Much ado has been made about several of us left leaning bloggers voicing our displeasure with aspects of the Obama presidency.
I understand that some of us have gone overboard by threatening to not support President Obama. We all remember what he replaced. Good sense will triumph over anger when 2012 comes around. Relax.
But the point I'm trying to make is that we must do a good job of holding those we elect accountable. Whether it's BushI who vowed "No new taxes." Or BushII vowing to be a "compassionate conservative" (An oxymoron if there ever was one)
We looked for real change from the Obama presidency and the first year had many great successes. We're scheduled to have combat Troops out of Iraq in August. President Obama promised to focus on Afghanistan and he certainly has. Where many like myself are having problems are with how he has chosen to deal with the opposition. Particularly with the signature issue, health care reform. I could go on for ten paragraphs about what when wrong but that's been covered thousands of times and we probably all bored with that part by now.
To my friends on the left. It is our duty to hold President Obama accountable and to his word. To the same beliefs we share. That government plays an important role in making the lives of Americans better. That government is to serve all of us. Not just the rich and powerful. And our voices were heard by the President. In his SOTU Address he vowed to fight for what we believe in. He attacked the obstructionist republicans and the ultra right leaning corporate shills on the Supreme Court. Damn right I was proud of him for doing that. They deserved it.
And if you remember, outside of Ron Paul, I can't think of many republicans that opposed BushII on anything. While he cut taxes, spent and drove our Nation 11 trillion dollars into debt, the "fiscally prudent?" republicans for the most part said nothing. They voted with him on everything. They parroted his talking points. When cornered they all said "Well, uh. Um. Er. I, uh. Well. This president has kept us safe." Tell that to the four thousand Soldiers who lost their lives and the tens of thousands injured during an invasion and occupation of a country that was no threat.
The republicans failed to hold Bush accountable for his actions during his presidency. Funny how so many of them now decry his spending and governing. Too bad they didn't have the courage of a great republican like Teddy Roosevelt to say something back when it would have made a difference.
Democrats. Progressives. Independents that like Obama. It is our duty to our Country and our President to keep his feet to the fire. When we stop doing that and settle for "He's doing all he can with what he has to work with" the republicans win again. We can't afford that as a Nation. And I have no doubt that President Obama would want us to settle for mediocrity either.
28 comments:
Howard Zinn said
"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
@Truth
Great post Truth.
You know I kept getting "blanked" by the servers on the last post
--weird--
Anyhow, people have to keep voting, and keep writing and emailing their representatives. Especially when they do something you agree with. It really matters.
You don't have to hit the streets, I mean shit, we've all got jobs to get to, we'll those of us still lucky enough to be employed. I called Chuck Schumer back in November and got him on the phone twice. Scared me shitless.
-SJ
I'm lucky. I was a "little shot" for a while but my Dad was a big shot. I got to talk to a bunch of big shots. Never did me much good though. Other than I can say I got to talk to a big shot.
At least five times the first thing I got out of a big shots mouth when I called was "How did you get this number?"
I did get to talk to Presidnet Obama twice. Once on the phone and once at Clat Adams Park in Quincy. He was running for senator at those times. I was helping with the west central Illinois effort. Which was futile because West Central Illinois is brutal on Democrats that have no connection to West Central Illinois.
Truth,
I'm getting blood in my mouth from biting my tongue over the Obama love fest since the speech. He's a hella good speaker I'll say that much now I'll shut the hell up.
@Truth,
I hear that. The thing was I was seriously pissed back when I heard the public option was being dropped last year, and I'm used to getting an intern on the phone, but the man picks up his own phone (did it twice), what the fuck?
After my voice broke I gave him a piece of my mind and he basically agreed with everything I said, said he would back down because he knew how f'ffed off everybody was... and I basically had to end the call because I'd said all I had to say.
It was very unsatisfying.
-SJ
Relax Oso. My Dad was a Hillary supporter in the primary. And now that President Obama is listening to us, things will improve swiftly.
"said he wouldn't back down"
I like this Truth. I'm a supporter of Obama, and I'm there to rally and praise him. But if I'm not happy with something I will speak up, why not?? It's American!!
At least Schumer heard you out SG. I was lucky. All my calls were to ask Durbin or a higher up like him for an endorsement and money for whatever local candidate I was working for. They all said yes after their initial reaction to how this no name got their personal number.
I only got a little heat from one of them who told me to email him an endorsement letter and he would sign it and send it back. So I sent him an endorsement letter that was pretty much like one of my posts lambasting republicans.
He called me as soon as he received it a said "I can't sign this! What the hell are you thinking about Joe!?!"
He sent me his own letter which was, I admit, much friendlier if not as much fun to read. My candidate won in a landslide. But I think it was all the other stuff I put out beating hell out of our opponent that did it.
I don't live or die with the Raiders like I used to, but some do. After every loss the players/coach use some version of how it was a wakeup call and find something positive to build on to make the fans think there's some hope of winning next week.
The Raider faithful get discouraged and say they've had it but whenever the team plays well in a loss or manages an upset they're back and excited knowing the team finally turned the corner and if they just win six in a row and he Bolts lose 5 out of 6 the division is ours.
Obama really put it to the lobbyists in the SOTU I hear. Finally gets it. Real wakeup call.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/78509-after-obama-rips-k-street-administration-invites-lobbyists-to-private-briefings
Or not.
One thing that will happen is that the abandoners will come back raising his poll numbers to the high fifties at least. That should take some of the bogus fodder away from the right in that regard.
And c'mon Oso. You enjoy a good beatdown on republicans as much as I do. Enjoy the moment my friend.
@Truth101
(applause)
Second that applause!
Truth: I applaud you. As a "Leftie" you aren't afraid to voice your displeasure over some of what Obama is doing or has/hasn't done. Like you said, we have to hold their feet to the fire. Maybe if we had done that to MORE Presidents [& senators but we're specifically talking Prez here] we wouldn't be in this friggin' mess.
Obama is one fine oator, I'll give em that.
As to the rest... we'll just have to wait and see.
My take is he seems to be moving away from the far left positions he held. Becoming more of a pragmatist. That, if true, is very good for the Nation.
If so perhaps the gridlock will break and something of value will occur.
Not holding my breath however, and it could just be a calculated ploy to get the opposition to drop it's guard.
Lots of lack of transparency in this administartion so I fail to see much difference in that regard from GWB.
In the end it's all politics and all about winning , as TAO has repeatedly pointed out so often.
And that statement in reality applies to Democrats as well as Republicans.
As the economy gets better (great news today about the 5.7% growth) Obama will be fine. His poll numbers will go up, as the recession eases and people get rehired.
I never thought he was a liberal as he appeared. It was no surprise that single payer never had a chance.
There is no one in the field who has the talents he has. Unless he makes a big mistake, he will be reelected.
All this screaming from the right will be seen for what it is when the people realize their ideas (if they ever offer any) do not meet the needs of the problems we face.
I still think he has the opportunity to go down in History, as one of our great Presidents.
Great Presidents are partly judged by the severity of the problems they guided us through. No President since FDR has had such serious problems to deal with, and Obama will get us through them.
Reality said: "Howard Zinn said "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
So, are the teabaggers now great patriots?
Truth: This fits in with what I told a conservative commenter elsewhere who said that Obama was always pandering to his "base". There, I pointed out that the "base" has concerns about Obama... which you are going into here.
@Pamela D. Hart
What you said should be printed on our money.
-SJ
Obama, just as Bush, ran on the ideals of his base. I saw him as capitulating to the right on health care far too soon. We gave up on single payer without even a mention. The public option was bartered away before it had a chance to hit the Floor so we could really see who was for and against.
Bush ran from the ideals of his base about fiscal restraint and cautious intervention in foreign affairs. They for the most part chose to suck up to Bush and look the other way until after he left office. Only now are they concerned about deficits and spending.
It's a testament to the patriotism and Country first ideals that so many on the left have held President Obama's "feet to the fire" on issues that are important Dmarks.
Had the right been more concerned with our Nation and it's direction we would not be in the mess we're in now. And perhaps Obama would not be president.
Tea Baggers? I'll concede a few of them are patriots concerned with profligate spending. But I still believe most of them are mindless sheep with no real clue what they are mad at.
SJ: "people have to keep voting, and keep writing and emailing their representatives. Especially when they do something you agree with. It really matters."
This is so true. I think one of my frustrations with a lot of fair-weather Dems is not what they say, but that they don't contribute in a meaningful way - emails and such - to have themselves heard. They just bitch.
Truth - I did notice when you criticized the president. But thinking it over, I felt that this only served to lend credibility to your blog.
I think that being completely positive about your side, or being totally negative about another just can't be right.
I liked the POTUS in the SOTU, and as always - your blog.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/01/30-0
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/01/30
great post truth --
i will be frank, i am disappointed in obama - for a lot of reasons, but my support has waned - not yet. he was great at the GOP retreat and he needs to be like that more and more
his problems are multiple but i think a core issue is the complete ineffectiveness of Harry Reid - the Senate has devolved into a useless and uberpartisan body capable of almost nothing. the GOP just says filibuster and harry runs - make these goons get up there and be Jimmy Stewart.
obama can reach all he want - and he should, but we all know they wil never ever work with him - ever - that is why he has to ramrod things through. and it can be done, bush did it.
i could go on, but i will just get more angry
Hi Big T, you are a Big Shot...cause you spoke to the Big O(bama). President Obama did say that we have to hold him and the others accountable because he knows that when he can't get them to change their lazy ways, he can take our outrage to them and use that as a stick to get them off their lazy asses...so we are his next line of offense. Great post.
"And if you remember, outside of Ron Paul.."
A "man of principle" supposedly. But one who likes to use well-known antisemitic code-words in his speech.
My first impression of him was a rather low one when his supporters stage a littering campaign in my town. Yeah, for for Paul, here's a lot of paper on the ground.
His idea to get rid of the 14th Amendment in order to degrade born American citizens to alien status due to illegal actions committed by their parents is also quite scary, and would make the US like one of those nations where there's a large hereditary underclass that has lived in a country for generations, but is still denied citizenship status.
I didn't say Ron was a saint. But anyone that dislikes Bush can't be all bad.
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