Rachel Maddow’s segment tonight on the trial balloon that Obama is floating to make cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid was both depressing and very informative. For those of you who are still arguing that Obama is not going to go there, you need to watch a clip of her program.
One thing she said, that I thought was very insightful, is that President Obama is giving up a significant slice of the Democratic soul. She lays out in very plain terms what the effects of his proposal will have on the Democratic Party, and it isn't pretty. (emphasis mine)
The general consensus of progressive bloggers and political writers - from samplings I have taken from the blogosphere - is that Obama is going to strike a fatal blow to the Democratic Party if he continues with his plan. Like Rachel said:
Politically, the Democrats most potent asset right now is that Republicans this spring - in the House and the Senate – voted overwhelmingly for the Paul Ryan Plan to kill Medicare, while Democrats voted unanimously to defend it. This vote, this stark contrast between Democrats and Republicans was potent enough to turn a blood red Congressional District in upstate New York - to turn that district blue.
…this is the Democrat’s strongest asset. They now move to hurt Medicare, too? They will throw that asset away.
A few other quotes from her program:
Giving the one finger salute to their most die-hard supporters and their values, stiffing the Democratic base is frankly a time honored way for moderate Democratic politicians to demonstrate seriousness in Washington.
This is a central part of the way Democrats operate now in contrast to how Republicans cow-tow to and sign pledges to the extreme elements of their base: Democrats like to roil and aggravate and alienate theirs.
Angry liberals have real reason to be angry: trans-actually, the White House offering to cut Social Security and Medicare is a waste: politically it's a waste, substantively it's a waste.
Democrats appear to be getting nothing in return for this.
Support for people who have worked for a living: that's the closest thing there is to defining the reason for the Democratic Party's existence. (emphasis mine)
...end of segment
There it is, plain and simple.
We will have lost all the ground we have gained.
That happened with the compromise on the Bush tax cuts.
It happened on Affordable Care.
Here is Jamelle Bouie from The Nation:
[T]his proposal is further evidence that the debt ceiling negotiations were an intentional decision on Obama’s part. The president genuinely believes in deficit reduction, and chose to use the debt ceiling as an opportunity to cut spending with significant bipartisan cover. Obama hasn’t been fooled into these negotiations, nor is he playing rope-a-dope or a complex game of 11-dimensional chess. This is what he wants.
What does this mean for liberals? Well, they can complain and attack Obama — they’ve already begun — but criticism from the left has yet to budge the president, and it’s doubtful that this time will be any different. Demonstrations sound great, but they don’t actually carry a high chance for success; if your only option for changing the political calculations of a president is protest, then you’re probably too late to the game. Likewise, a primary campaign against Obama sounds like it might work, but outside of activist circles, there is little appetite for a challenge. The Democratic establishment is satisfied with President Obama, and will work to ensure his reelection. (emphasis mine)
Jamelle Bouie - The Nation