Why did obama not run his jobs bill through while he had a democratic congress?

[MrMindSpeaker]

It puzzles me as to why Obama did not do all the things he is telling america must be done while he had the chance!

all we hear from him anymore is how the congress wont pas his bill and that america must have this bill to pull out of the slump we are in.

i remember when he passed his stimulus and made all these promises as to what it would do for the economy and now we know none of his predictions were right!

so it makes me wonder does Obama really want to get any bills passed at all, or is this just a tactic to run against a do nothing congress instead of running against the economy like the GOP is going to try and make it?

 

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I think Obama wanted the legislators to hammer out compromises that represented the electorate rather than to push thru a partisan agenda. If he gets re-elected in 2012 and gets a Dem majority in 2012 (and given the single digit approval rating of GOPs in Congress he may), I doubt he will be so open to compromise. Since the GOP effectively shut-down the government in the last two years and the American people have made it crystal clear they don't approve of this, I believe the Democrats will see this as a mandate to get the job done if the people turn out a lot of Republican in Congress. I also expect several long-term Congressmen on the Democratic side to lose their party's nomination.

 

[AdamT]

It puzzles me as to why Obama did not do all the things he is telling america must be done while he had the chance!

all we hear from him anymore is how the congress wont pas his bill and that america must have this bill to pull out of the slump we are in.

i remember when he passed his stimulus and made all these promises as to what it would do for the economy and now we know none of his predictions were right!

so it makes me wonder does Obama really want to get any bills passed at all, or is this just a tactic to run against a do nothing congress instead of running against the economy like the GOP is going to try and make it?

A lot has changed since the Republicans took the House, and not for the good. Between the debt limit debacle and the contagion from the European debt crisis, the economy slumped and the need for additional stimulus became evident. And in any case, he still would have found it difficult or impossible to get the 60 votes that are now required to pass anything in the Senate.

 

[Objective Voice]

It puzzles me as to why Obama did not do all the things he is telling america must be done while he had the chance!

all we hear from him anymore is how the congress wont pas his bill and that america must have this bill to pull out of the slump we are in.

i remember when he passed his stimulus and made all these promises as to what it would do for the economy and now we know none of his predictions were right!

so it makes me wonder does Obama really want to get any bills passed at all, or is this just a tactic to run against a do nothing congress instead of running against the economy like the GOP is going to try and make it?

It appears your argument is that he's only doing this now because it feeds a political agenda. But the way I see it, President Obama's push for hiring public servants (police, firefighters, teachers) and focusing on infrastructure projects and urban development hasn't changed. He made the same arguments to pass the Stimulus Bill. His American Jobs Plan is no different.

 

[MrMindSpeaker]

It appears your argument is that he's only doing this now because it feeds a political agenda. But the way I see it, President Obama's push for hiring public servants (police, firefighters, teachers) and focusing on infrastructure projects and urban development hasn't changed. He made the same arguments to pass the Stimulus Bill. His American Jobs Plan is no different.

im not arguing that is so, im wondering if it is!

here is another reason i wonder this.

usually when u want a bipartisan bill passed in congress you do you work , send it to the other side, and ask them to get back to you on what they can agree on.

you hammer all that out b4 the vote. what i see obama doing is saying here is a bill that i want passed im not changing anything and to pay for it we want the one thing we know you wont agree on.

im in the middle on this, im just stating how it looks to me

 

[misterman]

The stimulus bill was a jobs bill.

 

[Objective Voice]

im not arguing that is so, im wondering if it is!

here is another reason i wonder this.

usually when u want a bipartisan bill passed in congress you do you work , send it to the other side, and ask them to get back to you on what they can agree on.

you hammer all that out b4 the vote. what i see obama doing is saying here is a bill that i want passed im not changing anything and to pay for it we want the one thing we know you wont agree on.

im in the middle on this, im just stating how it looks to me

You'd be incorrect. Pres. Obama has said from the outset of presenting his jobs plan that if Congress believed they had ideas to improve his plan he'd be open to discussing them. The fact that Congress has approved certain parts of his plan indicates he has no problem with them passing it piece-mill.

 

[AdamT]

im not arguing that is so, im wondering if it is!

here is another reason i wonder this.

usually when u want a bipartisan bill passed in congress you do you work , send it to the other side, and ask them to get back to you on what they can agree on.

you hammer all that out b4 the vote. what i see obama doing is saying here is a bill that i want passed im not changing anything and to pay for it we want the one thing we know you wont agree on.

im in the middle on this, im just stating how it looks to me

Obama isn't in Congress -- he can't change anything once the bill is filed. All he can do is argue for the policy he favors. AFAIK he has never said that he wouldn't sign it if it wasn't exactly as he's proposed.

 

[justabubba]

It puzzles me as to why Obama did not do all the things he is telling america must be done while he had the chance!

all we hear from him anymore is how the congress wont pas his bill and that america must have this bill to pull out of the slump we are in.

i remember when he passed his stimulus and made all these promises as to what it would do for the economy and now we know none of his predictions were right!

so it makes me wonder does Obama really want to get any bills passed at all, or is this just a tactic to run against a do nothing congress instead of running against the economy like the GOP is going to try and make it?

yes, he squandered his mandate and the control of the congress
all in a misguided effort to effect bipartisan legislation
in short, he was too naive
his failure to act when the opportunity was ripe will diminish how history views his presidency

 

[MrMindSpeaker]

Obama isn't in Congress -- he can't change anything once the bill is filed. All he can do is argue for the policy he favors. AFAIK he has never said that he wouldn't sign it if it wasn't exactly as he's proposed.

thats my point lol. before he filed it he should have worked on it with the other side.

 

[Objective Voice]

yes, he squandered his mandate and the control of the congress
all in a misguided effort to effect bipartisan legislation
in short, he was too naive
his failure to act when the opportunity was ripe will diminish how history views his presidency

I wouldn't say "squandered". After all, plenty of folks who took that view would also say he "rushed things through" or "crammed things down our throats". Besides, the economy was still shaking itself out so to speak. Remember: The Stimulus was only a 2-year plan. Spending toward it only recently began to whined down. Once the numbers began to come in on its effect plus all the other more critical issues were out the way, i.e., 2010 midterms, FY2011 and 2012 budget, debt limit negotiations, whinding down Iraq, going after the bad guys in AfPak, I believe his Administration was better able to focus alittle more clearly on areas in the economy that could be addressed more rapidly. His critics would certainly disagree, but that's how I see things.

 

[AdamT]

thats my point lol. before he filed it he should have worked on it with the other side.

You missed my point, which is that he did not, and cannot, file anything. There's that pesky separation of powers thing.

 

[Objective Voice]

thats my point lol. before he filed it he should have worked on it with the other side.

Why? He's tried doing things their way and where has it gotten him?

 

[Redress]

The stimulus bill was a jobs bill.

This. The stimulus was to create jobs to limit how bad things got(which it did). Through poor design(either go all tax cuts or all spending, don't half ass both) and the terrible shape of the economy at the time, it did not do enough. The followup was the jobs bill, but by then republicans had the house and are blocking anything that might actually improve the economy until after 2012.

While there where a number of legitimate beefs about the stimulus and how things where done, the one thing that was done right was to do something, see how it worked, then look at what else if anything needed to be done. Both republicans and democrats have this habit of trying to do everything at once, and be in a poor position to react to unintended consequences and make small adjustments.

 

[Redress]

Moderator's Warning:

Moved to general politics since not really about the 2012 presidential election.

 

[1Perry]

The stimulus bill was a jobs bill.

This. Obama did indeed cram his jobs bill through Congress. It was a haphazard mess and now he wants a re-do. He isn't getting it. NOW, if the real question is why didn't he build bridges as opposed to giving people money for doing what they would have done anyway, ie: cash for clunkers, that's what community organizers know best. How to give away other people's money.

Or in other words, he got in way over his head.

 

[justabubba]

I wouldn't say "squandered". After all, plenty of folks who took that view would also say he "rushed things through" or "crammed things down our throats". Besides, the economy was still shaking itself out so to speak. Remember: The Stimulus was only a 2-year plan. Spending toward it only recently began to whined down. Once the numbers began to come in on its effect plus all the other more critical issues were out the way, i.e., 2010 midterms, FY2011 and 2012 budget, debt limit negotiations, whinding down Iraq, going after the bad guys in AfPak, I believe his Administration was better able to focus alittle more clearly on areas in the economy that could be addressed more rapidly. His critics would certainly disagree, but that's how I see things.

no. he squandered a rare opportunity
he had the mandate of the citizens and control of both houses of congress as well as the white house
he could have passed single payer health care for all
implemented an FDR like program to provide employment to the unemployed
he blew his chance to close gitmo
refused to prosecute members of the dicknbush regime for obvious violations of national and international law
did not repeal the misnamed patriot act
refused to re-establish glass stegall and force the too-big-to-fail banks to become reduced in size such that any of their misdeeds would never again threaten our economy. instead they have only grown larger
retained the clueless geitner at treasury; the very fellow whose actions helped precipitate the meltdown
did not repeal NAFTA and failed to revise our treaties such that fair trade concepts replaced free trade, which exploits our nation
he turned his back on the opportunity to rewrite the tax code, so that we would close the loop holes that serve as subsidies for the elite
he expanded the afghanistan war and still has not defined the objective to be accomplished by our wearied troops
he continues to provide military and financial assistance to an israel while withdrawing support from an oppressed Palestinian people
he put leon panetta in charge of the CIA for heaven's sake ... and made things worse after panetta screwed up and moved him to DoD, as if he could do no more harm there
he did nothing to lead our awaiting world toward addressing the near term calamity of global warming

Obama failed us. he promised to be a change agent. and once elected refused to change things
i voted for him. and unless the republicans will run someone like Gary Johnson, i will have no option but to vote for him again, given the weak slate of republican 'contenders'. but Obama has been a huge disappointment. his failure to exercise change while he held all the cards was a huge fubar

 

[ThePlayDrive]

It puzzles me as to why Obama did not do all the things he is telling america must be done while he had the chance!

all we hear from him anymore is how the congress wont pas his bill and that america must have this bill to pull out of the slump we are in.

i remember when he passed his stimulus and made all these promises as to what it would do for the economy and now we know none of his predictions were right!

so it makes me wonder does Obama really want to get any bills passed at all, or is this just a tactic to run against a do nothing congress instead of running against the economy like the GOP is going to try and make it?

I think are there main reasons:
1. He wanted to be the President of Compromise
2. He was focused on making other changes before specifically dealing with jobs.
3. You can't get everything done in the first two years.

 

[ThePlayDrive]

no. he squandered a rare opportunity
he had the mandate of the citizens and control of both houses of congress as well as the white house
he could have passed single payer health care for all
implemented an FDR like program to provide employment to the unemployed
he blew his chance to close gitmo
refused to prosecute members of the dicknbush regime for obvious violations of national and international law
did not repeal the misnamed patriot act
refused to re-establish glass stegall and force the too-big-to-fail banks to become reduced in size such that any of their misdeeds would never again threaten our economy. instead they have only grown larger
retained the clueless geitner at treasury; the very fellow whose actions helped precipitate the meltdown
did not repeal NAFTA and failed to revise our treaties such that fair trade concepts replaced free trade, which exploits our nation
he turned his back on the opportunity to rewrite the tax code, so that we would close the loop holes that serve as subsidies for the elite
he expanded the afghanistan war and still has not defined the objective to be accomplished by our wearied troops
he continues to provide military and financial assistance to an israel while withdrawing support from an oppressed Palestinian people
he put leon panetta in charge of the CIA for heaven's sake ... and made things worse after panetta screwed up and moved him to DoD, as if he could do no more harm there
he did nothing to lead our awaiting world toward addressing the near term calamity of global warming

Obama failed us. he promised to be a change agent. and once elected refused to change things
i voted for him. and unless the republicans will run someone like Gary Johnson, i will have no option but to vote for him again, given the weak slate of republican 'contenders'. but Obama has been a huge disappointment. his failure to exercise change while he held all the cards was a huge fubar

I don't agree with everything you said, but I agree with a lot of it. He missed a lot of opportunities to change things in the first two years and that pisses me off. Some of those things, however, were not entirely based on his decisions or effort. It's the things like the half-ass healthcare bill that make me mad because he could have pushed that through.

That said, I agree with a lot of OC's post as well. Two years is a short amount of time to fulfill all of one's campagin promises. Moreover, not everything was within his control. He also (may have) four more years to get things done.