I wrote this last night....
http://www.dailykos.com/...
now I'm a troll and a bad human....
But I am going to lay it out farther, cause I am SICK of the Obama bashing, and he WON.... with OUR support....
I Don't get it? Here, I like this site overall, but jesus christ. The country on average is NOT Center right, it is NOT center left... the country on average is center center. Basic math says this. Is no one ever graded on a bell curve anymore? C is average folks, NOT everyone on the right is a flunkie, not everyone on the left is a shining star.
If all you see is your opponets as an enemy, then you might as well quit reading here.
POINT 1) Most people in the U.S.A. are pretty much Fiscally conservative to a point. (Goverment by the people FOR the people. Health care, Social security, reasonable domestic spending, but don't bankrupt the entire country just to save bankers.)
And socially liberal. They tend to be pro-choice for others, but would not choose to abort electivly on thier own (not pro-abortion for the record, there is a difference), pro-gun ownership with reasonable controls, really don't care who sleeps with who, or when... just protect the kids and stuff.
Most indavidual Americans are moderate, center of the road. it may eb and flow one person to one person, but look at the posts here the last few weeks, THIS doesn't represent AMERICA. It represent the Left Wings answer to talk radio. which bring me to....
POINT 2) Do we really aspire to be no better than right-wing radio? Right wing radio owns the airwaves of AM broadcasts, and listen to them.
The left wing of the Democratic Party owns the net, this site, talking points memo, Crooks and Liars are all proof. There are right wing blogs, redstate.com comes to mind. Just as Air America exists on the AM air waves. Same Difference. If we say we are better than them, we NEED to be better than them and LEARN pragmatism. If not, we shall fall in an election just as they have those few days ago.
POINT 3) What the American voters gave Obama WAS a mandate, but it was NOT a progressive mandate from my view nor most the views of the people that I respect. It was a mandate that Washington needs to listen to everyone, the president needs to be ALL Americans president, not just in name, but in action and spirit as well.
The American people want the President to LEAD, not from the stand point that Bush did with lies, deception and falsehoods. Not like Clinton with subterfouge and slight of hand. We want a President who can inspire, motivate, give us hope.
I voted for Obama for those things, and in doing so, I WILL trust his judgement, I DO BELIEVE he can do those things I have seen him already inspire in others.
Pragmatism is when you say this man is a leader, a motivater, someone who inspires, you let him LEAD, MOTIVATE and INSPIRE.
I don't assume to know his plans, know his ideals or know his motivation. But I know I voted for him, so I made a pact to trust his judgement until it comes a time where he has proven it to be wrong.
I never voted for President Bush, (or as I have said before President Cheney and his sock puppet front man), but I gave the American system the benfit of the doubt in 2000, depsite my misgivings about how it happened.
He lost my trust and respect though pretty much right after inaguration, not due to him being a republican, but to him being Anything But Clinton.
President Obama must not make THAT mistake. While we,I,half his own party can list things that President Bush put in place that are ongoing disasters. He does have a few good things, that while they may need tweaking, the basic principal is sound and decent logic.
Bush's dealings with the African Continent are amazing. He has done more to promote America there than any President. Africa maybe the only place where the view of America broke even and maybe improved under Bush, amazing as this sounds. Almost everyone who has spoken of this states this point.
Bush's IDEA of faith based initiative is something Kerry & Obama has said they wish to continue. Now I am the ULTIMATE seperation of church and state clown out there. I can take a fundamentalist to task all day every day and relish the moment. That being said, there is a rational (pragmatic) reasoning here that I believe can be applied. But it must include all faith and not just the christian rights chosen children.
I am sure there are others. But in 1992, the Democrats had the same chance they do now....
Will we do like we did then and over reach?
I hate to go into this portion of it, but here is the truth. And I say the following with a sick knot in my stomach, because it so directly affects someone I love dearly. My oldest friend in the world is homosexual, her and her partner have been together just over 16 years now. I wasn't able to be at thier anniversary 3 weeks ago, and I felt like shit about it. To this day, I still tell her I love her whenever we get done talking on the phone or I am visiting home and we have lunch with her and her lovely wife.
They live in a state where it is "unconstitutional" for them to be considered equal with others, and I am disgusted by it. I am disgusted that so MANY Americans agree that bigotry can still be practiced in any form. (I like to call myself a bigot, but I only hate morons and assholes... I have no doubt some of you consider me one of these right now)
But here is the pragmatic truth of the current nation. Most people in America do oppose gay marriage. I HATE THIS, and I fight it every chance I get. I call it what it is, bigotry. I rally for the chance that the people this discriminates agaist will one day be able to form the union in a protected legal sense that I believe their friends, family, god and themselves have already given.
I donated money to the Obama campaign, I donated MORE to the prop 8 defeat campaign, and I ain't in California.
But the people who passed this measure, are many of the same people who voted for Obama. I know how hard Prop-8's passing hurt people on this site. But are you going to oppose all those who voted against it out right? Are the Obama voters in California who voted for Prop-8 our alies in most convictions and another voice in others, or are they simply our enemies enemy?
The GOP from 1994-2006 was pretty much GET IN LINE OR WE DESTROY YOU. They let no dissent with respectfull discourse. IT was Delay and Rove's way or the highway. Those that decided on the highway choose us.
The quesiton I pose is this?
Are we better than the right because we are, or will be like them and only believe we are better because we say we are, and act just like they did.