Liberals blast Obama for pivoting to center; Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel draws fire

The White House, sobered by the election results from Massachusetts, is pivoting to the center.

The latest evidence: a proposed freeze on discretionary spending that is unrelated to the military veterans, homeland security and international affairs. President Obama plans to unveil the budget cap, meant as a down payment on the $1.4-trillion deficit, in his State of the Union address Wednesday night.

But the left is furious, seeing abandonment of its principles; some would say entitlements. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow called the budget freeze "completely, completely insane," comparing it to a flawed attempt to put out a fire by pouring gasoline on it.

Moveon.org is organizing "Emergency Rallies for Democratic Backbone" today to encourage the White House to "show some backbone -- starting with passage of the healthcare reform bill." The liberal grass-roots group also has a petition up on its site encouraging supporters to "Save the Clean Air Act," likewise endangered by the stunning upset in Massachusetts by Republican Scott Brown that robbed Democrats of their 60-vote super-majority in the Senate.

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Liberals are directing some of their fire at White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Cenk Uygur, host of a left-wing talk show called The Young Turks, calls Emanuel "Barack Obama's Dick Cheney." Amid rumors that Emanuel is eying a race for mayor of Chicago, in the Wall Street Journal former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta notes that taking flak for a president is part of the role of chief of staff.

For their part, conservatives aren't cutting the president any slack either. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain this morning endorsed the spending freeze -- but warned that Obama will have to do more.

"We need to do it," McCain told "Good Morning America's" new anchor George Stephanopoulos. "I think it's important and I'll support it. But the president has to promise to veto bills that are laden with pork barrel spending."

And an aide to House Minority Leader John Boehner demonstrated vividly the problems Obama will have in trying to please both liberals and conservatives, likening the proposed White House budget freeze to "going on a diet after winning a pie-eating contest."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; credit: Associated Press

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Comments

[Phil]

"...endangered by by the stunning upset in Massachusetts by Republican Scott Brown that robbed Democrats of their 60-vote super-majority in the Senate..."

This is the type of distortion that poisons political discourse and policymaking in the US today. I'm a Democrat, but this characterization is simply wrong. Scott Brown won his election fair and square. No one was "robbed." The Democrats in Massachusetts ran a weak candidate and their arrogance led to inattention. Democrats weren't "robbed" of their supermajority; they forfeited it. Rachel Maddow? You couldn't come up with someone credible? Maddow's empty skull leaves her mouth ungoverned by anything resembling knowledge. No one cares what Rachel Maddow thinks, least of all the President.

[Al]

Isn't it time for moveon.org to move on? It's clear the real everyday Americans don't want Socialism. They are tired of the leftist agenda being shoved down our throats. It's time for the USA to return to some common sense and quit spending money it doesn't have and borrowing money it can't pay back. Enough is enough lefties!

[giantslor]

I think Rachel was being willfully obtuse on this. They're freezing wasteful spending, not spending that will help the economy and the middle class.

[Lornaj]

We need to stop sticking our nose out side of the USA and take care of Main Street.Wall Street is just pulling us down more and more. Obama, has not kept any of his promises to us. It has always been Wall Street with him, and it will continue. He will be a ONE TERM PREZ if he does not get his act together, and FAST.

[Fight the bankrupted left]

The only vote stealing is done by ACORN on behalf of the dems.Moove on org
and Rachel Madow are spiritual pestilence that pollute our air waves.The
present administration is so amateurish and incompetent that they look like
a bunch of boy scouts or even cubs.Listening to Madow,Schultz or Olberman
gives one the impression that this place is totaly FUBAR.