That the President of the United States is now using scare tactics to try to bully the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to pass bad policy in order to politically rescue him, is craven and wrong headed. This smacks of Emanuel, Axelrod and Summers, out of touch, tone deaf, blunt, blundering and bullying. If bullying is necessary, first try it on the Republicans or Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Max Baucus and Blanche Lincoln, not the American people. Process is not more important than people and "Beltway Wisdom" doesn't translate very well to "Main Street", considerations of the professional political class may sway Washington insiders, but they are losing this administration the support of the American people.
Focus groups, pollsters, "block cracking" analysts,"think tanks", political "consultants", 527 groups, lobbyists and PACs litter the American political landscape like hub caps in a junkyard. Political analysis of demographic shifts, opinion of the electorate, "hot button" issues, "wedge" issues, preferences by income, age, race, sex, interests and geographic location are used to manipulate the electorate by both parties. Political professionals focus on process, not policy, numbers and finance, not people, they may be motivated by ideology, but winning is more important than service to the people and holding power is the most important goal of all.
Apparently, telling us the truth, actually informing Americans, is no longer a part of the politicians' tool kit. Speaking to us with clarity and purpose, defining the issues that are facing us without "spin" and putting real solutions on the table, inspiring and persuading us, is now reduced to "crafting a message", not providing a vision of a better America and asking us to work together to get there.
Rhetoric is not leadership. The Presidency is not a continuous campaign; at some point the President and the office must merge into a functioning place of governance, not a platform for electioneering. The immediacy of the nation's problems: the economy, war, healthcare policy, industrial policy, climate change and reestablishing American's faith in their Federal government are crying out for strong, competent leadership, not more speeches. Action is required, now.
These times call for bold leadership and a vision of America that is not incrementalist, tepid or compromising. America cried out for change in 2008, the President said "yes we can"; however, instead of using the "we" in that statement he has told us "he" has the solution, a solution not very clearly defined, that "we" are not apparently going to participate in, except as spectators and tax payers.
I would suggest that Americans are not "folks", we are soldiers, workers, students, teachers, mothers, fathers, patients, doctors, "people of faith" and non-believers... Some of us are smart, some are not, we are racially and culturally diverse; significant tensions exist between us about sexual identity, the meaning of family, work, taxes, governments' role in our lives, economic security, the meaning of community, education... The magnitude of the list of who we are and how we differ is enormous but we are not some amorphous mass of "folks" and we deserve to be addressed as participants in America. Leadership is presenting a vision that involves us all and invites us, the American people,to become a part of the solution to Americas' problems.
Change is what America wants, it's what we voted for in 2008.
We have seen our country export its industrial base and the jobs that go with it, encouraged by tax and trade policies that have impoverished the people and our government. We want this changed.
We have seen our education system used as a political football, with government mandated change imposed without the funding to accomplish the stated goals in "No Child Left Behind". We want this changed.
Healthcare is a fiasco, and now we are being asked to swallow another mandate without adequate safe-guards, funding or regulation, this is not what we want. We want this changed.
We are at war with the wrong people, for the wrong reasons, and in the wrong places, spending more money on war than any other national priority, we want peace.
Corporate power is torturing our polity into a parody of governance. The only institution in America that can equalize the effects of corporatism is government and we are awfully tired of having our government put the concerns of big business over the concerns of the people. We want this changed.
Environmental policy, immigration policy, terrorism, economic policy, employment policy, consumer finance regulation and banking oversight are all areas where the President will need the support of the American people. We have voted for change in all these areas.
Provide a vision of America we can support. Provide the leadership to make that vision a reality. Help us, help you Mr. President and we will, play politics as usual and you will lose us. Your enemies cannot be converted, don't alienate your friends. Forget "crafting a message", craft a vision for America, communicate it to us, and we will help you achieve the America we all want, a greener, healthier, fairer, more prosperous country, at peace.