President Obama State of the Union speech shows little understanding of the time we're in or of the daily experience of real Americans. Maybe it comes from being in DC for a solid year now.
- In the last 18 months, Wall Street nearly brought the world economy to its knees, paid itself huge bonuses, and, with the boldness of a gambler backed up by the U.S. Treasury, is out doing more of the same.
To deal with these and other crises, Obama will have to overcome the influence of powerful special interests, who work overtime to block any progress that could threaten their quarterly profits. He can only overcome those powerful interests when he partners with the American people.
Early on, I was encouraged that a president who came up as a community organizer would know how to do that. Even before Inauguration day, he was holding health care house meetings across the country to create a foundation for action. And when the workers at Republic Window and Door, who were laid off without the pay they were owed, occupied their factory, Obama reached out a hand of support.
But the insider disease seems to have taken over. Obama's health care proposal was already a compromise--keep private insurance companies, but offer the public a strong public option. But it was repeatedly compromised until it is now more give-away to health insurance companies and PHARMA than benefit to Americans. The mass movements pressing for single-payer health care (which at the time enjoyed majority support) weren't invited into the process to balance the special interests and ideological opponents of a strong public option. Instead, they were excluded from White House summits and systematically ignored.
When Wall Street greed threatened to crash the economy, Obama's inner circle wrote blank checks to some of the worst offenders, establishing a precedent that the most risky global gambling is backed by the American taxpayer. Obama's recent announcement that he is dealing with the "too big to fail" issue is promising, but the details will be what counts. And precious time and momentum have been lost.
So yes, Americans are furious. The Massachusetts vote disproved what Democratic Party insiders have said--you can take the progressives for granted. After all, where can they go? To the Republicans? To the Greens? Here's the answer. If they are excluded from the process, progressive voters, and the activists who built the grassroots Obama campaign, have shown they can stay home on election day.
President Obama, it is not too late to make common cause with the American people. Instead of feeding them a list of policy tweaks--a tax credit here, and new commission there--go back to the vision of "change we can believe in." Admit the mistake of trying to placate Wall Street and recalcitrant Republican ideologues. Show you can fight for the American people, and the American people will stand with you.
You'll have to start by taking on the corporate special interests that crippled our economy, undercut the promise of health care reform, and stalled desperately needed action on climate change.
Partner with the young people, the working people, state and local government, small business, the grassroots leaders who believed in change. Work with those who don't mind telling the truth about the effectiveness of single-payer health care, even if you don't agree with them. Get rid of your Wall Street economic advisers, and bring in a team that is rooted in the real, Main Street economy.
Tell the story of what is happening to our country, with the clarity and unity of purpose that you are so good at. It's not too late to bring us together, not by scolding partisanship, but by helping us see our common purpose and how we can take courageous action, together, to make change more than a belief--to make it a reality.
YES! Magazine executive editor Sarah van Gelder wrote this piece as part of a series of responses to the State of the Union which will be posted at www.yesmagazine.org.