President Obama receives criticism from the left wing of the Democratic Party with respect to several national security and civil liberties issues. The first is is the closing of Guantanamo. Guantanamo remains open, largely due to Congressional insistance rather than any direct action on Obama’s part. He asked Congress to close it and Congress said no, and that was the end of the fight. The second issue is the use of unmanned drones to kill suspected terrorists abroad, including terrorists who are American citizens.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said to a group of progressive reformers “I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it.” The obvious implication there is that progressives have to convince enough of the public as to why the reform is needed so as to create a public clamor for the reform that is so loud and demanding that FDR would be forced to make the reform.
President Obama campaign campaigned on closing Guantanamo and he initially tried to close it. So on that issue, we have evidence of the first two parts of Roosevelt’s advice. He agrees with you. He wants to do it.
Progressives just didn’t make him do it. How do I know that?
Look at these poll numbers:
The survey shows that 70 percent of respondents approve of Obama’s decision to keep open the prison at Guantanamo Bay. […] The poll shows that 53 percent of self-identified liberal Democrats — and 67 percent of moderate or conservative Democrats — support keeping Guantanamo Bay open[.] The Post-ABC News poll found that 83 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s drone policy, which administration officials refuse to discuss, citing security concerns. The president only recently acknowledged the drone program, which some human rights advocates say operates without a clear legal framework and in violation of the U.S. prohibition against assassination.
But fully 77 percent of liberal Democrats endorse the use of drones, meaning that Obama is unlikely to suffer any political consequences as a result of his policy in this election year.
Support for drone strikes against suspected terrorists stays high, dropping only somewhat when respondents are asked specifically about targeting American citizens living overseas, as was the case with Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni American killed in September in a drone strike in northern Yemen.
Those opposed to these policies have simply not convinced a majority of Americans that closing of Guantanamo is good or that the use of drones is wrong. Not only that, large majorities of Democrats and liberals are unconvinced!!!
And President Obama cannot be expected to expend precious political capital when such large majorities are against him. Indeed, he tried to close Guantanamo early on in his term and he suffered for it. What progressives and liberals and libertarians who want these policies changed have to do is make Obama do it. And to do that, you have work to do on the national stage.
Finally, the poll had some good news:
The Post-ABC News poll shows that 78 percent of the public supports Obama’s drawdown plan, scheduled to culminate in 2014 with a complete withdrawal of U.S. combat troops.
Which is probably when Obama moved up the pull out date to 2013, next year. It is always easy to do that popular thing.