It's January 2009 and Barack Obama has just become President of the US. Already, the left liberal democratic whatever you wanna call it "base" is deeply disappointed with the man. Oh, he hired Rahm Emanuel. Oh, he hired Timothy Geithner. Oh blah blah blah, he sucks. The man wasn't even President for a day and already millions had given up on him.
The Republican party by then had already been taken over by Tea Party extremists. I like to call them terrorists who use democracy as their weapon of choice.
And what are you? You're a whiney little pos who could stand to learn a thing or two about democracy and the importance of supporting and never giving up on those that are on your side - even when they fail.
There is an absolute lack of solidarity among us. If your pet issue isn't being addressed the way you want it to be addressed and when you want it to be addressed, then you are not a happy camper. And Obama can kiss your support goodbye!
Economic stimulus package? Not good enough!
No matter that House Dems, and Obama himself, wanted it to be bigger than it was. No matter that it was a handful of Senate Dems who insisted in watering it down. Obama signed it and so he is responsible for it. It wasn't good enough so he can kiss my support goodbye!
Health insurance reform? Not good enough!
No matter that House Dems and Obama himself pushed hard for a public option and tighter cost controls. He didn't push hard enough so he can kiss my support goodbye!
Gay rights? Not good enough!
Why didn't he end DODT right away? Why isn't it ending fast enough now that it passed? What about DOMA? How come he won't say if he really believes in gay marriage? No matter that right away he ended the AIDS travel ban, no matter that he extended benefits to gay federal employees, no matter that he eventually moved on to DODT and is now in support of ending DOMA. He didn't do things my way so he can kiss my support goodbye!
The Middle East, wars, and torture? Not good enough!
First thing Obama did as President was announce he was closing the Guantanamo Bay torture camp. The entirety of the US government set out on a mission to stop him and make sure that didn't happen. Who is to blame? Well, Obama, of course! A drawdown in Iraq wasn't fast or deep enough, and the Afghan surge didn't help matters at all. Not to mention the continuous bombings in Lybia, Yemen, and Pakistan that continue today. When will the US learn not to get involved in other people's affairs? So, you found Bin Laden. BFD. So you backed off and watched homegrown revolutionary democratic movements take root in Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Palestine, and Israel. BFD. When will Obama learn to get involved in other people's affairs? And how dare he not send a SWAT team to arrest George W Bush and Dick Cheney for their war crimes!? He has become a war criminal and he can kiss my support goodbye!
Environmental policies? Not good enough! Education policy? Not good enough! Immigration? Not good enough! Marijuana policy? Not good enough! Nothing is good enough!
So what do you do? You bitch and whine and talk about how Obama sucks this Obama sucks that, he's selling us out, he won't get my support now, you sit out the election and where are we now? Tea Party Republicans now control the House of Representatives. Tea Party Republicans now control many state governments. Abortion is under attack, social security is under attack, medicare is under attack, union rights are under attack, civil rights are under attack. And they are winning. And you still bitch and whine about how it's Obama's fault.
If it's anybody's fault, then it falls squarely on your shoulders. He's selling us out? You sold him out first.
It's your fault for thinking the President can ignore Congress and implement policy on his own terms, a la that loveable President George W Bush. We all loved his cowboy style, right? It's your fault for not fighting for good policy, for not urging the President to keep fighting. It's your fault for withdrawing your support when you didn't get your way. The President said - make me do it. And you gave up on him without a fight. Instead of building him up and encouraging to pursue better policy goals, we tore him down instead. What is he to do in the face of terroristic Republican opposition when literally nobody has his back?
Whereas the right sticks together and fights for their common goals, our side seems full of selfish assholes who couldn't care less about any other issues except the ones that matter to them. Instead of sharing in our small victories over the last three years, all we do is complain. There will never be progress in this country until we are all united, until we all gain patience and persevere through the struggles and the roadblocks that will always be coming at us from the right. There will never be progress for as long as we keep sitting out and ceasing control to the Republicans. There will never be progress until you grow up.
But, you know, whatever, right?