So, I was reading Elizabeth Drew’s article in the New York Review of Books titled “What Were They Thinking?” that recounts how we got to this messy stage of impasse, political grandstanding and Obama’s inflated self-image when I came to what I think might be a hidden gem on two points:
Finding a solution to reducing the deficit that was agreeable to Boehner, to Cantor, to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and to the President was no small task. The men, who had rudely and unwisely excluded Pelosi, now the minority leader, from their deliberations, could no longer avoid dealing with her. They’d considered Pelosi a bit of a pain, insistent as she was on standing up for liberal principles.
Are you f^&*ing kidding me? These GUYS excluded the former speaker of the house and now minority leader from the negotiations because she sticks up for liberal principles? I’ll be the first one to say that Nancy shouldn’t be surprised and is paying royally for the mess she made in Denver in 2008. But Jeez, it is completely unacceptable that there wasn’t even one woman in the room when these assholes met, not even the House Democrats’ minority leader. It happens in the business world all of the time. Women don’t get the email, are conveeeeeniently left off the meeting list, their phone calls are ignored. And THIS is womens’ issues are never considered in the final bills. If you’re a liberal woman, you’re doubly screwed.
And Barack Obama was OK with this?
You betcha.
#fuckyouwashingtonguys
Update: Craig Crawford says that Congressional leaders have decided to cut Obama out of future negotiations. Here’s what he’s been hearing:
It’s no surprise that Republicans, led by House Speaker John Boehner, went out of their way to insult the president but remarkably Democrats also went forward over the weekend with Capitol Hill debt talks that did not even include a symbolic emissary from the White House.
[…]
While the GOP obviously would savor a solution to the debt-ceiling crisis that gives Obama no credit, why are Democratic leaders so willing to cut him out?
The answer might be found in growing concerns among veteran Capitol Hill Democrats that their president is a lousy negotiator.
Although they see him as a talented public communicator, his short time as a senator and painfully slow learning curve as president leads congressional Democrats to think it best to take over and provide cover for him once the deal is done.
Wow, just wow. Um, would giving him cover really be the best idea? Maybe they’ve been too permissive. They provided him with a lot of cover in 2008 and carried him gently over the threshhold of the nomination. In retrospect, that was a bad idea. It could explain why he’s painfully slow to learn his job and why he’s so fricking clueless about legislating with Congress. He’s never had to do it before.
After this is all over, the Democrats need to have a heart to heart with President Mashieniblick. The idea that they can foist him on the rest of us and give us no Democratic alternative is unacceptable when they don’t think he is capable of doing his job.
Filed under: General | Tagged: Barack Obama, budget, debt ceiling, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Liberal, Nancy Pelosi |
The Confluence 
Remember all those studies that show that women make better, less emotional investors?
I really think we wouldn’t be having fiscal problems if we had more women in charge.
(Btw, I can’t stand Pelosi either but golly gee can the Dicks in DC be any more woman-hating?)
I don’t know. But I fear they’ll give it their best shot. Ug.
I should mention that the above unchecked behavior is not good for business, especially in the research industry where non-cooperation can lead to lagging years behind schedule.
Agree. This sort of behavior in any environment leads to less productivity and more stress. Even for people on the sidelines. If anyone cared about their own business, they wouldn’t let this happen.
No way around it, it’s just plain stupid.
It takes all types. BTW, I think the only thing that prevents women from being gungho, money addicted, aggressive gamblers extraordinaires is that they are not rewarded for that kind of behavior. In business, women must walk a very fine line between being assertive and passive. Aggression is never allowed. Even being assertive can get you labeled “not a team player” and having a “personality problem” because men aren’t allowed to call you a “bitch” anymore. So, they’ve come up with these code words and everyone knows what they mean. So if you push to get what you need, you get labeled a troublemaker. But if you DON’T push to get what you need, you get passed up for promotion and get told that you’re not productive. In my department, women occupied all of the junior level positions. And women who tried to go higher did so at a cost. When the layoffs came, the junior level people were the ones hit hardest.
That’s the way it goes. And when there are positions to be filled elsewhere, the guys get first pick.
BTW, I think the only thing that prevents women from being gungho, money addicted, aggressive gamblers extraordinaires is that they are not rewarded for that kind of behavior.
I concur.
Remember the article in the WSJ back when the “stimulus” package was put together? It pointed out that had even one woman been sitting at the planning table the “stimulus” package probably really would have been a stimulus and have made a lot more sense.
oh, thank gaud, I’m finally hearing thunder after nearly a month without rain.
No, they can’t have my liver while I’m still using it.
Pelosi is a phony liberal. She folded and gave Obama everything, “all for the good of the country”. No big loss but a well deserved karma that’s she’s not involved in the negotiations.
If she’s the only one sticking to liberal principles I’d say it’s a big loss.
Istr she’s at least tried to stand up to Obama on other liberal or women’s issues. Like taking contraceptives out of the stimulus bill, and neutering Lily Ledbetter, and now she seems to be defending SS.
Ug. Spammy got me. And I’m scrolling the wrong way with Lion.
Ya think?
The number one requirement for a negotiator is that all sides trust him to some degree. Nobody trusts Obama – not his enemies, not the unterbussen, and definitely not his friends.
His economic team is abandoning him. Read that Elizabeth Drew article. It’s scathing. His advisors couldn’t dissuade him from pursuing his original plan. He’s obsessed with making a Grand Bargain so that he can appeal to the independent voters out there. That’s right, he’s not worried about jobs, he’s not worried about what Democrats might think of him. He’s worried about INDEPENDENTS.
The party has its head up its ass if it thinks this is going to fly. Obama is in big trouble.
I don’t think that Obama wants to appeal to independents as much as he wants to be seen as the president who achieved “grand” changes in the country. The constant bragging about the fatally flawed health care bill is constantly referred to by Obots, within and outside of the administration, as transformative because it’s something that hasn’t been achieved by any other president.
In a way, we already have an independent in the White House. What we still need is a Democrat.
Betcha they’re kicking themselves now over installing him.
You should have gone with the girl, Nancy. At least she knew what the hell the job entailed.
Amen. Gawd. This is just mind boggling. If we could swap teh Precious for Bill (or Hillary) Clinton, I wonder how long it would take to resolve this stupid impasse? Even Joe Biden could do better. Practically any woman could find a way. Jeez.
There’s a long line of women left out, ignored, or dismissed: Sheila Bair, Brooksley Born, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren to name a few.
Seeing a trend here? It’s not your imagination. If you read Elizabeth drew’s article, you find that Larry Summers was practically begging Obama to concentrate on the economy. And it was Larry Summers who supposedly agreed with Christina Romer that the stimulus package had to be much larger. But in a way, it might have been Larry summers who is most responsible to promoting the idea that women are not as savvy in math and the sciences as men. That kind of attitude is pervasive in the R&D industry and it leads to a lot of women getting locked out and frustrated. But Obama knew this when he hired him.
So, Romer gave her number and Obama and his droogs ignored her, except for Summers. Oh, you wanted to say something, Larry? She really is the smartest guy in the room? {{rolling eyes}}.
Larry has not served women well. When he dies and goes to hades, I hope he has to spend eternity as a low level female policy analyst.
I read about them leaving Pelosi out. I am amazed anyone would consider leaving these GUYS in charge.
I do love the idea of Larry Summers having to spend eternity as a low level female policy analyst! I would add to that hope: he should be stuck with a “curvy” figure so he can be hit on daily while being ignored otherwise.
Then the hades investment banker and MBA guys can say “Wut? Oh you are just being too sensitive and reading too much into this, that or the other thing.”
You’re not a Team Player, Laurie. Why doesn’t tim geithner want to meet with you? What did you say to him? You have to learn to not be so forceful.
And what did you get done this month? Is that it? You know, jared and Peter and Austen are just kicking ass and you’re still trying to get a meeting with Tim. How are we going to move you from a 2 to a 5 if you don’t put a little effort into your work? {{sigh}}. I’m going to put Peter on your project for awhile. He can run interference for you.
I’ve already asked him to schedule that meeting with Tim. It’s set for next Tuesday. You don’t have to go. Let tim and Peter work on it and see where the impasse is.
I have another task for you. I need you to coordinate the monthly pot luck lunch.
A Photoshop cartoon I made about Larry Summers a few years ago. Feel free to use.
If you read Elizabeth drew’s article, you find that Larry Summers was practically begging Obama to concentrate on the economy. And it was Larry Summers who supposedly agreed with Christina Romer that the stimulus package had to be much larger.
That’s facts on fact issues.
But in a way, it might have been Larry summers who is most responsible to promoting the idea that women are not as savvy in math and the sciences as men.
That’s speculation on woo woo issues. I looked into what Summers really said. The idea was already current. He was looking for ways to correct the situation. (LIke, noting that in high powered jobs, there was a negative correlation between a woman’s success and her number of children — so we need better childcare etc etc.)
I read his comments too and it sounded just how I thought it did.
Look, brooksley born, Sheila Bair, christina Romer, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, these are extremely capable women, hard working, very bright, they tell it like it is. And yet, time after time, their word only counts for half as much as a guy’s. I was shocked that there were journalists and others who seriously thought that Hillary needed more executive experience before she was presidential material but Obama didn’t. They were not joking. Some of them wanted her to run for governor of NY.
All of these women have been in a position to give their best assessments of a situation at a pivotal moment in time and time and again they get ignored. This is not just something you see in politics and government. It is widespread. It is the result of a very pernicious attitude that is just as damaging as sexual harassment but it flies under the radar because it is subtle, dog whistled and accepted. What I heard from summers was just a variation of what I have heard for decades from professors, managers and colleagues. If he didn’t want to be associates with it, he shouldn’t have said it. And if he hadn’t have said it, it wouldn’t be used as an excuse to discriminate by some very high profile columnists at major media outlets.
The old boys network lives and is stronger than ever these days and we can thank Larry for some of that.
Here’s what he actually said:
How I interpret this is that while he acknowledges that there are social and cultural reasons why there are fewer women in math and sciences at the upper levels, intrinsic differences between the sexes mean that women will never be able to reach as high as men when it comes to true awesomeness. He said he would like nothing better than to be proven wrong.
And in 2008 or 2009, he was proven wrong. A study came out that year that examined each gender’s performance on an international test on math and science. It compared the performance of countries from around the world. What it discovered was that where a country had a political and cultural system that had a narrow gender gap, women performed as well as or *better* on these tests in math and science. Where males had a tiny edge was in geometrical/spatial reasoning but that females were not incapable of achieving at the same level because there are always exceptional minds, some of them female.
So, most of what Summers saw as intrinsic is an artifact of where you grow up. Scandanavian countries performed the best. Places like turkey and Spain, not so much. The US was not at the top of the list by a long shot.
And then there are the blind auditions by female musicians. Have you read about that? Before auditions were carried out behind a screen, it was very difficult for female musicians to get a chair in an orchestra. After all, women just don’t play like the virtuoso men, right? Turns out that was wrong too. Or how about my eldest’s experience at the CIA? She and her male partner took the same class and prepared the same dishes together. Her partner got an A. She didn’t. The chef’s attitude toward women in his class was much more critical even when he was judging the same result.
But Summers’ attitude persists and it has an effect on every woman who goes into a STEM career. I have seen it sideline a lot of females. I have heard male colleagues cut down women in public and behind their backs. It never goes away and explains why women are always at the bottom of the totem pole in their departments. Your work is scrutinized more carefully, criticized more frequently and men who don’t want to work with you, don’t. They just don’t. You could have some really good ideas and they dont want to see them or hear them. You are wasting their time.
So, yeah, I think Larry should be reborn as Laurie and see how much fun it is to always feel like you’re missing something.
I should feel sorry for Rep. Pelosi but I can’t. I am too busy feeling sorry for the rest of us who suffer from her lack of leadership.
djmm
Listening to the Pres. He NEVER says anything straight out. Every sentence has a built in phrase that cancels out the action words.
I have NO idea if what they’ve decided to do about Social Security & Medicare.
He did mention 4 trillion in cuts. Which doesn’t sound good to me.
He also says that he knows we’re fed up with a lack of compromise in Washington. I’m fed up with liars. But, maybe that’s just me.
Um, from what I’ve been reading, the whole country is fed up with liars.
He doesn’t seem as smooth as he normally does. I still find him hard to listen to but I think someone else wrote this speech.
He creeps me out. After a couple of minutes Mister started playing
SkittleSkiffle Music from 1957 and that was a lot more fun.I still don’t think he gets it.
That’s my opinion too. He’s clueless. His face should have been drenched in sweat.
I still don’t think he gets it.
It’s worse than that, I don’t think he gives a shit.
Because he’s going to make us eat our peas ;or in BFF’s case, Lima Bean!).
But really, after the way he dismissed us in 2008, isn’t this what Democrats wanted??
No??
Cos they were pretty adamant about it. I still have scars.
Did you guys see this from Bernie Sanders today?
Sanders’ server is down right now but the full story is incredible.
16 trillion dollars. And we’re supposed to pay that back with Social Security and Medicare?
I’ve actually heard some of that before but mostly when I was younger and less experienced.
Hey, off topic, but not really…
What’s this about a married woman needing permission from her husband if she want to get her tubes tied in TEXAS???
MMMM…does a man need his wife’s signature to get his vasectomy??
Just asking…is the first part true? If so, it’s another example of blatant demeaning of woman individuals/human beings.
Not to mention that 70% of private insurers cover Viagra vs. 49% female contraception.
NOW, where is that project called JANE (I think that’s it)…when do we get back to teaching woman how to do what they need to do…and SCREW the system!!
Oh, come now…. Pelosi was excluded because of the disaster that was her speakership. She went 800 days without passing a budget. Her “leadership” was a major cause of the drubbing that the Democrats received in ’08. If you evaluate her *performance* instead of just seeing her as a cartoon standing for a Generic Woman, this all becomes clear.