@whpriol1 What does Kenya have to do with anything? Oh, I get it, you're one of those "birther" troll-morons who've had a psychotic break with reality. No problem.
The Onion headline following Obama's election 'Black Man Given the Worst Job in America' certainly holds true, and this was before the emergence of the so called Tea Party [ corporate funded know nothings who certainly voted for W. twice], whose rise to power in 2010 has essentially broken the system, as they are suicidal fools who cannot be reasoned with. Now it is time for Obama to say so, to describe them as they are and condemn them for their malevolent behavior.
that or blame progressives, explain that since the country was rooted in the bible and not the king James bible that is why Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. and if not kick the looney fucks back into obscurity with the republicans. with American sound money and 0% interest for infrastructure.
If so-called progressives acted when the POTUS needed their support to push legislation maybe we'd have a public option. It is not his job to be the bodyguard, enforcer and Boss. The GOP knows how to stay on message and support one another and that is not the case with Dems. We cave in on each other all the time Who is standing behind him with a bat and chains when it is time to rumble? He needs back up doing some of the hard work that it'll take to win. No one wins or loses on their own
David Sirots is a dum fuck The Repubican and the Tea party are working together to bring down President Obama and America and making China mad at America and they thinking to go to war after America because of the Repubicans and Tea Party because they are playing game just because we have a black Prestident and for that reason Chain will make America theirs what some dun fucks the Repubicans and Tea party are be perpair to kiss your asses good bye, There will not be freedom no more.
Oh, and a third point: Tim Geithner? Ben Bernanke? Really? Was THAT the tea party's fault too?
And ... Guantanamo? Renditions? Massive deportations? Ignoring African American issues totally? Targeted assassinations? Totally cynical approach to Arab Spring?
That's ALL the tea party's fault?
I will NOT vote for Obama next time. Unless we stand up to his BS, change will always remain completely impossible.
Really interesting debate. I wish 2 points had been raised: 1. The massive influence of Wall St. on Obama and the Democrats (which undercuts any possibility of real change EVER); 2. Tea Party to blame? In the short term, yes; but remember Jon Stewart's bit about the journalist who questioned Obama about his lack of leverage on the debt ceiling issue LONG ago & O. just replied that he trusted Boehner's personal integrity ... or some shit like that. Truth is: O. caved from the start.
And obviously Obama is going to play the part of the rube, who can't get anything done because of opposition party obstructionism in order to win brownie points from his more empathetic/pacifist constituency. It's all bullshit. What the country gets in reality isn't ideological leadership from one side or the other, but corporatist dick.
Sirota just whooped that boy's ass. He seemed much better prepared with his answers. Oscarmayer, or whatever his name is, just proves that even analysts can fall for the obvious PR ploys that the govt plays on us. Doesn't he realize that the two party govt is basically an orchestration designed to keep the country ideologically divided? Obviously the republicans are going to hamstring Obama at every opportunity so they can win brownie points with their bigoted constituency.
Sirota and Jurgensmeyer are BOTH Sarah Palin's DICKLESS and BALLESS BITCHES and PUSSIES! Palin PWNS BOTH of these idiots and they BOTH will see their idol Obozo LOSE BADLY to Sarah Palin in 2012! Palin WILL be our next and greatest President of all times and UNITE it under a PALINIST CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE ideology!
I love how politicians have turned our government into a war between parties instead peaceful debates on how to make our country better. All they care about is majority. Not mention the fact that most Americans have taken little care into how our country works and to stand for what they believe.
Team David Sirota. No one forced Obama to put Medicare on the table during the Debt Limit debate, abandon the Public Option, escalate Afghanistan and stay in Iraq, not prosecute any bankers. Obama has been willingly giving the GOP everything.
What difference would Perry and Bachmann be? At least it wouldn't be a Republican pushing for Republican policies not a Democrat.
@GenTsoChicken1 If Perry or Bachman gets elected you and every other progressive will be suicidal one year into their Presidency. You people want to cut off your nose to spite your face and it's incredibly stupid and irresponsible. BTW - name a republican who would've ended Don't Ask Don't Tell, pushed through any kind of Health Care reform or would have appointed 2 liberal Supreme Court Justices. Grow the fuck up already, you people are worse than children.
This country will be SO MUCH BETTER WITHOUT PROGRESSOS! When Palin inevitably becomes President, Progressivism WILL GO EXTINCT! THIS IS TRULY A CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE NATION!
@ecwaufisxtreme I know your stupid / mentally ill mind can't comprehend this but Sarah Palin will NEVER be the President of the United States. I find it both funny and sad that you probably actually believe your own comments. I don't know if this is a failure of your parents, the school you went to or if you're just bat shit crazy, probably a combination of the 3.
"I don't know what's in Obama's head and I don't really care. It's the Tea Party's fault." Isn't that the point of the debate, why is Obama siding with Reps so much? That sounds like a Tea Party saying, "I don't care what's in Bush's head, I know it's the 'libs'" fault!". Ignoring the facts doesn't make your views truth.
The Military Industrial Complex will do anything to keep making $. Even if it means if more soldiers killed in battle,the American working class people remains jobless,and the American economy is in the shitter.
This economic crisis isn't really Obama's fault,but at the same time he didn't do anything to help the economic crisis either. Change my ass!!!!!!!!!!!
no more excuses for Obama. he is a coward sellout right wing republican in progressive clothing. Obama has had plenty of time and opportunities to stand with progressives, he has turned his back on his base every single time! Its time to put out collective time, energy, money and support to a legitimate 3rd party candidate for 2012!!!
I just don't get this Professor Jergensmeyer guy, or however you spell his name. Unless the Democrats have a super-super majority they're simply forced to give Republicans more than 100% of what they want?
@Derekrife yeah but he wasn't absent from the political scene his whole life. Obviously! He was in the house a senator and even vice president before he was president. At one point mlk's dad campaigned for him because he thought he was going to support civil rights.
mark is right in his first analogy in that we SHOULD be blaming the tea party and republicans for what they're doing, but progressives want OBAMA and the DEMOCRATS to do that blaming, in order to get better deals and win political fights over policy.
They'll elect a Republican, sure, but everyone will see how badly they screwed up the country, and end up electing another Democrat... or the dumb public will think everything is fine and dandy and keep the shit storm going.
If only America had more good honest people. The Democrats aren't as organized and focused/vicious as Republicans, it's a battle that's almost impossible to win unless we all man the fuck up and stand up for what we believe in.
I'm confused. Should we hold Obama accountable for his failures, sure. Can we effectively do that, no. It's just this simple...the Democratic party will back Obama, period. An independent candidate has absolutely ZERO chance of winning. Any of the Republican candidates would simply destroy the country outright.
So...what do you really think you're going to do? If you don't vote at all, you're effectively voting Republican. If you vote for any sub-party candidate, you're effectively voting republican. If you vote Republican, you're an idiot. The only rational choice is to vote for Obama again, no matter how bad he's screwed up.
There's really nothing else to discuss unless we plan on a total overthrow finally.
@OriginalTharios OR.... we could vote 3rd party en masse and really shake things up. Regardless of which side of the political spectrum, tons of people are upset with Obama, and nobody is impressed with anyone in congress. The 3rd party doesn't necessarily have to win; it just needs to get enough support that neither a (D) or (R) candidate can get 50%+ of the votes. If they don't get that, they don't get elected.
@MajorHickE Here's the rub....people are far too divided for that. Even the conservatives are divided amongst themselves, but they have enough common ground that they can win the election. Progressives of all stripes are massively divided though. They're just hundreds of tiny, meaningless groups with no momentum. At best, roughly 1/3 can be said to be Obama loyalists who will support him even harder if he's challenged. 1/3 oppose him, and 1/3 are indifferent...roughly anyway.
@OriginalTharios Because of all that, there's just no way to organize any kind of effort that will actually shake anything up. The system has always been flawed, but now it's broken, and it degrades more every term. I really doubt it can be fixed at all at this point. If that's the case, it's time for replacement.
@OriginalTharios Honestly, at this point I'd take fractured support over multiple parties to what we have now. The hardliners will always support the major parties, sure, but it seems fairly certain at this point that so-called independents aren't particularly thrilled with either of said parties. It seems to me that many people would be more inclined to vote for the Green or Whig parties (for example) if they knew more about them, hard as that is with (D) and (R) ads saturating major media.
@OriginalTharios to argue in such a way is, I believe, to accept your final defeat, the realization that you can do absolutely nothing to prevent whatever fate may come. Conratulations.
@Brandt761 Not really. I did offer one viably final option that you seem to have overlooked.
As I just mentioned for a second time above, when something is too broken to be fixed, scrap it and replace it.
At this point, scrapping and replacing the current corrupt system and everyone entrenched in it is equally as difficult and expensive as it would be to repair that system and teach all of its supporters a proper lesson.
@OriginalTharios Í think you're underestimating how hard it is to scrap and replace a system that everyone is used to, and mostly invested in. You know how miserable people have to be for them to participate in that?
@Brandt761 Pretty miserable. But that has nothing to do with anything. In terms of actual cost and risk, we are currently at a point where the risks and costs of scrapping our current system and starting over are at least near-equal to that of fixing enough of the current system to make it functional again. The willingness of people to do what needs to be done is a separate concern altogether.
My opinion is that they'll never be willing, and the whole human race will die.
Obozo is destined to LOSE to Sarah Palin. Your vote for Obozo is FUTILE! PALIN WILL BE OUR NEXT AND GREATEST PRESIDENT! SHE IS OUR SAVIOR AND MESSIAH AND BRING SALVATION TO THE THIS COUNTRY! SHE WILL BRING US TO THE PROMISED PALIN LAND!
@dbloch6592 Get them full ballot access and a place in the debates. The other thing you will need is the support of equal or more concentrated capital, because that is the main determinant of election outcomes as per the investment rule of politics.
The system is designed to favor rich right wingers who want to privatize everything except for your tax money, which they will happily take from their buddies in government. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.
Once again, the exact same tired argument that it's either a horrible republican or supporting Obama. I'm sick and tired of the false dichotomy between an ill-educated religious bigot and a properly-educated person with absolutely no backbone and defers to the bigot.
Guess what? There is a third option. Fuck them both and vote for a candidate who will actually represent the people.
@as2711 None at the moment. I was speaking rhetorically.
Just about any independent that will run for president would probably fall under that category. Specifically someone who hasn't already run for office prior to announcing his candidacy.
I'm done with Democracy in it's present form. We're all being played for suckers and raped in the ass. It's amazing that this professor wrote an entire book while being so fucking clueless.
Sure the tea baggers are thieves and killers, but Obama is opening all the doors and windows of his house and inviting and begging the baggers in to rob him.
So basically, my theory of how Obama has gotten to be where/who he is is that his entire life the people he has needed to appease (i.e., college professors, employers, etc) have been like Prof. Jurgensmeyer--well-meaning liberals who consume his narrative completely uncritically.
Conbama needs to go, there is another choice and his name is Ron Paul, get over it TYT, just because he is Republican does not mean he agrees with the hurd of conservatives like all the other clowns in their respective party. Or like TYT viewers who want their fake Democrat to stay..
I hope Rick Perry becomes president so that they will fuck up the country so bad that we will never again see a republican president for the next 10 000 years.
Dear Cenk... you forget that as long as politicians are bought, it's not a proper democracy and will ALWAYS favour the right-wing.
e.g. Rick Perry was a Democrat. Do you really think the Democratic party is to the left of Obama and sides entirely with justice? Don't make me laugh.
On the other hand, Obama IS afraid to let the hostage takers kill the hostages, which is his entire weakness. What Obama doesn't understand is that "Go ahead, make my day" would've brought a better outcome.
David is exactly right, of course. Specifically on the debt ceiling, a journalist (can you believe it?) alerted Obama to the FACT that the Pugs were going to hold the country hostage over the debt ceiling. He warned him over SIX MONTHS before the debt ceiling debate.
What was Obama's response? He said "oh, they're not going to do that". David is exactly right.
The tea party is partly a result of Obamas inability to lead. They were non existent in the 2008 election except for some birthers, racists and gun toting libertarians.
Jurgensmeyer - Obama apologist. i wouldn't be surprised if he's also a creationist. he seems to think that the things Obama says are more valid than the things Obama does.
Our politicians are like a dirty diaper, apparently they need to be changed more often. If you love this country and find yourself in congress longer than 8 years.....get the fuck out. Career politicians make me sick.
I dont think they would legislate against their own interests.
Let me ask you a question. Do you think the government would function if every elected official right now was replaced with fresh elected officials? Also do you think that career politicians are the reason why lobbyists have such a powerful hold on our government?
@gobblegobblechew You're right, they would never do it because they want to break their campaign promises. I was just wondering whether it would be a good idea in theory. 1. No. 2. No. While I do think that politicians become more jaded with the passage of time, I don't think that "freshness" is a guarantor against corruption. The problem is campaign money and revolving doors, not how long they've been there.
@devourerofbabies so whats the difference between someone like you running for office and the people who are there now, assuming you would stick to your campaign speeches? If you think you would fall into the same trap then what would be the solution to the corruption?
@gobblegobblechew It's not that I think I would fall into the same trap, it's that the system self-selects for money grubbing assholes because the whole political system revolves around money. I think if you were to get me and several other potential candidates together, the donors would back the campaign of the one they're sure will play ball. I would never get backed. Then after their single term in office, our fresh ex-politician is given a job as a "consultant" to ACME inc. or whoever.
@gobblegobblechew I made a second post but it didn't seem to go through. In short: public and ONLY public funding of campaigns, a ban on all lobbying, and a moratorium for all officials on going to work for corporations they're meant to be overseeing. I would also like to see the end of corporate personhood, or even the end of corporations altogether.
You should never allow the Republicans' reaction to something dictate what your policies are, since their reaction will be the exact same apocalyptic reaction of our life coming to an end, even if the change in policy were minor. Republicans had all three branches of government in 2005, and did exactly what they wanted. The reason that Democratic pols get bend so easily even when they are right, is because they refuse to proudly advocate their policies.
Wow, David really made awesome points. His wrap-up was brilliant.
Marks final word, on the contrary, contradicted itself. They blew it so blame the tea party? That makes no sense. They blew it and they blew it on purpose. They are all to blame, both parties. If the Republican party suddenly ceased to exist, I'm convinced the Democrats would be doing exactly the same thing and blaming it on corporations, unions, terrorists, anything they could.
So True [R]Pres.Obama is not a Democrat,I agree all his Policies so far have been Republican Ideas.yeah!he promise Progressive & Democratic agendas.but that was all show.but these current Crop of Republicans have shown their true colors,they don't want to work with a Black Guy no matter what if that means destroying the country & blame it on him,so let it be.they are no longer Republicans but as I have named them The Nationalist Puritan Party aka Puritans.
HOPE in one hand, BUSH in the other, CHANGE of nothing....both parties are in bed with the U.S. CORPORATION IMF, UCC, puppet masters....
There is no Constitutional rule of law....the U.S. CORPORATION is ADMIRALTY LAW pretending to be something other than the BAR-BRITISH ACCREDITATION REGISTRY ...scam.
Try looking up your fave "gov/dept" on DUN&BRAD STREET CORP rating site..then the CAFR report online. Grow up and learn
Time to WTFU....after this puppet *sshole, it's obvious your disillusion.
Marks opening statement is BS, if Obama can repulse republican attempts to make him look weak with two-thirds control of government (not to mention three-thirds control before the midterms) then he IS waek, and should not be president
(continued)... We all know that the crime is the fault of the criminals and the Robbers/Republicans should be held accountable for their actions. But we do elect the Commissioner/President into office to keep us safe, and if they fail to do so, they should also be held accountable.
The Professor's Analogy is wrong... He is trying to say that the Rep's are the Robbers and the Residents being held hostage represent Obama... However in that Analogy there is a 3rd silent character... The Police Commissioner, in reality he represents Obama and the Residents represent the American people, whom are being held hostage by the Robbers/Republicans but because the Police Commissioner/Obama is a wimp, Crime/Corruption in that Neighbourhood/Country has spiralled out of control.
2minutes and 15 seconds in, and I can already tell David Sirota is a liar. Didn't take long. Anyone who considers this to be an effective and successful administration is an idiot. The amount of stonewalling by the GOP has set records. Who knows that the GOP denied Obama's request for the money required to close Guantanamo, like he campaigned? Obama will be blamed for not following through on campaign promises, when he's been stopped repeatedly (another eg. the watered-down health bill).
@OrthodoxAtheist How does it cost money to close a place down? If they wont give you a lump sum, just move everyone out slowly with the monthly budget, then when nobody is left, turn the lights out.
@shraka Obama chose not to veto a defense authorization bill "because of the important military funding it contained", but the bill also contained a poison pill for his efforts to close Guantanamo - Congress restricted the executive branch from using taxpayer money to bring Guantanamo detainees to the United States or transfer them to foreign countries. Do you simply suggest we set them all free, despite some of them (most likely the vast minority) being detained for good cause?
@OrthodoxAtheist I suggest Obama not undermine his own initiatives like an idiot. However, considering Gitmo breaks the Geneva convention on treatment of POWs and American laws on detaining people under both those system I do believe you're actually required to let them go as due process hasn't been observed. I know that wont be done tho, 'cuz we don't stick to our own ideology. What I would like is western countries (including mine) to stop acting like the arseholes they're protecting us from.
@OrthodoxAtheist Are you dumb? Do you understand english? Sirota never said it was effective nad successful for the good of the country, he said that it has been a very busy admin and congress but all for the detriment of the country. And that Obama has always sided with the republicans and never have fought back. Pathetic they way you think.
@mrmijunte10 Don't get your panties in a twist! He actually used the word 'productive'. Had he used the word 'busy' instead, I would've given him more of a chance to speak. He also didn't acknowledge the large number of positive bills that have been shot down by the Republican party (so he's not a GOP lapdog entirely), for example: closing Guantanamo Bay, a real health care bill with government option, and other majority-focused bills that were refused by the GOP without even reading them.
@mrmijunte10 Instead of reading the headlines, perhaps you should read the bills, their drafts, progression and opposition, instead of believing the "Obama is a secret Republican" bullsh*t clearly prevalent in your favorite 'news' sites. Good day, sir. I said GOOD DAY. :D
How the hell did this guy become a professor at UCSB? He just ignored everything David said and deflected everything onto the tea party. The dude got humiliated big time, he had nothing in response to David's simple points.
Did you know John f Kennedy LBJ and Nixon all told Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to sit down and shut up. Did MLK sit down. HE'LL NO HE DIDN'T! He took it to them.
My stance is that both were right and wrong. Jurgensmeyer was right about how the Tea Party and the GOP are destroying the country and trying to undermine the president while Sirota was right about how the president himself was not fully wielding his presidential powers and just rolling over to the Repubicans.
We need to break the damn cycle of voting for this stupid politicians im not voting for Obama in 2012 im not voting Every politician is bought and paid for it's all bullshit folks it's bad for you
I find it funny that people think that ANY of the republicans running for president, even have a chance of winning... they don't Obama has more money than all of them combined and the most money wins period...
i think I understand (and disagree) with the premise of the Professor. He is saying that the Congress has most of the power and the President does not. That is why he says to blame the Tea Party (Congress) not the President while also saying that during the Bush years we should blame the Democrats (Congress) and not Bush.
That assumption, however is flat out wrong. The President wields the bully pulpit. The President is the leader of the free world.
Wow, this Jurgensmeyer character is saying it's everybody else's fault to what the bad things Obama does except Obama himself. Now that's the very definition of what's it like to have blinders on... But I also disagree with David Sirota. The "lesser of two evils" mentality on politics has existed for a very very long time now...
I love how no one is interrupting anyone, no one is screaming, no one is repeating the same 3 words over and over verbatim... now, I'm not saying that republicans are uncivilized, stupid cunts or anything like that... but there are no republicans in this debate. Jus' sayin'.
The Dems had the congress and lost it. How much did they accomplish then? These are nothing but excuses. Obama is a traitor and a war criminal, little different than Bush. The Prez is nothing but a corporate front man that has been groomed by wall street. Jurgensmeyer is naive.
All these arguments are bullshit! Fact: Obama promised change, and did more of the same time after time. Fact: If Obama wasn't elected, McCain would have done the exact same thing, or possibly worse.
My thoughts about it all: DON'T VOTE! It's not about apathy. It's not about giving up. It's about standing up and saying to the powers that be that THESE CANDIDATES ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, AND I WILL NOT STAND BEHIND ANY OF THEM!!!
I think the Mark Jurgensmeyer forgets is that Obama had a dem congress he could have passed anything he wanted but yet he didn't really do any thing worth bragging about.
The problem is beyond obama.It is that those alike Mark Jurgensmeyer with such narrow and underdeveloped perspective are actually considered intellectuals in this nation. u hardly deserve a diploma if u actually think obama becoming a president is any better that sara pailin. I wish Cenk or Sirota would have asked him, how is it going to be different wehther Obama, Palin or any other republican becomes the president, if in the end of the day submission to republican policies is what u get
Its worse when someone who proclaims to be a progressive but is really a conservative than when someone is a crazy conservative does exactly what they say they will do.
One is a lie. One is insane. I rather be insane than be a lie.
@oillusions I should make it clear, just in case, that I found the professor to have no valid points...all he said was blame the tea party...that's it. Excuse anything Obama has done because of the tea party...such a pathetic argument.
@oillusions Throughout. Now show me where you disagree. Remember I'm talking about where Cenk/David successfully countered, not where you personally might know something they should have said.
Cenk are you actually arguing there that the Democrats ARE unified and it was just Obama's fault that he couldn't get anything done? Because if you look at the partisan votes, almost 99% of republicans vote along party lines, maybe 50% Democrats vote along party lines, the other 50% switches sides.
So while I agree that Obama has gone in the Opposite direction with many thing's he's done, I ALSO blame the tea party/republicans for being SO partisan and HALF the Democrats being TRAITORS.
@ChiTsumai I think because of what Bush&Cheney did in torture(?) or one of the other things they did, violated a treaty that a number of countries have together, and these countries are supposed to also under this treaty look into and investigate anything within their legal jurisdiction on that matter. So Obama's "not looking back" thing is breaking a global treaty which i believe is grounds for impeachment(?)
Well, it's pretty hard to just "blame the Tea Party" when our so-called 'Progressive', 'Democratic' president agrees with them wholeheartedly.
iShutEmUp 1 month ago
My choice:
1. Ron Paul
..
9. Obama
..
99 The Mormon
..
999 The crazy lady from Minnesota
saadasim 3 months ago in playlist More videos from TYTInterviews
David Sirota completely lost this argument. Geesh, talking forcefully and using over-the-top statements doesn't make your false arguments correct.
HyrbidHermit 5 months ago
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Perry/Rubio 2012. That's what America needs more than ever. Go back to Kenya Obama.
whpriol1 5 months ago in playlist Turk interview
@whpriol1 What does Kenya have to do with anything? Oh, I get it, you're one of those "birther" troll-morons who've had a psychotic break with reality. No problem.
OriginalTharios 5 months ago
The Onion headline following Obama's election 'Black Man Given the Worst Job in America' certainly holds true, and this was before the emergence of the so called Tea Party [ corporate funded know nothings who certainly voted for W. twice], whose rise to power in 2010 has essentially broken the system, as they are suicidal fools who cannot be reasoned with. Now it is time for Obama to say so, to describe them as they are and condemn them for their malevolent behavior.
molloyxx1 5 months ago
this is the kind of young turks I like.
ncp9one 5 months ago
that or blame progressives, explain that since the country was rooted in the bible and not the king James bible that is why Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. and if not kick the looney fucks back into obscurity with the republicans. with American sound money and 0% interest for infrastructure.
billhobin07 5 months ago
There is a reason you don't give in to hostage takers...once you give in they know how to get you to do it every time...
If we are going to be ruled by the tea party then whats it matter who is president?
Hexdoll 5 months ago
David Sirota FTW!
lisalck 5 months ago
Mark reminds me of a cry baby. When you are being dishonest then expect to be called dishonest.
cheddyrod 5 months ago
Most productive Congress? Joking right? Unless Sirota meant naming post offices and Libraries...
JohnMRay 6 months ago
I don't like David Sirota.
And no we don't need a third party.
We just need to take the democratic party back.
Mark Jurgensmeyer is right.
TOTCD 6 months ago
@TOTCD Well I hope you have a multimillion dollar bank account to buy the party back because thats what it's going to take.
nowaynohow26 5 months ago
If so-called progressives acted when the POTUS needed their support to push legislation maybe we'd have a public option. It is not his job to be the bodyguard, enforcer and Boss. The GOP knows how to stay on message and support one another and that is not the case with Dems. We cave in on each other all the time Who is standing behind him with a bat and chains when it is time to rumble? He needs back up doing some of the hard work that it'll take to win. No one wins or loses on their own
AmbitDiva 6 months ago
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As I see how a republic tries to function, I love my monarchy even more !
Quierotortilla 6 months ago
David Sirots is a dum fuck The Repubican and the Tea party are working together to bring down President Obama and America and making China mad at America and they thinking to go to war after America because of the Repubicans and Tea Party because they are playing game just because we have a black Prestident and for that reason Chain will make America theirs what some dun fucks the Repubicans and Tea party are be perpair to kiss your asses good bye, There will not be freedom no more.
sonofatiger 6 months ago
@BenjiREC I'll vote for Ron Paul when he advocates nationalizing big industry and the banks. Not before.
urpleurple 6 months ago
Guess what Professor Jurgensmeyer did after the interview? Take a look here....
watch?v=08S4poMGvwA
tunit20 6 months ago
Oh, and a third point: Tim Geithner? Ben Bernanke? Really? Was THAT the tea party's fault too?
And ... Guantanamo? Renditions? Massive deportations? Ignoring African American issues totally? Targeted assassinations? Totally cynical approach to Arab Spring?
That's ALL the tea party's fault?
I will NOT vote for Obama next time. Unless we stand up to his BS, change will always remain completely impossible.
urpleurple 6 months ago
Really interesting debate. I wish 2 points had been raised: 1. The massive influence of Wall St. on Obama and the Democrats (which undercuts any possibility of real change EVER); 2. Tea Party to blame? In the short term, yes; but remember Jon Stewart's bit about the journalist who questioned Obama about his lack of leverage on the debt ceiling issue LONG ago & O. just replied that he trusted Boehner's personal integrity ... or some shit like that. Truth is: O. caved from the start.
urpleurple 6 months ago
And obviously Obama is going to play the part of the rube, who can't get anything done because of opposition party obstructionism in order to win brownie points from his more empathetic/pacifist constituency. It's all bullshit. What the country gets in reality isn't ideological leadership from one side or the other, but corporatist dick.
argonaaut 6 months ago
Sirota just whooped that boy's ass. He seemed much better prepared with his answers. Oscarmayer, or whatever his name is, just proves that even analysts can fall for the obvious PR ploys that the govt plays on us. Doesn't he realize that the two party govt is basically an orchestration designed to keep the country ideologically divided? Obviously the republicans are going to hamstring Obama at every opportunity so they can win brownie points with their bigoted constituency.
argonaaut 6 months ago
WE NEED PRESIDENT SARAH PALIN FOR 8 YEARS. SHE WILL COMPLETELY FIX THIS WHOLE MESS AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
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Sirota and Jurgensmeyer are BOTH Sarah Palin's DICKLESS and BALLESS BITCHES and PUSSIES! Palin PWNS BOTH of these idiots and they BOTH will see their idol Obozo LOSE BADLY to Sarah Palin in 2012! Palin WILL be our next and greatest President of all times and UNITE it under a PALINIST CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE ideology!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
I love how politicians have turned our government into a war between parties instead peaceful debates on how to make our country better. All they care about is majority. Not mention the fact that most Americans have taken little care into how our country works and to stand for what they believe.
defspeed11 6 months ago
i love these debates
defspeed11 6 months ago
Team David Sirota. No one forced Obama to put Medicare on the table during the Debt Limit debate, abandon the Public Option, escalate Afghanistan and stay in Iraq, not prosecute any bankers. Obama has been willingly giving the GOP everything.
What difference would Perry and Bachmann be? At least it wouldn't be a Republican pushing for Republican policies not a Democrat.
GenTsoChicken1 6 months ago in playlist what
@GenTsoChicken1 The difference would an authoritarian religous zealot as President on top of everything else. From bad to worse, I believe.
gj804 6 months ago
@GenTsoChicken1 If Perry or Bachman gets elected you and every other progressive will be suicidal one year into their Presidency. You people want to cut off your nose to spite your face and it's incredibly stupid and irresponsible. BTW - name a republican who would've ended Don't Ask Don't Tell, pushed through any kind of Health Care reform or would have appointed 2 liberal Supreme Court Justices. Grow the fuck up already, you people are worse than children.
NewYorkCityUSA7 6 months ago 2
@NewYorkCityUSA7 He didn't PUSH sh!t down the drain.
Don't Ask Don't Tell - didn't do jack;
Health Care reform - reform?
Appointed 2 liberal Supreme Court Justices - LOL, true liberal firebrands.
He is just the "good cop" in a corporatist theater play for the masses.
hyperboreean 6 months ago
@NewYorkCityUSA7
This country will be SO MUCH BETTER WITHOUT PROGRESSOS! When Palin inevitably becomes President, Progressivism WILL GO EXTINCT! THIS IS TRULY A CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE NATION!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
@ecwaufisxtreme I know your stupid / mentally ill mind can't comprehend this but Sarah Palin will NEVER be the President of the United States. I find it both funny and sad that you probably actually believe your own comments. I don't know if this is a failure of your parents, the school you went to or if you're just bat shit crazy, probably a combination of the 3.
NewYorkCityUSA7 6 months ago
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@NewYorkCityUSA7
WRONG! Sarah Palin WILL be President for it is the ORDER and EDICT of GOD HERSELF! Palin IS GOD's CHOSEN ONE! There IS NOTHING you can do about it.
ecwaufisxtreme 5 months ago
Sirota owned Jurgenmeyer.
lukegreen37 6 months ago 2
@lukegreen37
Palin PWNS BOTH Sirota and Jurgenmeyer. She will COMPLETELY DEBUNK and DISCREDIT BOTH OF THESE ASS-CLOWNS and EXPOSE THEIR PUSSIES!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Weinergate - Breitbart Is A Fraud...my favorite youngturk video!!! i recommend everyone watch it!
i watch it once a week!!!
PatricksTime 6 months ago
"I don't know what's in Obama's head and I don't really care. It's the Tea Party's fault." Isn't that the point of the debate, why is Obama siding with Reps so much? That sounds like a Tea Party saying, "I don't care what's in Bush's head, I know it's the 'libs'" fault!". Ignoring the facts doesn't make your views truth.
MonkeyBallZ214 6 months ago
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MonkeyBallZ214 6 months ago
The Military Industrial Complex will do anything to keep making $. Even if it means if more soldiers killed in battle,the American working class people remains jobless,and the American economy is in the shitter.
98bigbutt 6 months ago
@98bigbutt
When Palin becomes POTUS, the economy will boom and everybody will have a job. We WILL have ZERO unemployment!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
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98bigbutt 6 months ago
This economic crisis isn't really Obama's fault,but at the same time he didn't do anything to help the economic crisis either. Change my ass!!!!!!!!!!!
98bigbutt 6 months ago
@98bigbutt
IT IS OBOZO's FAULT NOW! ONLY PRESIDENT SARAH PALIN WILL CHANGE THE SYSTEM AND SAVE OUR ECONOMY WITH PALINOMICS!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
no more excuses for Obama. he is a coward sellout right wing republican in progressive clothing. Obama has had plenty of time and opportunities to stand with progressives, he has turned his back on his base every single time! Its time to put out collective time, energy, money and support to a legitimate 3rd party candidate for 2012!!!
jumar1281 6 months ago
@jumar1281
No you vote and elect Sarah Palin FOR REAL CHANGE and she will COMPLETELY ROOT OUT all the CORPORATE CORRUPTION OUT of DC!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
I just don't get this Professor Jergensmeyer guy, or however you spell his name. Unless the Democrats have a super-super majority they're simply forced to give Republicans more than 100% of what they want?
devourerofbabies 6 months ago
@devourerofbabies yes, that is more or less what he's saying. Fortunately, it needs no coherence because it's the mainstream position.
Brandt761 6 months ago
@Brandt761 Ah. I was wondering why the coherence was missing.
devourerofbabies 6 months ago
@devourerofbabies of course, as soon as the democrats have a super-super majority, that won't be enough anymore.
Brandt761 5 months ago
@Derekrife yeah but he wasn't absent from the political scene his whole life. Obviously! He was in the house a senator and even vice president before he was president. At one point mlk's dad campaigned for him because he thought he was going to support civil rights.
dfg93353 6 months ago
mark is right in his first analogy in that we SHOULD be blaming the tea party and republicans for what they're doing, but progressives want OBAMA and the DEMOCRATS to do that blaming, in order to get better deals and win political fights over policy.
crayyawn 6 months ago
They'll elect a Republican, sure, but everyone will see how badly they screwed up the country, and end up electing another Democrat... or the dumb public will think everything is fine and dandy and keep the shit storm going.
If only America had more good honest people. The Democrats aren't as organized and focused/vicious as Republicans, it's a battle that's almost impossible to win unless we all man the fuck up and stand up for what we believe in.
Brudof 6 months ago
@Brudof
The DEMS are going to GO EXTINCT and we will have a 1 party PURIFIED GOP govt lead by Sarah Palin and run entirely by WHITE CONSERVATIVE WOMEN!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
I don't like either argument, I think Obama is just weak, however I think Jurgensmeyer had a poor argument.
Gold21030 6 months ago
I'm confused. Should we hold Obama accountable for his failures, sure. Can we effectively do that, no. It's just this simple...the Democratic party will back Obama, period. An independent candidate has absolutely ZERO chance of winning. Any of the Republican candidates would simply destroy the country outright.
(con't)
OriginalTharios 6 months ago
So...what do you really think you're going to do? If you don't vote at all, you're effectively voting Republican. If you vote for any sub-party candidate, you're effectively voting republican. If you vote Republican, you're an idiot. The only rational choice is to vote for Obama again, no matter how bad he's screwed up.
There's really nothing else to discuss unless we plan on a total overthrow finally.
OriginalTharios 6 months ago
@OriginalTharios OR.... we could vote 3rd party en masse and really shake things up. Regardless of which side of the political spectrum, tons of people are upset with Obama, and nobody is impressed with anyone in congress. The 3rd party doesn't necessarily have to win; it just needs to get enough support that neither a (D) or (R) candidate can get 50%+ of the votes. If they don't get that, they don't get elected.
MajorHickE 6 months ago
@MajorHickE Here's the rub....people are far too divided for that. Even the conservatives are divided amongst themselves, but they have enough common ground that they can win the election. Progressives of all stripes are massively divided though. They're just hundreds of tiny, meaningless groups with no momentum. At best, roughly 1/3 can be said to be Obama loyalists who will support him even harder if he's challenged. 1/3 oppose him, and 1/3 are indifferent...roughly anyway.
OriginalTharios 6 months ago
@OriginalTharios Because of all that, there's just no way to organize any kind of effort that will actually shake anything up. The system has always been flawed, but now it's broken, and it degrades more every term. I really doubt it can be fixed at all at this point. If that's the case, it's time for replacement.
OriginalTharios 6 months ago
@OriginalTharios Honestly, at this point I'd take fractured support over multiple parties to what we have now. The hardliners will always support the major parties, sure, but it seems fairly certain at this point that so-called independents aren't particularly thrilled with either of said parties. It seems to me that many people would be more inclined to vote for the Green or Whig parties (for example) if they knew more about them, hard as that is with (D) and (R) ads saturating major media.
MajorHickE 6 months ago
@OriginalTharios to argue in such a way is, I believe, to accept your final defeat, the realization that you can do absolutely nothing to prevent whatever fate may come. Conratulations.
Brandt761 6 months ago
@Brandt761 Not really. I did offer one viably final option that you seem to have overlooked.
As I just mentioned for a second time above, when something is too broken to be fixed, scrap it and replace it.
At this point, scrapping and replacing the current corrupt system and everyone entrenched in it is equally as difficult and expensive as it would be to repair that system and teach all of its supporters a proper lesson.
OriginalTharios 6 months ago
@OriginalTharios Í think you're underestimating how hard it is to scrap and replace a system that everyone is used to, and mostly invested in. You know how miserable people have to be for them to participate in that?
Brandt761 5 months ago
@Brandt761 Pretty miserable. But that has nothing to do with anything. In terms of actual cost and risk, we are currently at a point where the risks and costs of scrapping our current system and starting over are at least near-equal to that of fixing enough of the current system to make it functional again. The willingness of people to do what needs to be done is a separate concern altogether.
My opinion is that they'll never be willing, and the whole human race will die.
OriginalTharios 5 months ago
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Brandt761 6 months ago
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@OriginalTharios
Obozo is destined to LOSE to Sarah Palin. Your vote for Obozo is FUTILE! PALIN WILL BE OUR NEXT AND GREATEST PRESIDENT! SHE IS OUR SAVIOR AND MESSIAH AND BRING SALVATION TO THE THIS COUNTRY! SHE WILL BRING US TO THE PROMISED PALIN LAND!
ecwaufisxtreme 6 months ago
DAMN!!! Sirota is not playing.
gogitasan 6 months ago 2
I loved de Marihuana reference at 0:46
ilotitto 6 months ago
WE NEED A VIABLE PROGRESSIVE THIRD PARTY
dbloch6592 6 months ago 36
@dbloch6592 Get them full ballot access and a place in the debates. The other thing you will need is the support of equal or more concentrated capital, because that is the main determinant of election outcomes as per the investment rule of politics.
The system is designed to favor rich right wingers who want to privatize everything except for your tax money, which they will happily take from their buddies in government. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor.
PurpleHoneyBear 5 months ago in playlist More videos from TYTInterviews
I now have a huge crush on David Sirota.
rockrgirl01 6 months ago
Once again, the exact same tired argument that it's either a horrible republican or supporting Obama. I'm sick and tired of the false dichotomy between an ill-educated religious bigot and a properly-educated person with absolutely no backbone and defers to the bigot.
Guess what? There is a third option. Fuck them both and vote for a candidate who will actually represent the people.
xxFortunadoxx 6 months ago 10
@xxFortunadoxx who exactly do you have in mind?
as2711 5 months ago
@as2711 None at the moment. I was speaking rhetorically.
Just about any independent that will run for president would probably fall under that category. Specifically someone who hasn't already run for office prior to announcing his candidacy.
xxFortunadoxx 5 months ago
Can't we blame both?
bungerman1000 6 months ago
I'm done with Democracy in it's present form. We're all being played for suckers and raped in the ass. It's amazing that this professor wrote an entire book while being so fucking clueless.
Asymmatrix 6 months ago 3
Sure the tea baggers are thieves and killers, but Obama is opening all the doors and windows of his house and inviting and begging the baggers in to rob him.
dizzymasekela 6 months ago
So basically, my theory of how Obama has gotten to be where/who he is is that his entire life the people he has needed to appease (i.e., college professors, employers, etc) have been like Prof. Jurgensmeyer--well-meaning liberals who consume his narrative completely uncritically.
coopclauson 6 months ago
Jurgensmeyer made some good points, I admit.
CarlosIsDown 6 months ago
@CarlosIsDown He is a douche..
Arperture2008 6 months ago
Conbama needs to go, there is another choice and his name is Ron Paul, get over it TYT, just because he is Republican does not mean he agrees with the hurd of conservatives like all the other clowns in their respective party. Or like TYT viewers who want their fake Democrat to stay..
Arperture2008 6 months ago
David Sirota, Amen....
MsMajikmaker 6 months ago 29
@MsMajikmaker
We need more progressives like Sirota.
PatriotTax 6 months ago 3
vote for Bachman and let her win. show the ppl what "good" she brings.
Sometimes ppl need a slap in the face to wake up
Doan84 6 months ago
AAAAHHHH!!! Mr. Sirota! NAILED IT!!!!
TheEricKnudsen 6 months ago
This discussion needs Glenn Greenwald in it.
HannuMarijarvi 6 months ago
I hope Rick Perry becomes president so that they will fuck up the country so bad that we will never again see a republican president for the next 10 000 years.
sensur1 6 months ago
@sensur1 Everyone said that about bush too
squirrelywrath2 6 months ago
I'd rather see President Perry and Vice President Bachmann. At least Republicans would then own Republican policies.
clownpenisfart 6 months ago
Gee, I don't get how, people will equate hitting the debt ceiling with default.
that sounds more like Obama holding a gun to his head.
How many have told there banker
"Don't let me borrow more or I'll file chapter 11"
Have fun with that!
Salvysahagun 6 months ago
Dear Cenk... you forget that as long as politicians are bought, it's not a proper democracy and will ALWAYS favour the right-wing.
e.g. Rick Perry was a Democrat. Do you really think the Democratic party is to the left of Obama and sides entirely with justice? Don't make me laugh.
On the other hand, Obama IS afraid to let the hostage takers kill the hostages, which is his entire weakness. What Obama doesn't understand is that "Go ahead, make my day" would've brought a better outcome.
TheNavigateur 6 months ago
"We don't want to see Rick Perry...[or] Michelle Bachmann as the next president of the United States."
Ok NOW who's holding the gun to our heads?
aaronpolitical 6 months ago
David is exactly right, of course. Specifically on the debt ceiling, a journalist (can you believe it?) alerted Obama to the FACT that the Pugs were going to hold the country hostage over the debt ceiling. He warned him over SIX MONTHS before the debt ceiling debate.
What was Obama's response? He said "oh, they're not going to do that". David is exactly right.
aaronpolitical 6 months ago
The tea party is partly a result of Obamas inability to lead. They were non existent in the 2008 election except for some birthers, racists and gun toting libertarians.
CognosSquare 6 months ago
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The US has become a nation of pure hypocrite shit !
Quierotortilla 6 months ago
I admire Mark Jurgensmeyer. It requires a lot of skill and discipline to self-delude yourself to defend Obama.
MastermindX 6 months ago
@MastermindX I couldn't agree more. The guy is like a giant excuse factory. He has an excuse for everything
AmishRakeFight85 6 months ago
Jurgensmeyer - Obama apologist. i wouldn't be surprised if he's also a creationist. he seems to think that the things Obama says are more valid than the things Obama does.
JBrianBooks 6 months ago
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JBrianBooks 6 months ago
Dear Root of the Problem,
Our politicians are like a dirty diaper, apparently they need to be changed more often. If you love this country and find yourself in congress longer than 8 years.....get the fuck out. Career politicians make me sick.
Sincerely,
Sick and Tired (of being sick and tired)
gobblegobblechew 6 months ago
@gobblegobblechew I wonder whether it wouldn't be a good idea to legislate holding them to their campaign promises.
devourerofbabies 6 months ago
@devourerofbabies
I dont think they would legislate against their own interests.
Let me ask you a question. Do you think the government would function if every elected official right now was replaced with fresh elected officials? Also do you think that career politicians are the reason why lobbyists have such a powerful hold on our government?
gobblegobblechew 6 months ago
@gobblegobblechew You're right, they would never do it because they want to break their campaign promises. I was just wondering whether it would be a good idea in theory. 1. No. 2. No. While I do think that politicians become more jaded with the passage of time, I don't think that "freshness" is a guarantor against corruption. The problem is campaign money and revolving doors, not how long they've been there.
devourerofbabies 6 months ago
@devourerofbabies so whats the difference between someone like you running for office and the people who are there now, assuming you would stick to your campaign speeches? If you think you would fall into the same trap then what would be the solution to the corruption?
gobblegobblechew 6 months ago
@gobblegobblechew It's not that I think I would fall into the same trap, it's that the system self-selects for money grubbing assholes because the whole political system revolves around money. I think if you were to get me and several other potential candidates together, the donors would back the campaign of the one they're sure will play ball. I would never get backed. Then after their single term in office, our fresh ex-politician is given a job as a "consultant" to ACME inc. or whoever.
devourerofbabies 6 months ago
@devourerofbabies
so if we removed campaign contributions the system would fix itself, or is their something more?
gobblegobblechew 6 months ago
@gobblegobblechew I made a second post but it didn't seem to go through. In short: public and ONLY public funding of campaigns, a ban on all lobbying, and a moratorium for all officials on going to work for corporations they're meant to be overseeing. I would also like to see the end of corporate personhood, or even the end of corporations altogether.
devourerofbabies 6 months ago
You should never allow the Republicans' reaction to something dictate what your policies are, since their reaction will be the exact same apocalyptic reaction of our life coming to an end, even if the change in policy were minor. Republicans had all three branches of government in 2005, and did exactly what they wanted. The reason that Democratic pols get bend so easily even when they are right, is because they refuse to proudly advocate their policies.
gj804 6 months ago
@gj804 Maybe. I think a lot of them want what republicans want and use them for cover.
devourerofbabies 6 months ago
Wow, David really made awesome points. His wrap-up was brilliant.
Marks final word, on the contrary, contradicted itself. They blew it so blame the tea party? That makes no sense. They blew it and they blew it on purpose. They are all to blame, both parties. If the Republican party suddenly ceased to exist, I'm convinced the Democrats would be doing exactly the same thing and blaming it on corporations, unions, terrorists, anything they could.
TheGiantRobot 6 months ago
Mark Jurgensmeyer - pathetic liar.
chmielluk144 6 months ago
Hey Mark, Obama had a filibuster proof congress and didn't do shit for the masses. He only cares for his rich buddies and corporations.
kennhey 6 months ago
So True [R]Pres.Obama is not a Democrat,I agree all his Policies so far have been Republican Ideas.yeah!he promise Progressive & Democratic agendas.but that was all show.but these current Crop of Republicans have shown their true colors,they don't want to work with a Black Guy no matter what if that means destroying the country & blame it on him,so let it be.they are no longer Republicans but as I have named them The Nationalist Puritan Party aka Puritans.
CmdrSloanne 6 months ago
lol, it took one statement from sirota to bring jurgensmeyer to the "american democracy dosent work" excuse, ie "do you want a republican"
dont blame me, i voted for kang.
Andorage 6 months ago
Jurgensmeyer got OWNED by Sirota!
gregaaron89 6 months ago
can it ever be weak if it is a SUPER majority?
spaik007 6 months ago
this post was fantastic. a great debate with a master moderator. good job cenk
MpowerdAPE 6 months ago
if i were one of the top rich people in us, i would spend my money on a bat suit and stop the republicans
spaik007 6 months ago
HOPE in one hand, BUSH in the other, CHANGE of nothing....both parties are in bed with the U.S. CORPORATION IMF, UCC, puppet masters....
There is no Constitutional rule of law....the U.S. CORPORATION is ADMIRALTY LAW pretending to be something other than the BAR-BRITISH ACCREDITATION REGISTRY ...scam.
Try looking up your fave "gov/dept" on DUN&BRAD STREET CORP rating site..then the CAFR report online. Grow up and learn
Time to WTFU....after this puppet *sshole, it's obvious your disillusion.
IronRangeSurvival 6 months ago
I don't want to see Rick heavy Republican or Obama republican light as president.
mrx0066600 6 months ago
Marks opening statement is BS, if Obama can repulse republican attempts to make him look weak with two-thirds control of government (not to mention three-thirds control before the midterms) then he IS waek, and should not be president
IVscythia 6 months ago
So for Mark Jurg........ there is no other choice but Obama ? I think all liberal want a liberal president but just not Obama !
Melpheos1er 6 months ago
(continued)... We all know that the crime is the fault of the criminals and the Robbers/Republicans should be held accountable for their actions. But we do elect the Commissioner/President into office to keep us safe, and if they fail to do so, they should also be held accountable.
jamesjedd 6 months ago
The Professor's Analogy is wrong... He is trying to say that the Rep's are the Robbers and the Residents being held hostage represent Obama... However in that Analogy there is a 3rd silent character... The Police Commissioner, in reality he represents Obama and the Residents represent the American people, whom are being held hostage by the Robbers/Republicans but because the Police Commissioner/Obama is a wimp, Crime/Corruption in that Neighbourhood/Country has spiralled out of control.
jamesjedd 6 months ago
I'm so glad I voted for a third party.
tiberianfiend 6 months ago
2minutes and 15 seconds in, and I can already tell David Sirota is a liar. Didn't take long. Anyone who considers this to be an effective and successful administration is an idiot. The amount of stonewalling by the GOP has set records. Who knows that the GOP denied Obama's request for the money required to close Guantanamo, like he campaigned? Obama will be blamed for not following through on campaign promises, when he's been stopped repeatedly (another eg. the watered-down health bill).
OrthodoxAtheist 6 months ago
@OrthodoxAtheist How does it cost money to close a place down? If they wont give you a lump sum, just move everyone out slowly with the monthly budget, then when nobody is left, turn the lights out.
shraka 6 months ago
@shraka Obama chose not to veto a defense authorization bill "because of the important military funding it contained", but the bill also contained a poison pill for his efforts to close Guantanamo - Congress restricted the executive branch from using taxpayer money to bring Guantanamo detainees to the United States or transfer them to foreign countries. Do you simply suggest we set them all free, despite some of them (most likely the vast minority) being detained for good cause?
OrthodoxAtheist 6 months ago
@OrthodoxAtheist I suggest Obama not undermine his own initiatives like an idiot. However, considering Gitmo breaks the Geneva convention on treatment of POWs and American laws on detaining people under both those system I do believe you're actually required to let them go as due process hasn't been observed. I know that wont be done tho, 'cuz we don't stick to our own ideology. What I would like is western countries (including mine) to stop acting like the arseholes they're protecting us from.
shraka 6 months ago
@OrthodoxAtheist Are you dumb? Do you understand english? Sirota never said it was effective nad successful for the good of the country, he said that it has been a very busy admin and congress but all for the detriment of the country. And that Obama has always sided with the republicans and never have fought back. Pathetic they way you think.
mrmijunte10 6 months ago
@mrmijunte10 Don't get your panties in a twist! He actually used the word 'productive'. Had he used the word 'busy' instead, I would've given him more of a chance to speak. He also didn't acknowledge the large number of positive bills that have been shot down by the Republican party (so he's not a GOP lapdog entirely), for example: closing Guantanamo Bay, a real health care bill with government option, and other majority-focused bills that were refused by the GOP without even reading them.
OrthodoxAtheist 6 months ago
@mrmijunte10 Instead of reading the headlines, perhaps you should read the bills, their drafts, progression and opposition, instead of believing the "Obama is a secret Republican" bullsh*t clearly prevalent in your favorite 'news' sites. Good day, sir. I said GOOD DAY. :D
OrthodoxAtheist 6 months ago
How the hell did this guy become a professor at UCSB? He just ignored everything David said and deflected everything onto the tea party. The dude got humiliated big time, he had nothing in response to David's simple points.
MrTomPeters 6 months ago
Did you know John f Kennedy LBJ and Nixon all told Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to sit down and shut up. Did MLK sit down. HE'LL NO HE DIDN'T! He took it to them.
dfg93353 6 months ago 30
@dfg93353 MLK died before NIxon became president.
Derekrife 6 months ago
@dfg93353 HELL NO!
Brandt761 6 months ago
@dfg93353,I didn't know they said that to him.
98bigbutt 6 months ago
My stance is that both were right and wrong. Jurgensmeyer was right about how the Tea Party and the GOP are destroying the country and trying to undermine the president while Sirota was right about how the president himself was not fully wielding his presidential powers and just rolling over to the Repubicans.
NaziGOPBallmer 6 months ago
I would like a TYT show where two conservatives debate each other. It would be.......interesting.
TadaHanJan 6 months ago
David Sirota, FTW
painintheauss 6 months ago
We need to break the damn cycle of voting for this stupid politicians im not voting for Obama in 2012 im not voting Every politician is bought and paid for it's all bullshit folks it's bad for you
jrjdm86 6 months ago
I find it funny that people think that ANY of the republicans running for president, even have a chance of winning... they don't Obama has more money than all of them combined and the most money wins period...
phoboskitty 6 months ago
i think I understand (and disagree) with the premise of the Professor. He is saying that the Congress has most of the power and the President does not. That is why he says to blame the Tea Party (Congress) not the President while also saying that during the Bush years we should blame the Democrats (Congress) and not Bush.
That assumption, however is flat out wrong. The President wields the bully pulpit. The President is the leader of the free world.
We need a liberal Bush!
GO TYT
23albanian 6 months ago
Mark Jurgensmeyer is an idiot.
patrickcorliss 6 months ago
Wow, this Jurgensmeyer character is saying it's everybody else's fault to what the bad things Obama does except Obama himself. Now that's the very definition of what's it like to have blinders on... But I also disagree with David Sirota. The "lesser of two evils" mentality on politics has existed for a very very long time now...
ChameleonLost88 6 months ago
@ChameleonLost88 I think Sirota is trying to say that the "lesser of two evils" is eventually a race to the bottom.
Ou8y2k2 6 months ago
I love how no one is interrupting anyone, no one is screaming, no one is repeating the same 3 words over and over verbatim... now, I'm not saying that republicans are uncivilized, stupid cunts or anything like that... but there are no republicans in this debate. Jus' sayin'.
dagrimmreepa 6 months ago
complete bullshit, the democrats don't even try and were supposed to just roll over.
wolfwing1 6 months ago
The Dems had the congress and lost it. How much did they accomplish then? These are nothing but excuses. Obama is a traitor and a war criminal, little different than Bush. The Prez is nothing but a corporate front man that has been groomed by wall street. Jurgensmeyer is naive.
Mahoivlich 6 months ago
All these arguments are bullshit! Fact: Obama promised change, and did more of the same time after time. Fact: If Obama wasn't elected, McCain would have done the exact same thing, or possibly worse.
My thoughts about it all: DON'T VOTE! It's not about apathy. It's not about giving up. It's about standing up and saying to the powers that be that THESE CANDIDATES ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, AND I WILL NOT STAND BEHIND ANY OF THEM!!!
darkridr25 6 months ago
I think the Mark Jurgensmeyer forgets is that Obama had a dem congress he could have passed anything he wanted but yet he didn't really do any thing worth bragging about.
snowpred 6 months ago
The problem is beyond obama.It is that those alike Mark Jurgensmeyer with such narrow and underdeveloped perspective are actually considered intellectuals in this nation. u hardly deserve a diploma if u actually think obama becoming a president is any better that sara pailin. I wish Cenk or Sirota would have asked him, how is it going to be different wehther Obama, Palin or any other republican becomes the president, if in the end of the day submission to republican policies is what u get
hobbaja 6 months ago
Its worse when someone who proclaims to be a progressive but is really a conservative than when someone is a crazy conservative does exactly what they say they will do.
One is a lie. One is insane. I rather be insane than be a lie.
TheDethBringer666 6 months ago
Jurgensmeyer trying to straighten the bend on that arc of history candidate Obama was always talking about.
nycityzen 6 months ago
this is exactly what Ralph Nader said in 2000,2004, 2008.....
Yayoballer 6 months ago
@ChiTsumai Yeah, Impeach Michelle Bachmann
RumbleHD 6 months ago
I was on Cenk + David's side but the professor won this debate hands down. A lot of changing the subject from Cenk + David.
SelfImmolator 6 months ago
@SelfImmolator Absolutely wrong.
ItsMeDauntless 6 months ago
@ItsMeDauntless If you've got time, point out one point in the video where the professor's point is successfully countered by Cenk or David.
SelfImmolator 6 months ago
@SelfImmolator You know what would be faster? Pointing out where the professor was correct and where Cenk and/or David was incorrect.
oillusions 6 months ago
@oillusions I should make it clear, just in case, that I found the professor to have no valid points...all he said was blame the tea party...that's it. Excuse anything Obama has done because of the tea party...such a pathetic argument.
oillusions 6 months ago
@oillusions Throughout. Now show me where you disagree. Remember I'm talking about where Cenk/David successfully countered, not where you personally might know something they should have said.
SelfImmolator 6 months ago
that professor isn't used to be getting interrupted.
bootypicture 6 months ago
Cenk are you actually arguing there that the Democrats ARE unified and it was just Obama's fault that he couldn't get anything done? Because if you look at the partisan votes, almost 99% of republicans vote along party lines, maybe 50% Democrats vote along party lines, the other 50% switches sides.
So while I agree that Obama has gone in the Opposite direction with many thing's he's done, I ALSO blame the tea party/republicans for being SO partisan and HALF the Democrats being TRAITORS.
PyROphantasie 6 months ago 2
@ChiTsumai I think because of what Bush&Cheney did in torture(?) or one of the other things they did, violated a treaty that a number of countries have together, and these countries are supposed to also under this treaty look into and investigate anything within their legal jurisdiction on that matter. So Obama's "not looking back" thing is breaking a global treaty which i believe is grounds for impeachment(?)
Also going around congress with Libya.
but that is from memory and likely wrong.
SilvoKnight 6 months ago
Its not Just the HD, they stepped the lighting way up. I bet