There are many debates among progressives now on the true nature of Barack Obama. Did he mean anything he said on the campaign trail? Is he really a progressive? Did he ever mean to challenge the status quo or was he using the word "change" as a campaign gimmick? Is he just a corporatist like most other politicians?
After talking about this with a great many progressives on our show, I've come to some conclusions. These are so self-evident that they will be viewed as obvious in hindsight.
Does he mean well or does he have bad intentions? Come on, don't be ridiculous. Of course, he means well. But in his own mind, George Bush thought he meant well too (for the most part). I'm positive that Obama thinks that he is doing the best he can to bring about as much change as he can within the limits of this system.
Is he a true progressive or a corporatist sell out? Well, that depends on what you mean. Has he wound up helping corporate America tremendously through health care "reform," finance "reform," etc.? Well, Wall Street certainly seems to think so (and so do most progressives). Did he do that because he thought, "I can't wait to help corporate America and screw over the little guy"? No, I'm sure he thought he had to accommodate the powers that be in order to affect any change at all in this system. But the bottom line has been the same, either way - the system has been tweaked but corporate America chugs along with even more government largesse than before.
I'm sure Obama is a progressive that would help the average American if he thought he could. But apparently he thinks he can't. He can only bring them a small amount of change because of what he thinks the system will allow.
You can criticize him for lack of imagination, duplicity during the campaign, lack of spine and political miscalculation. And you might be right about some or all of that, but all of those aren't the essence of Obama. The core of Obama is a man who is a cautious politician. That is what he is at his center. He can't help himself. Asking him to be something else is asking a rock to be a little less hard. He is what he is.
So, what Obama does by his nature is find the middle ground. As an excellent innate politician, he will find the political center of any field and rush to it. That's where elections are won - the center. So, that's why he sounded so progressive during the primaries, because that was the center of the left. And why he sounded like such a reformer during the general election because the great majority of Americans desperately wanted change.
So, what happened to that Obama? The country is the same, so why did Obama drop the progressive reformer angle and go toward the right and corporate America? Because his field changed. He went from campaigning all across the country to being in the middle of Washington, DC. The center of Washington is very different than the center of the country.
The Washington bubble leans far more to the right than the rest of the country (poll after poll indicates this). The corporate media in Washington are pros at protecting the status quo and view people who challenge the system as fringe players. A natural politician would naturally move right to accommodate this new environment. Obama can't help himself. Why does a scorpion sting, why does a horse gallop? Because they were made to. Hoping Obama snaps out of it is hoping against reason and nature.
So, what can we do? Well, showing him data on where the American people actually stand didn't help at all. Nearly a dozen polls showed overwhelming support for the public option across the country. That didn't budge him. There are now polls showing 40% of Democrats are not going to show up in the 2010 elections because they are so disenchanted. It hasn't even made a dent in Obama. The Washington force field is strong.
So, our only hope is to move the island. We have to move his center. If we can move what he perceives to be the center, he will naturally flow to it. In Lost, when they move the island they move across time. In our case, when we move the island we need to move across the political spectrum.
Right now, Obama perceives the center of the country to be somewhere between Dick Cheney and Harry Reid. Do you know where that leaves him? Joe Lieberman. That's why we're in the sorry shape we're in now.
The reality is that Howard Dean is a moderate. Progressives in Vermont were upset with him when he was governor because they thought he was too far right. I just heard from someone who was on a cruise that The Nation organized and that Howard Dean spoke at. The crowd on the cruise nearly booed him when he spoke because they thought he was far too moderate.
If you look at Dean's policies, they are right down the middle of the country. That's part of the reason his 50 state strategy worked so well. But the establishment media hate him. Why? Because he points out when they're doing something wrong - and he winds up being proven right in the end. There's nothing that irritates the establishment more than that.
As things stand, Howard Dean is perceived to be to the left of all of the Democratic senators in Washington (not because he's more liberal than Bernie Sanders or Harry Reid; it's because unlike them, he's willing to fight for his positions (sorry Bernie, at this point, it's true)). That's unconscionable. Washington has shifted so far right that Dean is considered some sort of wild-eyed liberal. We have to move it back if we are to have any hope that Obama will move further left (and much closer to the true center of the country).
So, how do we do this? It's not pretty, but it's necessary. We have to attack Obama relentlessly from the left. Right now he is a giant that is unmoved by anything in his left flank, he keeps looking to his right and ducking and worrying and moving to accommodate them. They are so loud and so visible. It's hard to miss them. We have to make him look left. We have to shake him off his foundation.
Rahm Emanuel gave a wonderfully condescending interview to the Wall Street Journal where he explained that the White House has nothing to worry about from the left. That's exactly what we have to change. Unfortunately, the only way to capture their attention and make them accommodate us rather than Fox News Channel is to hurt them. When we can put on the same kind of pain and pressure on the Obama White House as Fox does, that's when they'll have to move, at least to get out of the way.
You inflict political pain by voting things down. So far progressives have been completely unwilling to do this. They got rolled on healthcare because they had no intention of putting their foot down - and everyone knew it.
The next time Obama pushes a corporate agenda, progressives have to knock him upside the head. Deny him. Or as the kids would say, send his shit. And make a big stink out of it. Draw everyone's attention to how far right Obama is and how out of whack he is with the American people.
If that scares you and you start to worry about damaging a Democratic president, you're never going to win at this game. You're never going to get the policies you want. They don't listen to reason, they listen to power.
Let's get real, we already lost the health care fight. But luckily, something even more important is up next. Financial reform. That's where we know for a fact the American people have our back. We also already know that Obama's Treasury Department is a joke. Tim Geithner has fought reformers in the House every step of the way. It's time to take out a couple of lead pipes and a blow torch and go to work on his ass.
If Obama wants to fill the legislation full of loopholes, he should be called out at every turn. We vote no and we point out in no uncertain terms that Obama is pushing that agenda to help corporate interests so that he can fill Democratic coffers.
This has the advantage of being true. If you don't have the stomach for being this tough on Obama and the Democrats, well then you don't have the stomach for politics. And you will permanently be the Republican's bitches.
If you don't move the island, the rest is futile. You have to shift the ground underneath them. And the only way to do that is to create such a strong and aggressive progressive movement that they cannot help but notice it - and respond to it. Move the center and you'll move Obama. And he'll move the country. There is no other choice.
Follow Cenk Uygur on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheYoungTurks
Rethink and regroup! pull the money out from the big corps that support the corrupted system!
the local credit union thing is a start!
getting involved in the political situation locally! if one can!
(like i have time! working every moment i am awake to keep up with mounting costs of living)
But for those that can! we need to stop bickering amongst ourselves and turn the slanted TV Networks off! OB is far to right to be called a progressive. that was a sales pitch!
in front of their collective noses, you and me are s.o.l................we can rant and rave, wave our arms,
jump up and down, hold our breath and turn blue. a million of us could actually lay down on the washington mall and throw a dandy hissy fit. and nothing - i repeat - nothing is going to change.
the only thing our leaders understand is money. and if we don't have any - they aren't going to pay attention at all. won't even look in our direction.
What I do remember is that the rethugs floated the talking point that he was the MOST liberal Senator among the lot.
So why are persons bashing President Obama for governing from the middle as if he stopped beinf a progressive.
What I also take note of is how the so-called "progressives" just sit back and allow the House and the Senate members to derail all that they [the progressives] claim is important to them, then get on their soap boxes to complain and point fingers, blaming everyone but themselves.
Last time I checked it's STILL the Government of the people, by the people and for the people, and NOT a Government where the President is the maximum decider, who can issue rulings and expect them to be OBEYED.
The members of the Senate and Congress have an important role to play, but they have been given a pass by the SAME progressives, even though it is obvious that they work hard to bow to the wishes of their donors and their special interest groups instead of the PEOPLE.
It seems as if the goal is to make the Congress more PROGRESSIVE and have them move to the LEFT if any progressive agenda is to be achieved.
Next thing you know, they'll suspect their aging family dog didn't really go to live with that nice farm family; now that Christmas is over, there are even whisperings that Santa may have betrayed them, too.
The problem with being the flavor of the month is that next month, the people who flocked to you before will all flock to someone else. Progressivism is now the flavor of the month, and if two-thirds of those who now call themselves progressives can't even define the term, well, who cares? They'll all flock to another flavor next month, next year, or next election.
Meanwhile, those of us who give more thought to our political positions than we do to our selection of a favorite football team will continue to work for and support the causes we do now, because we know the progress we seek is not a destination, but a journey that never ends, and that positive results accrue incrementally, and only thru sustained longterm effort.
Bottom line, the President showed up to do the hard work, but the progressive public did not.
Granted, it's easier for astroturfers to put together news releases, fifty-city protests, tea parties, and the like, especially if they have unlimited budgets guaranteed by corporate sponsors with very, very deep pockets. But *come on*. Where were the progressive protests? Where were the fifty-city pro-reform demonstrations? How often were the streets filled with pro-reform progressives? Where were the dedicated progressives stopping traffic and forcing the networks to give them camera time?
The civil rights reforms of the 1960s didn't occur because LBJ was a better leader than Barack Obama; they occurred because the people maintained sustained public pressure on their legislators in the House and Senate, and lo and behold, the votes materialized.
I'm still waiting for the progressive street protests and march on Washington.
He chose not to draw the line at the beginning of this health insurance fiasco and now, by design I believe, we have this health insurance extortion legislation...I'm not cheering.
Personally I don't give a rats ass what's sloshing around in Barak Obamas head. He stated during the campaign that no bill without a strong public option would leave his desk signed.
He's about do do that now enthusiastically.
The insurance reforms he touts as consolation are BS.
Just read the fine print. All the denials of claims, pre exisiting condition exclusions and recissions are easily gamed into this garbage bill. Obama isn't even credible on this!
Barak Obama is a weak leader. I have tuned this guy out. I will not vote for him again and intend to stay home on 10 and 12 unless a third party mystery person emerges.
My reason to be cheerful though- is that I will no longer cast a vote for the Democrats
just because I dread the Republicans. I'm not afraid of them anymore.
In Barack Obama we got just about the best we could. We can argue about the details, but no matter who the President was, you can't change senators' or representatives' votes unless you have more to offer (or more to threaten with) than the opposition does.
Imagine a Blue Dog's thought process for a moment. He can either cooperate, or defect.
- If he defects, he continues the policy that got him elected.
- If he cooperates, his constituency will vote him out, unless a groundswell of heretofore invisible public support materializes.
So, the Blue Dogs waited.... and there were no progressive public demonstrations, no progressive campaigns to change the Blue Dogs' minds. Hence, their choice was easy.
The battle isn't over, but the bill that results will be severely watered down, and will be barely sufficient to call it reform. Real progressives will support the bill, because at the end of the day, it will still be real, albeit incremental, progress. But it will be much, much less than it could have been, had those who call themselves progressives provided more than the lukewarm support for the process that they actually did.
It's all well and good to blame voters and supporters of incumbents for their shortcomings where they may exist, but this IS a democratic republic. We elect people to our government to fight for US. That's part of the democratic process. That election then lays the expectation that they will then go and represent our interests in government.
Blue Dogs may be Blue Dogs because they feel that their constituency is more conservative than the typical progressive. But I didn't vote for Blue Dogs. I didn't install Blue Dogs. I DON'T support Blue Dogs. And I'm not going to penalize somebody I had no involvement with.
I DID, however, elect people that claimed progressive policies and ideas. And thus far, they've failed to stand up for those policies and ideas. Instead of thinking of progressives as a constituency and fighting for THEIR interests, they caved to Blue Dogs and centrists, whose views were obviously more important than theirs.
And, no offense to you, sir, but 'real progressives' will act in accordance with their conscience and whether or not the policy advanced adheres to their values. They won't support it simply because someone else has told them it advances their agenda or because their lack of support should be guilt-inducing.
A newsflash for you. the far left is only ONE part of the democratic party, and it resides in a tent with many more center-lefties and moderate-lefties. Progressives don't own this party and their interests are not all that matter.
Your plan is a prescription that will not move the president, but it will destroy the democratic party. Perhaps you and your ilk should bolt and start your own party of ONLY far left progressives. I have said it time and time again, and I'll say it yet once more. The far left progressives are to the democratic party what the far right wing nuts are to the republican party. Both parties would do well to shed themselves of the rubbish.
I do agree with you that at his core, the president is a centrist. And another newsflash for you is that this is exactly how he campaigned. He campaigned to work accross aisles and work with ideas from both parties. He did not campaign as a far left bully would force radical change down the country's throat. Therefore, progressives voted for one thing, and now you think it's fair game to demand a horse of a different color. NOT!
A plan like yours will ensure democrats remain in the political wilderness for decades to come.
Mr. Uygur:
Obama is playing Chess.
Dean is playing Checkers.
The GOP is playing make-believe.
But you sir, are playing Parcheesi or something.
I am sorry that you do not have the first clue about how Obama actually thinks.
Do you actually feel comfortable in launching an attack on our president when you clearly are mystified as to why Obama does what he does? This feels like a mature approach to you?
There are those of us who can explain it to you. Well, I can anyway, even if I don't blog much.
Obama is a true Progressive. In the sense of actually securing, you know, progress.
Your camp is what can be called, technically speaking, as the Loser Wing of the Democratic Party. You can call yourselves Progressive, but it becomes increasingly clear that this is a misnomer much like a "conservative" who plunders and rapes the land.
Obama is an Incremental Progressive.
It's a new political animal.
Your wing represents the Protest Theory of Progressive Activism.
News flash:
IT
DOES
NOT
WORK!
Obama is informed by Liberalism, strategizes based on making incremental progress, and governs from the center. Guess what? That's exactly what I saw on the campaign trail.
One more thing: Health Care Reform is the one critical issue serving as the central tent pole in Obama's Economic Recovery strategy. That's why he did it the way he did it.
I have always been willing to fight for what I thought was right and what I believe in. I will continue to do so until the day I die.
Thank you Mr. Uygur. I am totally with you on this one.
Obama is getting away with stuff Bush never could because he is under the Dem banner and appeared to be the culmination of a long held progressive struggle for civil rights..
He positioned himself as promoting a public option. transparency , and against mandates.Yet he met hundreds of times secretly with medical industry insiders and never raised a finger to support what he campaigned on.He promoted bipartisianship , but only listened to one side - the right .
He lied .... and that is not progress either - it is just plain old dishonesty, nothing new in a politician.
Bottom line, the Democratic majorities in both houses are *coalitions*, not solid majorities, and those who haven't digested this inconvenient fact should ponder on its implications before firing off their next screed.
Your solution is assbackwards. Publicly financed elections. Strict laws prohibiting corporate influence.
I reiterate, where is the consideration of the centrist Senate above? Where? 8th grade civics lesson, congress passes the laws, the president signs them. Now let the denial begin.....
That's fine but good luck in getting the apologist Obamatons to do that. I imagine that they also were volunteers and actiovists for his campaign. But when emotional needs to "Dear Leader" trump your view there's not much chance of getting them to fight the power. After all, they helped ELECT The power.
That's a pretty way of saying no courage, IMO.
>>> Because his field changed. He went from campaigning all across the country to being in the middle of Washington, DC. The center of Washington is very different than the center of the country
Perhaps, but he CHOSE to surround himself with those people in his admin. This implies that THIS is the real Obama.
>>> Let's get real, we already lost the health care fight.
Probably unless enough elected progressives show courage - not likely.
>>>> But luckily, something even more important is up next. Financial reform.
I'm not sure it IS more important, not in the same way of saving more lives and improved quality of care as quickly as possible. Even good financial reform will be a very, very long term proposition in converting the culture of Wall Street. It won't erase the bad debt that will last for years and we'll see even less tangible results in our daily lives. Besides, this fight will be a lot harder than Health care. Obama is OWNED by Goldman Sacks. Rahm is their man inside. Health Cos were big contributors bu G.S. are his BIGGEST contributors. So much for the nickels of children driving his campaign...
Obama is a snobbish man who looks like he just stole the chicken from the hen house, he sees something I don't see. I have no idea why he doesn't represent the people who put him in office, I think he feels he can destroy the USA in four years? He has turned his back on the same as him and they thought he was there salvation. At least Patrick Henry proclaimed give me liberty or give me death, we don't have those kind of men anymore it isn't the USA it's (US) is there cry, who do they think US is?
Obama portrays everything but a caring man, I can say one thing he looks like he is being drug through a knot hole several times a day, I have always been a democrat but not his kind, I don't remotely recognize what party he represents, he picked up where Chaney Bush left OFF, if he is a democrat I hope he shows up soon!
Progressives must grow up and take back our power. We can stay home in a snit on election day and let the lunatics take over the asylum. Obama activated the base, all right; the right-wing base. They are well-funded, cunning, organized and ruthless, like the Nazis. They are tenacious and visible. The stakes are too high to be cynical and fatalistic. This is no less than a war of good against evil.
He doesn't need your to protest and demonstrate. He has the majority of congress and the white house. He can do as he damn well pleases and he is doing just that.