Comments on: Obama vs. Boehner: this is how a narcissist responds to disagreement

By: RickZ

RickZ — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:54:45 +0000

So if their health care reform bills fail to pass, they will actually have been stopped by the votes of the people of Massachusetts, a predominantly Democratic state. Way to slather on that understatement!

By: Oblio

Oblio — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:41:46 +0000

The Republicans are starting to act like they know how to play the game. Hank Paulson’s book–excerpted earlier this week in the WSJ–tells how the Democrats blackjacked poor old John McCain during the TARP negotiations, playing for political spin while he thought he was going to show statesmanship and rise above petty gamesmanship. Obama played the role of spokesman for the Democrats.

Clearly, Obama’s handlers think it is going to be “deja vu all over again,” in the words of the great Yogi Berra. Their mistake, which we can add to the list.

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:05:04 +0000

Tom the Redhunter: actually, health care reform bills passed both House and Senate without Republicans (except for one Republican vote in the House that would not have even occurred if the bill weren’t passing anyway). So Republicans didn’t stop the bills, although they would have if they could have.

It was the Democrats’ failure to pass identical bills in both House and Senate that caused the problem, and the timing of the Massachusetts election, which occurred before the bills could be merged. If Brown had not been elected, it’s not certain the Democrats would have been successful, but they certainly might have been. So if their health care reform bills fail to pass, they will actually have been stopped by the votes of the people of Massachusetts, a predominantly Democratic state.

By: Tom the Redhunter

Tom the Redhunter — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:38:30 +0000

Incredibly, I see this Obama(and other Democrats)-as-victim all the time on the liberal blogs. They’re convinced that the only reason their healthcare didn’t pass is because of the Republicans. Pointing out their sizable majorities in both houses of Congress doesn’t dissuade them. I’m not sure what to make of it.

By: SteveH

SteveH — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:49:11 +0000

John Boehner addressed this problem not too long ago about a percieved lack of drive in republicans at getting their point across…Something like..”Republicans come out of Rotary Clubs and Democrats come out of union halls. One has a fundamentally more confrontational personality than the other”.

By: expat

expat — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:08:40 +0000

I think the Republicans could make some points in a session with Obama. They could point out that they have spent a lot of time listening to their constituents and they take their concerns seriously: The people don’t want an enormous law that will irrevocably change our health care system. They want us to remedy specific problems and do it in a way that we can modify our solutions should the need arise. These are the biggest problems our constituents are having and these are our proposals to address them. To do more at this point only adds instability to an economy that is trying to find its legs. The people do not trust this enormous piece of legislation because they don’t believe their representatives have even read it, much less evaluated its effects. They have heard of problems with the health care systems n other countries. Why has no one been able to assure the people that your plan avoids these problem? Why can’t we go a little more slowly and a lot more surely?

By: Artfldgr

Artfldgr — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:45:25 +0000

There seems to be a curious asymmetry in the psychology of left and right. Leftists appear not to admit of the possibility that someone could in good faith possibly disagree with them.

its the difference between one side who is faking it and another side that is trying to actually get to brass tacks.

the fakers are cargo cult, and so they see the world and think everone is faking it like them. they are terrified of unbounded productivity, as they think no ones driving “we will all die”. they think that its the rules and regulations that guide other fakers not to walk off a cliff the way a blind person would if there was no rail (and he had no skill).

so when you put the two together, you get a unfair unfair from one side. its like a school yard where they are supposed to be pretending to agree to get something… but here is one being mean and talking all this stuff they dont understand. since everyone is faking, they are just being mean and faking this attack thing forcing people to choose, etc.

even if you gave them the points of the issues they have spent their whole life taking shortcuts to take up a place higher than they would otherwise have if there wasnt this skill at faking it, another skill at deflecting what would get you caught, and membership in a club that helps you get a free pass.

by the way. such people suffer a dearth of any evidence in their life of actual success or acheivement. they may have awards and honors, but little to show for it other than some adulation of others.

they also surround themselves with others like them so that none will call each other to the mat on such. in this way they are used to shaping the reality of others around them to get by without having to really produce at the same level.

they hate those that call them out in any way and break up the harmony and the enjoyment of the same feeling they think that others have in an honest position. (for them faking sucess is what real success feels like. a win through cheating still feels like a win and counts, etc).

By: JohnC

JohnC — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:22:44 +0000

… . . this is how a narcissist responds to disagreement. We have 3 more years of this! As Richard Fernandez argues in his latest PJM post, we can expect the left to pose all sorts of overtures toward conciliation in governing now, but that’s just it – – its posing. What they really want to do is to rule. Obama just can’t contain himself. The drive to rule shows.

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:19:57 +0000

Jim Sullivan: Yes, absolutely a typo. Thanks; I’ll fix it.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:02:42 +0000

Obama’s personality quirks aside, its important the republicans get their message out or they’ll look like the bad guys.

It’s just a joke to discuss the existing bill vs. starting over. Can’t graft our ideas onto theirs to turn healthcare into a regulated utility run by the government. We’ll start over and talk in good faith, but Obama is not interested in that….