There have been several diaries recently, one on the Rec list now, that have gone beyond simple criticism of an Administration policy, or a Democratic party failure, and have passed the line to read almost like a Republican pundit piece.
It's one thing to be critical of the President and the Democratic party in an effort to persuade them to follow a certain course of action, but to go so far as to accuse them of "crimes", "disdain for the unemployed", and then go through point by point attacks on a litany of policies over the past 3 years, at the start of very difficult political campaign, is something the Republicans must be overjoyed with.
What possible purpose would one want to accomplish to quote attack after attack from other authors, and to elaborate on those attacks, during the start of a campaign?!
If these same attacks (many of which are highly debatable!) were to come from a Republican, we would accept it as an effort to drive down turnout among progressives and Democrats so they can get Mitt Romney and many new Republicans elected. It's hard to imagine why anyone who professes to be a progressive, or is concerned about the pain and suffering of the 99%, would write such a damning piece in the middle of this most difficult campaign.
What will be the result of accusing president Obama of being disingenuous and not having the "stomach" for the rest of us? Will the president all of a sudden jump up and say, "You're absolutely right, from here on out it'll be exactly like you want? I doubt it. Will some of the readers of these diaries get discouraged and just stay home this year, like they did in 2000 and 2010? Possibly.
One of 2 people will become the next president of the United States in 2012, Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. If you REALLY don't see a difference between these 2 people, than in my opinion you are extremely delusional. The consequences of a Mitt Romney presidency, with a Republican congress, would be absolutely devastating to the country. The pain and suffering in the U.S. and the world, would increase exponentially.
I have been a huge critic of the mistakes that I believe President Obama has made in his first term, and I will be a critic again when I see mistakes in his second term. I've even gone so far as to call for a primary opponent. But now the choice is between 2 people and 2 parties, and the difference is so dramatic, you have either not payed attention to what the Republicans have done or are promising to do, or you simply don't care what really happens to the country. There is a time and a place to criticize, and criticize hard, the people who should have done more, but we are in the middle of a campaign that could see the end of the America we all have been trying to build for more than 80 years.
Now is not the time!