Bowers Nails It
The Two Obamas and Me, Part One
t the end of the 2004 presidential primary season and how, after Howard Dean’s loss, I found great hope in Barack Obama when I briefly moved to Chicago during the Illinois Senate primary. Reading the latest piece in the media whirlwind surrounding Obama, I found this nugget that reminded me why I liked the guy so much, and why I volunteered for his campaign in a crowded field:
Which is not to say that Obama doesn’t have very strong partisan convictions. “There are times I think we’re not ambitious enough,” Obama says. “I remember back in 2004, one of the candidates had made a proposal about universal health care, and some DLC-type commentator said, `We can’t propose this kind of big-government costly program, because it’ll send a signal we’re tax-and-spend liberals.’ But that’s not a good reason to not do something. You don’t give up on the goal of universal health care because you don’t want to be tagged as a liberal. People need universal health care.”
I remember that Obama. I miss that Barack Obama–but he does still show up from time to time.
versus
I find these left wing strawmen disturbing on a very personal level. Whenever a right-wing pundit or politician uses those exact same strawmen, I feel as though I am personally being attacked. This isn’t paranoia–right-wing politicians probably are referring to me when they make statements like that, since their intention is often to slander any American who would refer to herself or himself as a progressive or a liberal. The problem is that when Democrats who seek to capture the “middle ground” use the exact same strawmen, I have a hard time believing they are not referring to me. What’s worse, is that when it comes to someone like Barack Obama, for who I worked and tried to get elected, I am not really sure what I did to deserve being talked to that way. And yes, it actually hurts to be made a scapegoat by someone you wanted to see in office, and that you helped–even if only slightly–to achieve that office. A single phrase keeps going around in my head whenever I hear Obama use one of his strawmen: I helped you, man. Why are you treating me like this? Is this a sign you don’t want me to help you anymore? Do you honestly believe that attacking me is more valuable than I help I can provide?
I agree 100% with Chris Bowers. One of the things that is most frustrating to me, and I say this as someone who gives his share of time, money, and personal time to progressive causes and politicians, is when the person whose campaign is filled with promises of progressive beliefs goes to DC and starts spouting the same old bullshit I heard from the schmuck I helped to unseat (I’m sorry Patrick, I really like you but I am extremely disappointed that you chose to caucus with the Blue Dog Democrats).
Why does Obama set up these straw men? And why did it take so much pressure to get him to speak out about the military Commissions Act of 2006? And to continue on this path, why did Obama campaign for Lieberman, and snub Lamont? For that matter, why did Barbara Boxer do the same? Why did John Conyers and Nancy Pelosi say “Impeachment is off the table”, when they could have just kept silent on the topic? And why am I hearing rumors that the Democrats aren’t so hot on repealing the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and restoring habeas corpus?
As a progressive, I don’t like getting short-shrift from the Democrats, who seem to have the same attitude the Republicans hold toward conservatives: “Where else are you going to go?”
I am well past the days of assuming that “Democrat” equals “progressive”. As a taxpayer, as a homeowner, as an American, I have a stake in our political process. Like Bowers, I refuse to be treated as a pawn on some windbag’s political ambitions, and my support is easily rescinded.
