for Progressives to be enthusiastic about his campaign?
There are any number of "niche" issues that Progressives might disagree with Obama about (Death Penalty, Gun Control, "total" withdrawal from Iraq, universal health care, the level of funding for alternative energy research, etc.), but this is not about those issues.
I'm talking about the big ones. FISA and the Bailout. Why these two?
Because the FISA bill was about a fundamental constitutional principle: that the Constitution means something, and that members of Congress take their oath to uphold the Constitution "to the best of their ability." And Obama chose to forego that responsibility for perceived political expediency. If a politician can not, as an elected representative of the people, commit to this minimum threshhold - to enforce the Constitution - then how are we, as Americans, supposed to take anything that politician says seriously about the rule of law, integrity, ethics, or anything else that politician might say about his responsibility to the people?
I've heard the argument that Americans didn't care about FISA. I never understood how that matters, but even assuming the validity of that point (and I think Glenn Greenwald put that flawed notion to rest), it is precisely in these moments when a politician, who DOES know what is at stake (even if the people don't), shows his/her true colors by voting to uphold or eviscerate the duty to enforce the Constitution.
So then we have the Bailout - the other "big one". Why a "big one"? Two reasons. First, because of the sheer enormity in scale of the financial burden (theft, really) imposed on the American Taxpayer and the Federal Government. Obama himself admitted that some his policy objectives will have to be scaled back. This bill will hamstring Obama for his entire administration, especially when placed on top of the $10 trillion debt the US already owes. It's crippling, and it's unnecessary. Economists (including some of Obama's own advisors, like Joseph Stiglitz), business leaders, and academics have consistently (if not uniformly) stated that this bill is a question mark at BEST as to whether it will solve the liquidity crisis (which is only one part of the current crisis anyway).
But it's also a "big one" because the American people overwhelmingly made their position clear - they did NOT want this bill. Yes, polling was all over the place depending on the wording of the question, but look no further than the volume and consistency of the messages sent to Capitol Hill this week - millions of Americans begging their representatives to reject the Bush/Paulson plan. And Obama voted for the bill and lobbied the House to pass the bill, over the objections of the American People.
So we have one bill where Obama showed that he is willing to violate the most basic tenets of an elected US Representative in the absence of any overwhelming voter sentiment. And we have another where Obama showed he is willing to cripple his own stated "progressive" policy objectives and ignore the clearly expressed sentiments of the American People to vote for a bill that by most accounts is flawed at best, but will undoubtedly further enrich many of the financially elite criminals who created this mess in the first place.
As a Progressive, that makes it freaking hard for me to be enthusiastic about his campaign.
Yes, I know the alternative. McCain is simply not an option. No, I will not vote for a third party or stay home. Yes, I have donated to his campaign and campaigned on his behalf. The gun is pointed at my head, what else can I do? But neither can I stay silent. His actions are contributing to the destruction of America as I know and love it - a nation of laws with a government able to help those most in need in really awful economic times.
I am committed to helping truly progressive candidates win in Congress - candidates like Darcy Burner and Al Franken - because I surely do not trust Obama or the Democratic leadership currently in power to work on the behalf of the interests of everyday Americans. But that's a depressing way to approach this most important election in my lifetime.
***********Update**************
Reading the comments has been interesting. I'm curious how so many people missed or ignored my point that there is no alternative to Obama. McCain's a nightmare (almost literally, with his apparent willingness to use nuclear weapons in a first strike against Iran) and I won't stay home or waste my time/money/vote on a third party candidate. Obama has to be elected. That's a given.
And I recognize the value that an Obama Administration brings on so many issues of importance to progressives. If for no other reason than this, his pledge to pass and sign EFCA makes him the only candidate I'm willing to support. But of course there are also his positions on Global Warming, energy independence, ending the war in Iraq, and of coure judicial appointments. These things matter.
My point is precisely to challenge the idea that Obama is any kind of committed progressive. So let me clarify the last paragraph of my diary. I am supporting Burner and Franken and other committed progressive candidates because Obama and the current Democratic Leadership really aren't.
Many of you probably know the anecdote about Franklin D. Roosevelt meeting with some constituents on some issue (I forget which), and at the end of the meeting he said "You convinced me. I want to do it. Now go out and make me." That's what I mean here. We need a Congress filled with committed progressives who will make Obama enact his progressive policy objectives. Because I don't trust that he, Pelosi, Hoyer, and Reid will do it on their own.