This is the saga of a love affair gone awry between the liberals and their true love, President Obama. One only has to gaze at the furor in Obama's eyes on television to glimpse the depth of emotions, while listening to the liberals wail. Liberals wanted him to be their perfect spouse, and forgot that good relationships take hard work from all parties (no pun intended). As the honeymoon crashed and burned, liberals began abandoning their beloved. There is no forgiveness in their hearts, or room for mistakes. Patience has vanished.
Oh woe is me; it's bad enough that Obama is getting battered from the right, but now his latte friends that loved and cherished him are turning away. He has ceased to be the "cool" kid that shoots hoops; rather he is the clumsy nerd that no one picks or wants for their team. It's like watching rats dive overboard, and leaving no life vest for their best buddy. And so it goes according to plan from the opposition that is wreaking havoc, distrust and suspicion. They knew this would happen because we liberals are so predictable. When the going gets tough, we don't want marriage counseling. Ick! We pick up our toys in a huff and expel a harrumph. Yes, it's a harrumph because we're having a tantrum. Is this any way to treat your beloved? Obama told us it would take a partnership, and we've forgotten. We're mad and watched him skin his knees. No lollipops for these folks. Sadly, the traps were so predictable that Carl and Frank must be dancing a jig together right now.
Just look at the result of the duplicity of bombastic right wing blogger, Andrew Breitbart. He tinkered with a video of Shirley Sherrod, and drove it into the liberals' weak spot -- racism. Breitbart admittedly isn't the brightest bulb, but he had expert coaching and the fallout is a bad dream. Duh, that was a no-brainer. It was like dangling a young, zaftig thing in front of former President Clinton, and waiting for him to take the bait. We (liberals) should be mad as hell at the opposition, not Obama or his administration that fell over one another. As Ari Shapiro on NPR's "All Things Considered" finds, "there has been a pattern of conservative activists blurring the line between journalism and advocacy, and doing it with striking success." I'd go further, and call it what it is: pathetic, hate mongering journalism, libel, slander and all those bad things. Shirley should sue Breitbart, and if she wants to -- go back to work (please). We should stop tripping over ourselves, stop over analyzing and get over it. Anderson Cooper, we all embrace you, but enough is enough. Move on, there's so much work to be done in rebuilding this relationship between the Obama and the liberals.
And you know what? The opposition plan just keeps giving us indigestion that is constipating the Congress' ability to get things done. This is the right graphic word to describe the impasse and filibusters that are filling those grand halls. Yep, and we all know that these folks in Congress are not exactly rabble-rousers. But now Harry has kicked climate legislation to the curb because he cannot gather the votes to pass it. We keep fighting among ourselves. And it took four weeks just to get unemployment benefits extended to millions of out of work Americans during a Recession. It's like pushing a rock uphill. Dave Johnson has got it correct in his piece "Republican Plan Working So Far" -- "Block everything Congress does, then run against Democrats as ineffective."
Surprisingly, the opposition seems to understand the 24/7 news cycle, and social media that we invented much better than we do. They use Sarah Palinesque techniques (Breitbart), and opportunistic surrogates. Then they make a good batter by mixing in race, unemployment, environmental disaster, chicanery by the right wing bloggers -- and we have a formula for success which is unprecedented in this country. Our message machine must get much more sophisticated with rapid responses. We goofed on the Sherrod fiasco and now are buried in the avalanche. We know that these are difficult times, and we need to figure out how to weather the storm while the opposition continues to manipulate our greatest hopes, wishes and dreams. I say save this love affair. Relationships are a lot of work -- particularly when there is constant, insidious interference from nasty in-laws. Just remember the picture of Hillary standing by Bill through it all. It takes guts. No one promised a rose garden.
Note, references for this article are listed below in my pearltree.
Follow Michelle Kraus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michellekraus
Also, where were these lefty crybabies when you have Tea Party nuts threatening Congressmen and screaming about 'Death Panel'? Where were they when political pressure came down like a jackhammer when Obama administration first attempted to close Gitmo?
There same place we are right now. We ...sat.. on.. their ...asses. We write stupid blogs and twitter screeds on Common Dreams about Obama 'sold us out'. We call the man a failure when he's gotten more done than few other presidents in such little time.
Has Obama screwed things up? Yes. But the left has fell asleep, expecting this one guy to do everything without we as citizens lifting a finger, just as we bungled and failed in the Bush years.
Obama's "failure" are as much the base's fault as it is the administration.
The majority of people want the end of DADT.
We didn't get the public option. The DOJ is defending DADT against a--wait for it--REPUBLICAN gay group.
The DNC, DSCC, and DCCC generate the majority of their money from progressives, yet give the majority of the funding to the bluedogs
And, unless I am mistaken, the progressive caucus is the largest.
What does it take?
I am sick of hearing about how progressives have abandoned this administration. This administration abandoned progressives.
And we're about to see the implosion of Rahm's lurch to the right, get-and-gut, "f-ing retards" political strategy. And the administration, Michelle Kraus, and the rest of the obamabots and apologists will blame progressives.
(And as a gay man I also need to add that I love it when everyone tells me in one breath that the LGBT community is too small to matter; and in the next breath that it will be our fault if the republicans win.)
I wish you addressed the point made in the comment you are addressing here:
"The Obama Administration would be a lot more friendly to progressives, if the progressives could demonstrate they have done the work that would guarantee grass roots support."
The Tea Party and the Religious Right has been out there gathering support. They know all about grass roots.
Here are results of the last 15 -- 15 -- Presidential elections:
2008 -- Obama (helped by the Great Recession) Not progressive
2004 -- Bush
2000 -- Bush
1996 -- Clinton (helped by Perot) Not a progressive
1992 -- Clinton (helped by Perot) Not a progressive
1988 -- Bush 1
1984 -- Reagan
1980 -- Reagan
1976 -- Carter (helped by Watergate) Not a progressive then
1972 -- Nixon
1968 -- Nixon
1964 -- LBJ (helped by Goldwater) Not a progressive
1960 -- JFK (a very close election, helped by mayor Daley) Not a progressive
1956 -- Ike
1952 -- Ike
Would LBJ be considered a progressive by your progressive friends, despite The Great Society? The old timers in your camp might remember chanting, "Hey, Hey LBJ. How many kids did you kill today?"
Let me know what other Democrat you would argue was a progressive and which of your frustrations over Obama would not apply to them.
To stick with Obama would be the utmost of living in denial. He's just not that into us.
Its time to move on and support a candidate that will at least respect us , even if at times he/she must do what is politically expedient.
Whereas I am disappointed in Obama for a number of reasons, one issue is especially meaningful to me.
Mr. Obama has referred to himself as "a fierce advocate for gay people."
This is an insult to gay people's intelligence.
Yes, Obama has done more to advance gay rights than have past presidents, but that's not the point
The point is that this man often compromises our dignity, and it's done to appease those who would marginalize us.
First there was Donnie McClurkin, then there was Rick Warren, then there was this outrageous statement, nationally televised from West Point:
"The United States is a great nation because it respects the dignity of all people."
Really, Mr. President? Really?
(to be continued...)
I forgot! He ain't cool with homosexuality (something with which he once struggled, due to his being molested by an uncle). Then again, neither is the lion's share of that gospel audience. Then again, neither are most of Obama's supporters, which is why the President has to tight-rope this issue.
Some people are "put out," for lack of a better term, that gay people are angry with Mr. Obama, but the president has appallingly called himself our "fierce advocate" and has then addressed the nation saying we are all granted our dignity in this country, which is a slap in the face because it is absolutely false.
That is an offensive statement, considering that DADT, government-sanctioned SHAMING of gay people, is still in place, that gay Americans have repeatedly endured the profound humiliation of seeing our rights put to a popular vote, and that gay Americans, in many states can be fired simply because they are gay.
Again, Mr. Obama is pandering to the right, at our expense. It is outrageously disrespectful to make such statements and expect gay people to swallow that bitter pill.
The survey recently given to our troops has been yet another degradation that not only attacks our dignity but insults the maturity and intelligence of our heterosexual troops.
To a fault Mr. Obama panders to the right, and in this case, specifically to bigots.
(to be continued...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_65LLafsa9g
Ever notice the ONLY times the WH moves on a gay issue is when the blogosphere starts shutting down the GayTM?
Like the DNC fundraiser. Gays boycott, and suddenly the WH is announcing gay benefits for state department employees.
Gay for Pay
I don't hire the contractor, walk him to the site, wave my arms and say "I want a house" and then walk away. I don't ignore the landscape or zoning. I don't let my architect, in back room deals, change the requirements.
If I'm working on health care, for example, I define my goals, review the political landscape, quickly realize I'm not going to get 60 votes (dem, republican, or combo), and move to reconcilliation fast. I don't tell congress "I want reform" and walk away. I don't let my COS meet with the health care industry in closed door meetings. I don't let the other side dictate the debate. I don't give up my requirements and claim that the results (An outhouse and a hose instead of 2 1/2 bathrooms) is what I wanted in the first place.
That's what I'd do--specifically.
And, when you run around the opposition a couple of times, they'll begin to figure out that, if they want any imput at all, they better start playing your game.
That would be pragmatic.
Afghanistan? Obama campaigned on prosecuting the war with vigor. If you're surprised by the added troops or continued fighting, you weren't paying attention during the campaign. Health Care? Yeah, a public option wouldn't have been just nifty... but thanks to Obama, 30 million people will now have access to health care, and many millions more won't go into bankruptcy because of dubious "pre-existing conditions" that allow companies to drop them whenever they want. Financial reform? Again, we hear nothing but whining FROM OUR OWN RANKS because the legislation didn't break up the big banks, or exile everyone who wears a tie to Pluto, or whatever it was our fellow libs seem to want.
I for one remain behind the President. He is no more perfect than any other man in office before him, but on balance he's a brilliant, compassionate leader. He's a lot better than many we've had, and he's light years better than his immediate predessessor... and, it's important to say, far FAR better than any of the GOP whackaloons waiting in the wings to take over should we decide he didn't live up to our own disparate, fickle standards.
Its quite clear he has absolutely no problem throwing people under the bus who no longer serve his purpose.