I think I'm done. If that makes this a "goodbye cruel world" diary, then so be it. I don't want to leave. I used to think this community was uniquely situated to galvanize the Democratic Party. Now I'm not so sure.
For me, the straw that broke the camel's back was
this diary about Barack Obama's recent speech, asking if he isn't "the next Joe Lieberman." As of this moment this diary has garnered 650 comments - most of them ostracizing Senator Obama for his alleged centrism.
...more after the jump
Of course this isn't the first time Obama's gotten this treatment. The most notable time before was his diary last September urging us to adopt a tone of civility, and not to turn against the Russ Feingold's of the world when a single vote displeased us.
But this isn't about Obama. I do not want to paint myself as a slavish fan of his. Indeed I disagreed with his words about the pledge of allegiance the other day, I was not thrilled when he threw his support behind Joe Lieberman, and I have disagreed with a few of his votes as a Senator. This isn't so much about him as about this community and its inability to see the value of a guy like Obama.
While Obama has not been perfect, it would be hard to come up with many names of Democratic office holders who offer his strong progressive track record, political skills, intelligence, and ability to inspire. We need more Obama's, not less. And I simply do not understand where all of the indignation is coming from.
The scary thing about this community has been watching the way we reinforce many of our worst instincts for each other. When words like "civility" and "moderation" are equivocated with submission and surrender, we have reached a jihadist crossroads.
Now certainly I understand the instinct to try and pull hard left. To give no quarter. In a world where center is right and right is far, far right - it is only natural to want to restore balance. But that instinct is dead wrong.
The right built voting blocs that have allowed their politicians to pull far right without fear of political consequence. We haven't built a similar bloc of enough size on the left, so demanding our candidates to go hard left amounts to a death sentence for them. More importantly, it endangers our country, as we simply cannot afford another election cycle of one party rule.
We cannot simply stand back and demand that our representatives get tough. We need to take responsibility ourselves. We need to organize the kinds of voting blocs that will embolden progressive candidates to stop compromising. But doing this will require us to be disciplined, something I've noticed we don't seem to be willing to be.
Though it is certainly not the central problem, the recent debate on use of profanity on this site was emblematic of what I'm getting at. When it became clear that the world was watching us and beginning to dismiss us as rabid loons, the overwhelming sentiment around here was that our right to free expression was more important than convincing others to enter our tent. They should have to enter on our terms. Folks - that's insanity.
The Obama/religion debate went much the same way. Obama was chided for "reinforcing Republican frames" when it ought to be clear to all that the "liberal secularist" frame hardly needed to be reinforced. It is frozen in the public consciousness. If anything, all Obama was doing was offering us a way out. Simply distinguish yourself from the nameless militant secularists of the past and the rebranding has begun. This is the same process the Republicans employed to get from the mean-spirited, racist Republican party of the 60's and 70's to the "compassionate conservative" brand we wish they were sincere about.
But instead of looking unflinchingly at where we are now, and where we need to go - people here would rather fight with reality and fool themselves that the "liberal secularist" meme will go away if Obama doesn't mention it.
At some very core level, a myopia seems to be washing over this community. Politicians seek us out. They throw elaborate parties for us in Vegas, which we criticize for "tying too hard." We must be very important. Surely we yield huge electoral clout.
But how many individual user accounts does this site have? Somewhere in the six figures? How many more lurkers show up each day? Does anyone know? I'm not privy to that number, but I doubt it is enough to swing an election. The reason we are important right now is our utility as a source for fundraising. That's the bottom line. We are a quick and easy way to get money for Democratic candidates. Beyond that we have not earned true clout yet.
Now don't get me wrong. This is a great position to be in. But we need to grow. Do we know how to? Are we willing to make our tent larger? Can we accept the compromises that this entails?
Sad to say, this country is not waiting on pins and needles for a truly progressive voice to lift them up. Many of the people in this country simply don't find that vision entrancing. Our job is to start the process of changing their hearts and minds. That's not an overnight task. It won't happen because we think it should. It will happen when we accept that it is a process with many steps along the way. Some of those steps feel like compromise, but you cannot just will yourself to the finish line without making the journey.
At the center of this debate lies the question; do folks who disagree with us have a right to their vote? If they do, then we need to accept that simply outmanuevering them won't do the trick. We need to get enough of them to surrender willingly. That won't happen because our leaders get tough. It will happen because we get organized and commit to a year in, year out process of change.
Barack Obama understands this. He is among the greatest hopes we have to pull our country back from the brink of disaster. We should not look at him as a problem. If anything, we should be looking for more like him.
Anyhow - I'm not sure if this is a Goodbye Cruel World diary or not. Is there a place for people like me in this tent?