I tried to be patriotic and accept him as president in 2016 until it was quickly obvious that he is a traitor to his country.
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country."
--Teddy Roosevelt
Every true patriot should stand opposed to trump.
"We" as in Republicans? Absolutely not true.
In my circle, the outspoken Republicans were absolutely convinced that "Hussein Obama" was a radical, socialist, communist, muslim foreigner who had illegally become president because he was the anti-Christ. He was here to kill the babies and white people and he destroyed the country. Practically everything was Obama's fault such that it sparked the "Thanks, Obama" sarcastic meme. He couldn't do anything right. Employment numbers down? Obama did it. Employment numbers up? Obama is lying about it, they're actually down. Osama Bin Laden killed? That makes everything worse, but also, there's no proof it was actually him.
My high school and early college was during the W. Bush years. I hated him, and around that time is when I got political, active, and told my (Republican) parents that I was a proud Libertarian! (Look, I've learned a lot over the years, and Libertarians used to pretend to be a little more progressive.)
My parents hated that, and constantly gave me the "you may not like him but he's your president too and you have to respect the office!" The first time he complained about Obama (hours after the election), I broke that one out and turned it around. And they
realized their hypocrisy immediately becoming gay communistsdecided that the rule was stupid, actually, and that it turns out you don't have to respect the office when you dont want to!What bothers me so much more than their stated political views is the realization that they never actually had reasoned, considered views to begin with. They emotionally select things that seem directly beneficial to themselves. And then lie about their beliefs because they know they're selfish and indefensible.
They're still republicans but I'm an anarchist who no longer respects any presidents! Funny where a difference in fundamental values will lead you.
Wait, what?
They actually have the gall to say they stood behind Obama?
Obama's presidency was the exact point at which toxicity and hate became the overt centerpieces of Republican identity - when they stopped even pretending to be motivated by "fiscal conservatism" and instead gave themselves up entirely to just sowing division and spewing hatred.
Hell - virtually the first thing they did was co-opt the formerly libertarian Tea Party movement, which started out, under Bush, as a series of protests against the Wall Street bailouts - and converted it into a traveling right- wing carnival of hate. That became the entire point of it - after the Republicans took it over, the bailouts were never even mentioned again - all it was was an opportunity for right-wingers to congratulate themselves on how much they hated the left, and especially how much they hated Obama.
It's not too much of a stretch to say that everything MAGA has become - all of the division and all of the hatred and all of the lies - traces back specifically to how the hateful bigots among the Republicans reacted to Obama's presidency and the influence they came to hold over the rest of the party.
This is especially hilarious because so much of this rhetoric came from Trump himself! He basically established his political voice by playing peanut gallery through the whole Obama presidency and pushing birther nonsense.
We all know that this is a bullshit statement that Republicans trot out to try and shame people into not opposing them, that’s a given. But to use that to defend Trump, who spent all of the Obama presidency doing EXACTLY that loudly and vocally is a special level of irony.
Yes, we absolutely have to own when we lose, and we have no finer example of this than MAGA on January 6th, 2021 CE. Because fuck me if that wasn’t an inspirational display of accepting the loss of the presidential election to the democrats. Truly a historic moment for decency, courteousness, virtuousness, stoicism, gallantry, and the actual definition of honor among Americans.
Better believe I make my nieces and nephews watch my VHS tape of that day every year on its anniversary.
I told a story about how one of the only time I stood up to my awful mother was about this very thing.
I spent time complaining about Bush, and my mother would always whine that you "have" to support the president.
The minute Obama won, she came to me parroting some sort of Fox nonsense, and I engaged her for a while before realizing, "You have to support the president!" She pointed out that I didn't blindly support Bush, and I answered that I believe it's the job of all citizens to question their government (as I openly criticized Obama many times), but she believed you have to "support the president," so when she didn't, she was a hypocrite.
One of the few times I pushed back, and one of the few times she was actually silenced by logic. A memory I hold dear.
Why the fuck is this even being entertained? That's one of trump's "lawyer" tv hosts. And she's talking to some right wing rage bait podcaster. Discussing either of their opinions is fucking useless. And OP's intention in even posting this is likely just to attempt to legitimize one or both them as part of the general discourse. These are scabs on the otherwise festering asshole that is the gop. Fucking move on.
In the infamous words yelled at Obama by Joe Wilson: " YOU LIE"
They were behind him with a knife in his back at every opportunity from his first day in office.
https://www.politico.com/story/2010/10/the-gops-no-compromise-pledge-044311 :
Here’s John Boehner, the likely speaker if Republicans take the House, offering his plans for Obama’s agenda: “We’re going to do everything — and I mean everything we can do — to kill it, stop it, slow it down, whatever we can.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell summed up his plan to National Journal: “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
Feb 2009: "I hope he fails" - Rush Limbaugh
Also Feb 2009: Every single Republican member of the House votes against Obama's stimulus package
Oct 2010: Republicans pledge no compromise with Obama in their takeover of the House
Nov 2010: Mitch McConnell's goal is to make Obama a 1-term President
Shall I continue?
when Obama won we stood behind Obama
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
SURE!
Show me a SINGLE Fox news or oan clip where they are behind Obama. Doesn't even need to praise him just.. you know... Just one clip where they are not trying to punch him in the nose.
Just one.
Show me a single Republican governor or senator who actually supportes Obama...
Who me one good Obama initiative that wasn't burned to the ground because Republicans just couldn't letmovama have a single win because better let Americans suffer than let Democrats have a win. These idiots are petty, small, vengeful and egocentric and have not once given a single fuck about anyone or anything if it wasn't theirs.
Fuck these idiots
And they flat out denied Biden.
"We stood behind Obama" and repeatedly came up with racist and hateful statements that you and your friends were using long before I was even born.
"Yeah I was all for Obama until he put on that tan suit"
Let's not forget the unprecedented amount of obstructionism from Republicans under Obama. They set several records for the use of the filibuster and filibustered more of Obama's nominees than literally all previous presidents' combined.
WE STOOD BEHIND OBAMA????? BITCH, TURTLE MCFUCKFACE SAID, AS SOON AS OBAMA WAS ELECTED, THAT HIS #1 PRIORITY WAS ENSURING OBAMA DIDN'T GET A SECOND TERM!!
Yeah, like - who was the lead spokesman for the whole "Birther" conspiracy?
Yeah, the guy you're standing behind.
Additionally, the problem isn't that he's not on the "right team" - it's that he's a hateful, dangerous pos that is an actual threat to many citizens and the country at large. But repubs have been screaming the same thing hyperbolically for multiple decades at this point, so now when it's a real issue, it gets swept under the rug as "sore losers". People are so fucking stupid.
They're STILL not over it. What a crock.
When Trump lost in 2020 he abused every possible thing he could to try and hold onto power including a (thankfully) unsuccessful coup attempt.
Opposing parties have never been happy about newly elected presidents.
I literally to this day hear redneck chucklefucks whining about Obama.
Aaaahahahaahhahha that’s a good one. Just like they stood behind Joe Biden and didn’t tell everyone to fuck Biden or kill him…
No public option for healthcare, obstructed supreme Court appointment, yep totally behind him 100%.
Doesn’t matter. It’s not an equal playing field. She can lie and no one who cares will change anyone's mind.
Because Biden is still too fresh in our mind and talking about him doesn't help the narrative.
Even if they did, I'm not standing behind a conservative kid-fucking shitrag. Habba'tcha cry about it.
The (Hard R)epublicans made their opinions known.
“I hope he fails.” -Rush Limbaugh talking about Obama.
It’s lying or stupid to pretend that Republicans supported “Not My President” Obama in any way.
Revisionist history
No, it’s a fucking full throated lie.
I am an American and I can tell you first hand that:
1: Donald Trump is my president elect, regardless of how I may
2: There were certainly some conservatives who, regardless of how they felt, acknowledged Obama as their president.
3: There were absolutely many who did not accept Obama as president (not that it made a difference, because he was still president, same as Trump).
That said, I hope Trump does well for all of us and that all of the terrible predictions about what will happen were just silly and wrong.
