman!).
It could help outside the Senate by creating a “good fight” around which all Democrats and liberal could organize and agitate.
“It could help outside the Senate by creating a “good fight” around which all Democrats and liberal could organize and agitate.”
While I agree with your comment in principle, and on Booman’s main point, the truth is that a core group of conservaDems will step all over any such message by loudly aligning themselves with the “fiscally responsible repubs” and ruining the core talking point. Hell, they are out there now running against Obama and Pelosi and Reid saying the voted against the “liberal excess.”
So the question then becomes, what political fights will help unify enough Senate Democrats (50, plus Joe Biden) to reform Rule 22 so as to eliminate or weaken the filibuster? Any suggestions?
My sense is it’s not even close to happening. Not on the horizon at all. Even if they were thinking about doing it, if they lose seats the democrats will prostrate themselves before the awesome inviolable will of the people, which is apparently served by having 41 senators representing less than 41% of the populace vetoing normal legislation.
This National Infrastructure Bank would be great to fight over as voters can understand that but these small business tax cuts are just fighting it on GOP terms and they still are going to say no.
another piece of advice might be “stop dicking over your friends”.
True, but then who would punch the hippies?
why do the hippies need to be punched at all?
Re: Booman and Krugman’s “advice,” there’s a Yiddish expression:
Only problem is Geithner and Co. have their tongues jammed into Obama’s ears and he doesn’t seem to object.
You’re beginning to see the light:
As I’ve been saying forever, Obama has to have the guts to fight for what is needed and not just propose things he thinks he can get past the Republicans.
It’s called “leadership”.
Reading through the various articles that source the White House, I realize that they’re looking to pass what they can to help the economy and not pick useless fights that won’t help people get work. I understand that impulse, but this is political season and we’re at risk of losing a workable majority. It’s more important right now to shore up our political situation than it is to do some marginal stuff around the edges of the economy. Okay, pass the small business measure, but then get serious about a high profile fight where you take the side of the people and the Republicans do the opposite. It’s necessary.
Absolutely spot on.
The disturbing thing about this is how obvious it seems, and how far away it remains from any action we have yet seen.
Exactly, the WH/Dems will not accomplish anything with the Republicans sham investigations and shutting down the government over the next few years.
Fire up the base, pick a fight, point out the Republicans, change the narrative and educate the public to how utterly destructive the Republicans have been over the past few years.
Bold action is needed and candidate Obama had that magic. This play it safe wonky kumbaya approach is not going to be a game changer. We know the Republicans playbook will be to lie and and it will be the same no matter what Dems do.
It starts with a sharp-edged, defiant Labor Day speech Monday that is all about the Middle Class–there was a hint of things to come in the Iraq speech the other night. It cannot be tepid. Then a coordinated full-court press, in the style of the final weeks of a presidential campaign. And it is buttressed by coordinated appearances by carefully chosen surrogates, all of whom are on the same page.
My point is that it’s doable. The problem is that using Labor Day as a launch date is a bad idea in this day and age (as you have said recently, Booman). It’s very late, and rather than people being distracted and not paying attention, August has morphed from Gary Condit month to a time of great media hazard. Republicans have figured this out over the past few years. There is now a momentum to the “Republican Wave” meme that threatens to become self-fulfilling if it gets any further momentum.
Like you, I’ve been saying and thinking for the past couple of months that this is an emergency. There is so much crazy out there now, and so many lies that are going unchallenged, and so much demonization of taxes, social security, health care, etc., that we are dangerously close to a tipping point. It doesn’t have to be that way, because the very beast that is the media cycle can still be turned–the comeback kid scenario that the media flocks to just as easily as it does to the Republican wave. The opportunity is there for the taking, but it will only happen if the moment is siezed, with cold-blooded calculation and agression.
Hoping it’s not too late. Also, the past 4 weeks have just emphasized the craziness not to mention teabaggers primary victories so now it’s not mere speculation what we’re in for if there is a repub sweep
You assume “the people” we’ll view Democrats as fighting for them rather than against them. “The people” are screaming NO MORE SPENDING! But you think they’ll have a sudden collective light bulb moment that the Democrats are fighting for them?! Is liberal speak like speaking in tongues?
I totally agree, however it seems hard for the White House to have a simple powerful message on this when they’ve spent the past 8-12 months talking about how dangerous the deficit is and touting their own tax cuts.
Republicans wrecked the economy and exploded the deficit. Their policies failed and put millions out of work. The lowest taxes since the great depression created the most anemic growth since then. Their only answer is more tax cuts for their wealthy sponsors, more deregulation for their multinational puppet masters, more pain for the most economically vulnerable. Are you out of work? The republicans think you’re lazy and don’t deserve any help. Are you a health emergency away from bankruptcy? Go to the emergency room and pray. Did a major corporation dump thousands of tons of toxic chemicals on your coastline and threaten your way of life? Apologize to them for inconveniencing their bottom line.
Actually please brush up on your facts. The best way to spur the economy in the short term before November is a payroll tax holiday.
Now it should be temporary, and higher taxes on the wealthy and closing loopholes for businesses need to be the medium term goal but this is the best path to a short boost to stave off a Republican apocalypse.
It wasn’t always the best path, but Obama has closed the other paths for us.
I’m not an economist so I can’t comment on that. If you care to point me to your evidence please do. What is obvious to anyone who looks at the most basic and easy to understand facts is that lowering taxes in general, particularly on the wealthy, has nothing to with stimulating the economy, creating jobs, or increasing revenue. Case closed.
Unfortunately, democrats continue to let this point go and generally try to accommodate the tax cutting myth, which is why we have democratic senators making noises about how we can’t let the Bush tax cuts expire because…they’ve done such a good job of holding up the economy till now. Or something.
August 30, 2010
thanks.
Payroll tax holiday = destruction of SS.
No if, ands, or buts about this.
It’s amazing how awesome the Obama political team is at screwing up.
And btw, when the President of the United States, a Black man, needs advice from whining white liberal bloggers and basement dwellers, I’m sure he will ask.
basement dwellers crack? how very 2002 of you.
I know it’s not polite to suggest that someone ought to STFU but you’re making a good case for an exeption. Look, liberals kvetch about their leaders like fish swim in water – it’s what they do and it is utterly independent of race.
Of course, there is an old saying that may be applicable here – all the world appears to be a nail when you are a hammer. I would recommend an old fashioned check up from the neck up…
I suppose we’re paying the price for getting what we asked for in a way. We wanted honesty and no bull. So we’re not getting pie-in-the-sky promises. But it still makes me crazy when Axelrod, or whoever, feels compelled to start out with “there’s no magic bullet” and so on. How that’s heard is, well, we can’t really help you, but we’ll do what we can, and it probably won’t work in time to save you from disaster.
I’m glad they’re not bullshitting about the situation, but it’s a matter of emphasis. They’re apologizing in advance for failure, basically — at least that’s how the message gets heard.
They can make a good case that they prevented a depression and had to use some hard medicine, but we’re on our way now. It will take time, but here’s what we’re doing right now to take some of the pain away from our workers and our unemployed starting this week….
It’s that last part that they refuse to follow through on, so all we get is, the country’s going to hell and there’s really not much we can do about it. FDR faced the same kind of reality, but he electrified the suffering masses with the WPA, TVA, Social Security, and all the rest of the programs that people felt right away. If he’d just gone on the radio and done an honest and dispassionate analysis like this WH is doing so far, people would have started wondering why they couldn’t have kept that nice Mr Hoover.
We desperately need Obama to show us, to overwhelm us with evidence, that he is the right guy for what’s happening RIGHT NOW, not just 20 years from now. Instead of just whining about the Reps, he needs to pull every trick, use every executive resource, call in every debt, threaten every retribution, skirt every law and regulation to stand up and fight for the economic survival of ordinary Americans, just like he’d be expected to do in any other emergency. And THEN he’s in position to say, “I’ve been fighting for you with everything I’ve got, and I’d be doing so much more if we didn’t have the Washington Republicans (good line) blocking every move we make.” And then he’d have his bully pulpit back.
Right now, he’s not in position to say that because he can’t show that he’s been fighting right here, right now. He can fix this, there’s still time, but not enough to keep screwing around with all the temporizing and detached economic analysis. He, not the teabaggers and Reps has to be the force for action and real change. He showed us during the campaign that he can be. So, President Obama, just, finally, do it.