I Feel Like I’ve Been Here Before
If you haven’t read Kevin Drum’s article, please do. He puts into words exactly how I feel.
The striking thing to me, though, is how fast the left has turned on him. Conservatives gave Bush five or six years before they really turned on him, and even then they revolted more against the Republican establishment than against Bush himself. But the left? It took about ten months. And the depth of the revolt against Obama has been striking too. As near as I can tell, there’s a small but significant minority who are so enraged that they’d be perfectly happy to see his presidency destroyed as a kind of warning to future Democrats. It’s extraordinarily self-destructive behavior — and typically liberal, unfortunately. Just ask LBJ, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton. And then ask them whether liberal revolt, in the end, strengthened liberalism or conservatism.
The speed the left has turned on him is striking. And it’s something that has puzzled me. I remember questioning the speed of the Tea Party rally one month after Obama was sworn in. I remember thinking that their timing had far more to do with who was in the White House than anything else. And I’m beginning to feel the same way about the left.
I say this because a lot of what I’m hearing, and reading, is disturbingly familiar. I’ve heard it all before, specifically during the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary. The disparaging twists on Obama’s name, the predictable name calling of anyone who supports him, and the never-ending references to Kool-Aid.
It’s almost as if we came together in November 2008 under false pretenses. It’s as if some on the left were ready and waiting for him to fail, and even eager to pounce on every failure and set back as some sort of proof. Proof of what, I’m not sure. What I am sure about is that the level of Obama outrage is over the top given his time in office. I also don’t believe that this extreme approach (Obama’s a liar, he’s as bad, or worse than Bush, etc.) moves the Overton Window as much as it makes swing voters swing in the opposite direction. Bernard Avishai says it best: “Hell, if his own people think he’s a sell-out and jerk, why should we support this?”
And that’s because there is simply no balance in the left’s criticism. Obama sucks, he’s a sell-out, he’s a liar is all you read and hear from one side. There’s never any attempt to say something like, “I hate the HCR bill, but I’m pleased with the way he’s toned down the rhetoric on terrorism, the Lily Ledbetter Act, etc. They simply can’t stand him, and I sense they’ve always felt this way – that their views aren’t driven by disappointment, as much as they are driven by the anticipation of being able to say I told you so.
And while there will be plenty of blame to go around if Coakley loses today, some of that blame will rest on the far left – a fact I’m not sure will bother them, since they seem to be okay with scalp collecting to make their point. My problem? I still have no idea what their point is. Perhaps they want to kill this bill Presidency and start from scratch?
I think they had not idea who they were actually electing. Those on the left who would like to see Obama defeated by Palin in a special election just to prove a point thought we were getting a liberal (and smart) version of Bush. someone who would lead despotically from “our side”. While that would feel vindicating, this country has always been a pendulum politically and we got to the conservative extreme with Bush…. Obama was the reaction, or so some of the more ignorant liberals thought.
I think they almost wanted to see the right suffer MORE than they wanted the country fixed… and the right expected to be made to suffer more than they cared what this new president might do for them.
so because their expectations (which are baseless unless they only heard what they wanted to hear for 2 years) have not been met, and will not be met… you are NEVER going to see Bush and Dick prosecuted, there will not be health insurance scammers strung up and free health care for all.. etc… they feel betrayed. What we do have in Obama, and hopefully it will not be lost to our culture of instant gratification and extreme political posturing, is a president who can redefine what it means to be president of the whole country. oh day one a little less than half the country disagreed with him, and he is their president too. He works for them too. Bush forgot that about the MORE THAN half the voters who disagreed with him at the outset of his debacle in office and continued to say “F you” to anyone who wasn’t a right wing conservative christian. How un liberal for anyone to think obama should “get back at them”
This is not, nor will it ever be a left wing country. we can LEAN left.. and thank goodness our long term trend has been more progressive… creating a democracy, slowly but surely creating equal rights for all, not letting children work in coal mines, fair working conditions for laborers.. all those things the conservative right wing has always opposed at the time eventually comes true.
But to all “liberals” who are petulantly screaming about how “oBOMBa has betrayed me”…. grow the hell up, stop being so selfish and ask yourself what YOU can do to advance the agenda you want. How much time have YOU spent on the phone to your senator or congress person lobbying for what you want? How many political action committees are YOU involved in? or are you just sitting back, reading Huffington Post and bitching like a punk? knowing liberals and how weak most of us are.. i bet i know the answer.
“not letting children work in coal mines,”
It’s telling that you have to go back to the 1900’s to come up with an example of how fast we are progressing under Obama.
The “Obomba sux” people are just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately the vast bulk of the iceberg is made up of quietly disappointed people who have just silently lost faith and enthusiasm.
I think though that their disappointment is not yet too deep, and Obama could recover the base by leading Congress to just one major progressive victory. In a flash the left’s faith would be restored.
But if he does not, then the progressive disappointment will be justified.
I think one of the problems may be that, from the perspective of the far left, Obama set the bar very high, and convinced voters that he would be able to meet that standard. Many young voters, who had never voted before and became involved in the political process in response to Obama’s campaign, sincerely (if naively) believed that marijuana would be legalized immediately. The American people’s vote for change was a vote against big government, against feeling “the man” on their backs every day, against tax increases, against corruption and secret deals and lobbyists and bureaucracy. These changes have not happened. By not working towards the changes people desired, Obama may have made it very difficult for another presidential candidate to create such a popular, sweeping movement; optimism has been replaced with doubt.
Pandora – See that guy standing way off to your left? That’s Howard Dean. Now reach out your right hand. That guy close enough to touch is Mike Castle.
There is nothing wrong with being a moderate, if that’s what you want to be. But it is sad to hear Democrats refer to progressives who prefer public health care as the “far left.”
National health care used to be part of the Democratic platform, but we succumbed to the Republicans screaming “Socialized medicine.” By not screaming back loud enough, we allowed them to move the Overton window, aided by accommodationist Dems.
In fact, as I understand it this very blog was inspired by Howard Dean’s 2004 candidacy based on a platform of universal public health care, “from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party” – not the far left.
The HCR issue was probably the worst possible issue to betray progressives on. Because progressives understand that health care issues are fundamental to the economy – to the broader issues of economic equality and national advancement that are the heard of the progressive agenda. Without robust public health care, the economy will continue to belong to the rich and not to the people.
I agree, anon, with what you’re saying. What I have a problem with is how some are going about getting their message out. I just don’t see how giving up, and in some cases punishing, (after one year) works out as successful strategy for anything we claim to want.
And while far left is not the best choice of words, I’m really not sure what to call each side. So forgive my clumsiness. That said, I don’t consider myself a moderate – altho, I’m now labeled that, and worse. So maybe everyone, including me, should lay off defining people.
Basically, we all want the sames things. I’m just having trouble understanding the tactics. I don’t see how throwing in the towel so quickly advances our agenda.
It’s funny to bring up Howard “I’m Looking In” Dean as the model progressive. Why didn’t Dean cover everyone in Vermont with his “near-universal” healthcare? Why did he only focus on children and pregnant women? Why not everyone? Where was the public option for Vermont? Why did he only go part of the way?
fine delcrat, you disgruntled troll… how about the Civil rights act, or even more recently.. UNDER the “Great Satan”… the Lilly Ledbetter act, or the Hate crimes bill. You are one of the people i talk about who didn’t really know who you were voting for. You had this magical vision of someone who would … do what exactly? Most of the things you want obama to do are beyond the powers of a president. My discontent is with the Dems in the senate and my rage is directed at the party of NO who has for a full year now, disregarded democracy and waged a war of insurgency and childish road blocking… a game that people like you play right into and blame Obama for. What is your solution?
WHAT IS YOUR SOLUTION????? Elect a republican next time? THEY can get stuff done because their party falls in line, and the Dems dont stand in the way of the electoral mandate.
You people with your lust for instant gratification. It is alsmost sickening that you would throw this entire movement under the bus because it has been A YEAR! ONE DAMN YEAR and you are ready to give up!
Well how about this a1, delcrat… all you quitters. You dont deserve the change that CAN STILL HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 3…hopefully 7 YEARS. You are like sports fans that only wear a team’s colors when they are winning. Un-loyal turn coast pussies (sorry UI, Pan, Cass, et all) who just whine and complain that nothing goes your way. Are YOU working to keep mike castle out of the senate? or are you just going to sit back and let another Grand Obstructionist Party member block reform.. then blame obama for what? Not keeping republicans out? I bet i know the answer. Did you do anything to help the Mass senate race? i bet not. What have you done to lobby congress to honor the mandate of the people from last year? i bet nothing.
So stay warm under your bridge trolls. There is still work to be done. I know it would be nice to stop the movement on election day and say “ok, go do your job now. I’m gonna blog about how much you suck” but that is not the way america works, and if you are too lazy to participate and fight for what you want (bitching on blogs doesn’t count) don’t come crying to me when we have President Sarah Palin, because you delcrat, you a1, all you whiny trolls will be more to blame than ANY politician.
one.
“By not working towards the changes people desired, Obama may have made it very difficult for another presidential candidate to create such a popular, sweeping movement; optimism has been replaced with doubt.”
tell me how any of that is possible with the congress we have. have you forgotten that it takes more than just a president to effect change and pass laws? I know it didn’t seem like it under bush, but right now… this fucking mess that is the capitol… is how the government was indented to work. The founders didnt account for news outlets dedicated to sucking off entire political parties, or entire political parties SO bent on regaining power that they would block every piece of legislation regardless of the good it can do. THIS is a system of checks and balances. Dont like it? you have 2 options
1) STOP BITCHING and start participating
2) move to a country with a dictator
Uh, Chris, if the American people’s vote for change was “against big government, against feeling “the man” on their backs every day, against tax increases, against corruption and secret deals and lobbyists and bureaucracy,” then why wasn’t McCain elected? Or the Libertarian candidate? Explain please.
God, you are such a liar.
Politics is personal. My personal issue is the economy. I don’t care so much about Obama’s position on Gitmo or LGBT or Afghanistan, as long as we are moving fast toward good jobs and a broad prosperity.
Of course I would like to see Gitmo closed, Afghanistan quiet, and more gay rights, but economy first. One thing all Dems should agree on is “It’s the economy, stupid!” When Bill is right, he’s right.
On the other hand, I have a relative who is retired and financially secure, who has a gay child, and she is a single-issue voter on LGBT issues, regardless of the economy.
I see public HCR, progressive taxation, and carbon caps/green jobs as fundamental economic issues, not as expressions of social liberal preference.
I can’t see any of the other issues mattering much unless we have jobs and health care.
I am still on the bus, but if Obama betrays progressives on tax policy, I’ll be hanging out my Obama Sucks poster. It is bad enough that he has already pledged not to roll back the dividend tax cuts for the rich.
define betrays
For tax policy, Obama has a very specific set of campaign promises. Betrayal will be easy to measure.
I knew Obama wasn’t planning to roll back the dividend tax cut when I voted for him. So that won’t in itself be a betrayal.
For HCR, the sense of betrayal is more subjective. I personally feel betrayed because Obama/Rahm/Reid played cat and mouse with progressives over the public option all summer. I believe the public option was in their reach but they failed to grasp it. They dicked with progressive’s hopes to keep them on the HCR bus until the last minute. They even deployed Bill Clinton to tell progressives to STFU and vote Yes for anything.
I guess if you are a moderate you wouldn’t feel especially betrayed. Say If you are from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party, you’d feel the betrayal too. hello to Mike Castle for me.
Shorter Kevin Drum: “Take your crumbs and shut up.”
Maybe, pandora, it is headlines like this that are so maddening about Obomba:
“President Obama plans combative turn”
“President Barack Obama plans a combative response if, as White House aides fear, Democrats lose Tuesday’s special Senate election in Massachusetts, close advisers say.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31629.html
Maybe we’d feel better if he’d actually had a “combative response” for the agenda he promised in his campaign when he came into office. Maybe we’d feel better if he didn’t blatantly lie to us. Maybe we’d feel better if he actually took on the moneyed special interests like he promised, instead of cutting secret backroom deals.
We could have respected somebody who at least fought politically for what he promised, even if he lost. The problem with Obomba is that he didn’t even try, and we still lost.
a.price ….. it is not the republicans doing the road blocking, it is your own party. Who has the filibuster proof senate? Face it, the democrats are their own worst enemy right now. Republicans are merely standing on the sidelines(following the wishes of their constituency) and watching the democrats destroy themselves.
What’s tiresome is the way you try and paint me as someone who disagrees with all of your points. What I’m questioning, and have been questioning, is your tactics.
What are you trying to accomplish? How does replacing Ds with Rs make things better? These questions have never been answered. And I’m beginning to think they never will.
Well, I worked for Obama because I wanted grown-ups in charge, for a change, and we have them.
I doubt there’s ever been a candidate whose platform I completely agreed with, so I’m not fixed on campaign promises in that way. What I want is people who are going to fix problems without spending a lot of time going to the crazy well, and I think that’s what we have. It takes so much longer to fix things than to muck them up… and things are substantially mucked up.
The people who are screaming for Obama’s head (or other parts) need to put the same level of energy into helping the man govern as they did into getting him elected. THAT would advance the progress.
How does replacing Ds with Rs make things better?
In general, they don’t. Unless the D is Harry Reid.
pandora, I both voted for Obama and contributed money to Obama’s campaign.
Replacing D’s with R’s does not make things better, but sitting back and acting like everything is hunky-dory and we should just shut up and not criticize Obama will lead to the same result.
Obama came into office with a huge amount of political capital and a huge amount of support from the American people and the Democratic base. It was up to him to use it and build on it, but he failed.
Compare him to Bush, for example. When Bush wanted something done, he got on a plane and campaigned for it from state to state. He motivated his base to lobby their representatives. He did political favors, like campaign appearances and fund-raisers, to get support. He actually increased the repub majorities in his first mid-term elections, something rarely done.
So what has Obama done to rally his base? Close to nothing. He has virtually ignored his base and essentially given Joe LIEberman presidential veto power.
So what am I trying to accomplish, you ask? I am trying to raise my voice and get others to raise theirs to say that this is unacceptable. Unacceptable. Selling out to lobbyists, Wall Street, the insurance companies, big pharma, and breaking his promises to the people who elected him is unacceptable. Cutting backroom deals that will cost Americans billions of dollars is unacceptable. Escalating the war in Afghanistan and not planning a full pullout from Iraq s unacceptable. And blatantly lying to us is unacceptable.
10% unemployment while bailed-out Wall Street firms dole out a record $140 billion in bonuses is unacceptable.
Drum thinks that we want Obama’s Presidency to fail. What he doesn’t recognize is, that to many of us, it already has.
“Republicans are merely standing on the sidelines(following the wishes of their constituency) and watching the democrats destroy themselves.”
if by “standing on the sidelines” you mean manufacturing resistance groups, buying news organizations, telling outright lies to the American people, not contributing to improving the country in ANY WAY. and working on sheep like delcrat who it seems would rather see palin beat obama then lend a hand ot advance his goals… THAT’LL SHOW EM NOT TO …whatever your grievance is…
a1, it has already failed? in the first year? you are a quitter and a wimp. you are a spineless loser who clearly has no stomach for a long fight. How long did it take for this country to sink into the shit hole Obama took over? Has our culture of instant gratification softened you up so much youWANT IT NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW RIGHT NOW! GIVE IT TO ME… I DONT HAVE IT YOU SUCK AAAAAAAAAAAAAA. the only thing wrong with the obama administration is it is not as despotic as Bush and has an unrealistic impatient base. well count me out of that club. there are still battles to fight. You think because it hasnt happened yet that it will never happen? You are the reason the rethugs will win. quitters. un-loyal lazy wimps.
Clap harder, a.price.
a.price, thanks for defining the left.
I feel like I’m seeing a combination of ignorance about how governance works and laziness. It seems like some (not all by any means) progressives thought they could elect Obama and sit back and watch things change. Change is really, really hard work. It’s constant work. You can’t just throw in the towel at the first setback. Look at the right and you’ll see persistence. They’ve chipped away at abortion rights by this method as well as gun control laws.
I think some people really wanted a big change – a change in our culture of corporatism. Unfortunately I just don’t think they’ve made the case where people can understand. I think it’s a worthy goal but you have to spend a lot of time selling it. We’ve had 30 years of Reagan’s “government is the problem.” Where is the push for “large corporations are the problem?”
Okay. *deep breath*
A1, other than adding the word accomplish to your comment it still reads like every other thing you’ve posted here.
So… here is where I’m at with you. You don’t have a plan for where you’re going with this. I say this because I really don’t believe your goal is electing Republicans. What exactly your goal is, and how you intend on reaching it, escapes me.
That being said I think Obama has made mistakes. I don’t understand why he didn’t give the base a victory right away with DADT. I know he’s trying to get away from Bush-era executive orders but an executive order suspending DADT until Congress could repeal it would have been a huge motivator. I don’t know why they haven’t done this, especially since this is popular with the American people.
The “base” isn’t that large. If DADT isn’t popular with the american people, it would have been repealed long ago.
Obama is working on getting DADT outlawed through legislation, not through Executive Order. Sure it is taking longer, but once in place, it won’t be overturned as easily.
A1 wrote 10% unemployment while bailed-out Wall Street firms dole out a record $140 billion in bonuses is unacceptable.
Nice to see you in agreement with Obama on this one.
From the Kevin Drum article….
“He’s been weaker on civil liberties than I’d like. His approach to bank regulation has been far too friendly to financial interests. I’m not thrilled with his escalation in Afghanistan. He hasn’t moved as quickly on gay rights as I hoped. And he hasn’t used the bully pulpit nearly as effectively as I think he’s capable of. He could afford to attack obstructionism and conservative retrenchment far more directly than he has.
But despite such overwhelming evidence that Obama is anything but a progressive, we are supposed to believe he’s one of us.
It reminds me of something said during the Watergate trials.
Yes. It’s big and gray. And yes, it has a long trunk for a nose, big flapping ears, and big long tusks and no hair. But that’s not really an elephant, it’s a mouse with a glandular condition.
A1 wrote Escalating the war in Afghanistan and not planning a full pullout from Iraq s unacceptable.
Pull outs for Afghanistan and Iraq are in the works. Please pay attention.
A1 wrote Compare him to Bush, for example. When Bush wanted something done, he got on a plane and campaigned for it from state to state. He motivated his base to lobby their representatives. He did political favors, like campaign appearances and fund-raisers, to get support. He actually increased the repub majorities in his first mid-term elections, something rarely done.
No, as part of Obama’s base, I do not want him to act like Bush.
A1 wrote Obama came into office with a huge amount of political capital and a huge amount of support from the American people and the Democratic base. It was up to him to use it and build on it, but he failed.
Dude really, a lot was accomplished. Please pay attention.
The ‘American People” as a whole, couldn’t identify DADT. They don’t think about it. It’s at the confluence of two things they don’t think about, the military and gay folk. It’s largely invisible, except to people who are HUGELY motivated, one way or the other.
People think about (in order) their job, their commute, and their lunch.
That’s what he’s working on.
But despite such overwhelming evidence that Obama is anything but a progressive, we are supposed to believe he’s one of us.
Anyone paying attention knew Obama never was a progressive, she says for the thousandth time. And why you ever thought this confuses me.
“Obama came into office with a huge amount of political capital and a huge amount of support from the American people and the Democratic base. It was up to him to use it and build on it, but he failed.”
as long as you ignore hate crimes bill, draw-down in iraq, restoring our standing with europe, the lilly ledbetter bill, keeping us from entering a depression, the stimulus (which i’ll admit wasnt big enough but it was a hell of a lot bigger than anything the repukes would have offered)
I’m gonna out A1 as a right wing agent sent here to try and turn the left against the president. Delcrat too. Right Wing Spies… and not very smart ones.
pandora, I don’t honestly know how I could be clearer, but I’ll try again:
Mainly, I want Obama to openly fight politically for the things he promised, not actively do the opposite or go AWOL like he did on HCR and Wall Street reform.
I want him to make the republicans actually filibuster instead of just forfeiting every time they threaten to.
I want him to stop lying to America.
I want real HCR with cost controls and a public option, not LIEberman’s HCR that pleases his insurance industry lobbyist wife.
I want real Wall Street reform.
I want him to stop cutting closed back room deals with industry lobbyists at the expense of the American citizens.
I want him to fire his economic team that is rewarding Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.
I want a justice department that is actually interested in prosecuting crimes by government officials and restoring Civil Liberties.
I want him to nominate enough judges to fill the vacancies and get them approved by the Senate.
I want action on GLBT issues, not just talk.
I want Gitmo closed.
I want him to stop escalating the war in Afghanistan and sacrificing Americans and killing for a dictatorial regime.
I want ALL Americans withdrawn from Iraq, not just 2/3 of them
I want him to start paying attention to the Middle East peace process.
These would be a good start.
Those crumbs sure are filling you up, aren’t they, a.price? Clap harder.
Look at a1’s response at 1:57 pm. It is all I WANT THIS and I WANT THAT.
Very revealing.
pandora, regardless of the “progressive” label or not, you cannot continue to deny that he took many progressive positions during the campaign that he has flat-out reneged on. Even if you expected some of that, it doesn’t mean that we should all be happy about it.
must be fun to live a life where you roll over and admit defeat all the time huh, a1? bitch louder.
Again with what you want, but not how your (and others) tactics achieve anything on your list. For crying out loud, A1, you’re driving me crazy. Either answer my question, or admit you can’t.
There is something wrong with wanting something, nemski?
no, but there IS something wrong with being a baby when you don’t get it instantly, cutting off your nose to spite your face then attacking others for not following you down your childish path.
pandora, here are some ideas that one person can do:
– Write your Senators and Representatives. Write other senators and representatives. Write the White House. Letters, not e-mails
– Write letters to the Newspapers.
– Contribute to activist groups like the ACLU, NRDC, and HRC
– Withhold contributions from the DNC and targeted incumbents. Tell them why, in writing.
– Let any groups you are a member of like AARP know your position on issues
– Stay informed.
– Write on blogs to spread the word.
– Join demonstrations.
– Organize and encourage your friends to do all of the above.
Above all, don’t act like you’re powerless. When 99 out of 100 people are doing nothing, the person doing something gets noticed.
anonone,
Do you get the feeling that we are trying to reason with people in an abusive relationship?
No matter what how often daddy beats us or the kids, gets into fights with the neighbors, lies, reneges on promises, spends family funds on his friends; “he just needs more time” or “it must be our fault”.
Anonone, DITTO on your comments. Me too!
Some want to make excuses. I want to make change.
You may want to make change, but you sure as hell can’t explain how. And from where I’m standing your change merely takes a D seat and changes it to an R. Not seeing how that fulfills any item on your “I want” list.
And, yeah, I plan to keep asking this question.
shorter a1, jk, delcrat “well THAT didn’t work EXACTLY the way we though it would after hardly trying…. time to scrap that plan and try something else!”
pandora, Short of becoming president myself, I have listed what I want from Obama and the types of tactics that I, AS AN INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN, have within my power to do. If we all would do those things together, then maybe we could make a change.
You seem content to sit back and smugly ask some nebulous question and expect some kind of “magic wand” answer that doesn’t exist while Obama and the Dems sell us all out to the highest bidder and the Dems sink in popularity because of it.
Tell me how well your strategy is working.
Really? We should give money to AARP and not the DNC? And that would be because of their support for progressive policies? Which is HUGELY greater than that of the Democratic party.
I did not say give money to AARP, Brooke. I said to be an advocate for your positions within any groups that you belong to, “like AARP.”
And why would a progressive belong to AARP? You give them money to become a member. That would be “giving them money.”
See, here’s how activism works. You support the causes you think are just.
I am not a member of AARP, Brooke. It was just what came to my mind as an example organization.
Right, but I see the Democratic Party as a membership organization that advocates for its members. It certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s uniquely placed to be effective in the political arena. So, as long as you’re ‘advocating for your positions within any groups that you belong to’ why not PRIORITIZE the party?
We get what little money people of progressive tilt manage to get hold of spread ALLLLL over. We support offices for every cause imaginable, and their attendant lobbyists, and then THOSE people go try to get appointments with elected officials. It’s wasteful. And the minute there’s a challenge, we’re going to take what money we have OUT of the party… so that we can invest in someone to lobby the guy we might or might not get elected…because the R’s take their money out of their trust funds and put it straight into access, and we’re still piddling around with 100 different offices.
I prefer to contribute to activist groups or campaign contributions directly to candidates who I feel best represent my interests. While I appreciate your point regarding the DNC, I stopped giving to it because I don’t want any of my money going to Blue Dogs. That is just my preference.