• pjwestin@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Off the top of my head, he was going to bailout the mortgage holders, reign in the banks, close Gitmo, end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, pass universal healthcare, and end warrantless wiretaps. He either abandoned those objectives (sometimes when he held a super-majority) or technically did something but not really (like ending the warrantless wiretap program but creating a mass surveillance program). Anyway, maybe, “radical leftist,” is a little hyperbolic, but he ran further to the left than anyone had since the 70s and he governed slightly to the left of George W.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      It’s more accurate to say he made leftist promises, and then turned out to be just another conservative asshole with amazing oratory skills.

        • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          He didn’t really do anything for gay rights either. He didn’t even support gay marriage until his second term. Gay marriage only became law because of the Supreme Court.

          • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            Imagine the privilege of someone unable to tell the difference between casual indifference and outright hostility.

            • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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              8 months ago

              OK, well what the hell are you talking about? Who, “stripped gay people of their rights?” Because in my lifetime, there have been two major changes in gay rights. One was DOMA, which rejected gay marriage, and was passed by a Republican congress and signed by Bill Clinton. The other was the Obergefell v. Hodges, where a conservative leaning Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. So why is this your litmus test? Why does being ambivalent on gay rights for half his Presidency mean Obama can’t be a, “conservative asshole?”

                • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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                  8 months ago

                  You just argued that Obama wasn’t a conservative based entirely on the fact that he had a, “casual indifference,” towards gay rights, but sure, I’m the idiot.

                  • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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                    8 months ago

                    Yeah. That’s centrist, especially for 20 years ago. Republicans literally want to kill all gays. That’s conservative.

      • The Snark Urge@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Heavy sits the crown

        I think it might actually be impossible to remain a good person as a president, even if you manage to somehow be a good person who can become president (also rare)

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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          8 months ago

          The president definitely has to be an asshole to some extent, because it’s impossible to make everyone happy in this country.

          With that said, we’ve seen presidents do what they say they’re gonna do, even as progressives. We sat through four years of Trump using every possible resource to do the awful stuff he did, and there’s no good reason why anyone should look at Biden and expect less than that.

          Democrats deserve credit for ruling as conservatives. They reinforced the narrative that voting is pointless, at least in terms of federal elections.

          • Eccitaze@yiffit.net
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            8 months ago

            Expecting Biden to rule like Trump is absolutely fucking insane. He ignored or broke any rule that stood in his way, and it got many of his policy initiatives shut down by the courts until he went back and did it the proper way, with the end result being that he was so busy fighting in the courts he didn’t have time to do everything he wanted. He tried to exploit his powers to persecute his opponents and got impeached over it. He shut down the government over border wall funding and got nothing for it. The only areas he was actually successful in pushing the boundaries of acceptability were in grifting the government by staying at his properties and charging inflated prices I’m violation of the emoluments clause.

            I’m a leftist because I believe government can be a force for good, and because I believe in the rule of law and in fighting against corruption. If Biden or any democrat acted like Trump did, I’d vote them out in a heartbeat.