According to The Hill, the White House is, "simmering with anger at criticism from liberals," who think that the Obama spends too much time sucking up to Republicans, and not enough time going after them:
During an interview with The Hill in his West Wing office, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs blasted liberal naysayers, whom he said would never regard anything the president did as good enough.
They are calling them (which includes me), the "Professional Left", and suggesting that we want Canadian style healthcare (OK, true, but I'll settle), want to shut down the Pentagon (no), and really wanted Kucinich as pres. (Fuck you too)
This isn't someone going off the reservation. It's the Press Secretary, whose only job is to publicly define the reservation.
First, if I'm a part of the professional left, where is my fucking paycheck?
Second, this sort of crap is why liberals have a problem with the calculus that it's to your advantage to cock-punch dirty fucking hippies (DFH) as a way to get policy through and win elections.
Why are you all so determined to demoralize the base before elections?
(more after break)
I'm a realist. I'm not expecting "Welcome sonny," or "Make yourself at home," or "Marry my daughter." (It's a reference to the funniest movie of all time)
That being said I think that the idea that your base is the only group out there whose behavior demands approbation is bullshit, whether being called "fucking retards" by Rahm, or the "professional left" by Bobby Gibbs.
Let's talk about the unprecedented interference in congressional primaries from the WH. Supporting Arlen Specter, I could understand, there was a deal cut, but going balls to the wall for an incumbent whose actions were intended sabotage your signature initiative, healthcare reform (Lincoln), and for a never-been-elected to anything money manager who damn near bankrupted the Denver school district? (Bennet)
The problem here is that an appearance is created that the administration hates the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.
What the WH is doing, compromising in advance and getting nothing, is more than bad policy, it is bad politics. Appealing to the base wins elections. If GW hadn't explicitly and aggressively appealed to Neanderthals in his party (my apologies to the Gieco Cavemen), he would never have been elected to dog catcher, much less Governor of Texas.
I understand, you are supposed to be the "adults", and the "very serious people" inside the Beltway, but the "adults" and the "very serious people" inside the beltway are almost always wrong: They made protecting insurers a priority, they made getting a consensus from the incumbents on net neutrality an essential goal, etc.
I'm not asking for the subservient behavior you accord the "the two crown princesses from Maine," but behavior that does something besides imply that we are somehow the bearded Rush Limbaugh from Mirror Mirror would be nice.