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Stop the Bipartisan Dreaming!
Thom plus logo  After 7 years in the White House, President Obama still hasn't learned his lesson about Republicans.

Case in point: his conclusion to last night's State of the Union address.

Looking back on his time as commander-in-chief, the president regretted that he had not done more to change our country's broken political system.

Someone with the political "gifts" of Lincoln or FDR might have been able to do so, he said, but not him.

The idea here is that Lincoln and FDR were great presidents because they brought people together and forced them to make compromises.

In other words, President Obama thinks that Lincoln and FDR were great presidents because they were "bipartisan."

This is just flat-out wrong.

What made Lincoln and FDR great wasn't the fact that they made compromises with their enemies; what made them great was fact that they fought their enemies and supported policies that were right, even if they made people on the other side of the aisle really, really angry.

This probably sounds a little bizarre to some people.

Bipartisanship, or at least the myth of bipartisanship, is so ingrained in our culture that many Americans forget what it really took for great Presidents to become great.

This is especially true in the case of President Lincoln.

Although his leanings were always towards compromise, the things we most remember him for -- fighting the Civil War, signing the Emancipation Proclamation, and passing the 13th Amendment -- happened when he stopped being a moderate and embraced the radicals in his Party who wanted him to become more, not less, partisan.

FDR, similarly, was the opposite of bipartisan.

He was the ultimate fighter and he kicked Republicans in the butt and took their lunch money, too.

Listening to his speeches now is actually pretty shocking.

Read more here.

-Thom
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The Big Picture (small)
Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Does Obama Need to Intervene w/Flint Water Crisis? (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Green World Rising Be sure to check out our newest video: RESTORATION - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners / Visit GreenWorldRising.org to check out all the videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners

Big Picture Rumble:
- Horace Cooper, National Center for Public Policy Research  Twitter
- Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange/CODEPINK/Drone Warfare  Twitter  Twitter  Twitter
- Charles Sauer, The Market Institute  Twitter

Best of the Rest: Does Obama Need to Intervene w/Flint Water Crisis?
- Lynna Kaucheck, Food & Water Watch  Twitter  Twitter

PLUS, Progressives Refuse to Accept Obama's Push For TPP
- Curtis Ellis, Obamatrade.com/American Jobs Alliance  Twitter  Twitter

Daily Take: Stop the BiPartisan Dreaming!!
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Wednesday's Daily Stack Daily Stack
Hour One: Obama Calls Out GOP Obstructionism At the State Of the Union Speech...
Article: "Chelsea Clinton takes aim at Sanders over health" by Shaquille Brewster and Carrie Dann.
Article: "North American Free Trade Agreement" (NAFTA) by Wikipedia.
Law: "Telecommunications Act of 1996" by Wikipedia.
Article: "Clinton Signs Welfare Bill Amid Division" (end of welfare as we know it) by Barbara Vobejda.
Article: "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) by Wikipedia.
Case: "Defense of Marriage Act", 1996 (DOMA).
Quote: "It is destructive, particularly for a democrat, to be discrediting universal healthcare by waging a false campaign against my plan." - Sen. Hillary Clinton, 2008.
Quote: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win". attributed to Gandhi.
Article: "Toyota, Moving Northward" by Paul Krugman, July 25, 2005.
Comments: "TPP Employment Impact Review" by Regulations.gov.
Article: "Your chance to officially tell the USTR what you think about the TPP" by Flush the TPP! (deadline January 13, 2016)
Article: "Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement" (TPP) by EFF.

Hour Two: Hillary Fights Dirty On Health Care... Bad Idea
Article: "Bernie Sanders: I stand with Obama on gun issues" by CNN, January 12, 2016.
Speech: "First Inaugural Address", Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 4 March 1933. "In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory."
Article: "Conservatives: No more Obama nominees" by Burgess Everett.
Site: ObamaTrade.
Movie: "The Big Short".
Law: "Glass-Steagall Act", 1933.
Article: "Rob Ford" by Wikipedia.
Event: Colorado, March 1: "Caucus 2016".
 
Talk Media News Segment:
- Ellen Ratner, Bureau Chief Twitter
Article: "Haley open to idea of potential VP slot" by Nick Salazar.
Article: "Drunk driving law by country" by Wikipedia.
Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman.

Hour Three: The Socialist Response to the SOTU
- Kshama Sawant, Socialist Alternative  Twitter
 
Book: "Rebooting the American Dream: 11 Ways to Rebuild Our Country" by Thom Hartmann (read online).
Article: "Clinton 'pleads guilty' to being a moderate" by Dan Merica, 01/13/16.
Article: "Howard Dean Scream" by Brad.
Article: "US, Philippines Boost Ties In Ministerial Meeting" by Prashanth Parameswaran.
 
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Thom's 'State of the Union'
Thom's 'State of the Union'

Honey, the TPP is No Sweet Deal
Honey, the TPP is No Sweet Deal

Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...

Full Show 1/12/16: Bernie Takes Lead from Hillary in Iowa
Full Show 1/12/16: Bernie Takes Lead from Hillary in Iowa

Thom previews tonight's State of the Union Address while looking back at FDR's 1936 address and its relevance today. Tonight's Politics Panel discusses Bernie's lead in Iowa and his moveon.org endorsement, Hillary's recent attacks on Bernie, and Trump's continued attack of Cruz's citizenship.

Hillary Fights Dirty on Healthcare!
Hillary Fights Dirty on Healthcare!

MoveOn.org Endorses Bernie Sanders!
MoveOn.org Endorses Bernie Sanders!

How the Supreme Court Corrupted our Politics...
How the Supreme Court Corrupted our Politics...

Royal Bank of Scotland: Sell EVERYTHING!
Royal Bank of Scotland: Sell EVERYTHING!

Honey, the TPP is No Sweet Deal!!
Honey, the TPP is No Sweet Deal!!

Ben Carson Worried, Muslims at State of the Union!
Ben Carson Worried, Muslims at State of the Union!

Joe Biden Praises Bernie Sanders on Income Inequality!
Joe Biden Praises Bernie Sanders on Income Inequality!

President Obama Needs to Focus on Criminal Justice Reform...
President Obama Needs to Focus on Criminal Justice Reform...
Death in the Pines
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The American Revolution of 1800
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