I was psyched a few weeks ago to regain my Trusted User status – it made me feel integrated in the Daily Kos community that I both enjoyed and respected. But in the aftermath of the Massachusetts meltdown, I’ve found myself spending a lot more time at Farmville. It is a peaceful online place where the bleating of sheep is much more pleasing than the shrill ranting of disillusioned progressives.
I’ve refrained from commenting in any diaries for several days, opting to let my thoughts coalesce while tending to my crops. And I have reached a conclusion that will no doubt be poorly received by many kossacks: Folks, a lot of you are out of touch with the national pulse.
In an ideal world the goals of no war, universal health coverage, torture prosecutions and the kneecapping of corporate interests would be noble goals worth pursuing. But right now mainstream America isn’t buying what many hardcore progressives are peddling.
We’ve lost our way. First and foremost, people want economic security. Without it, they become fearful and angry. These emotions create a receptive environment for fallacious GOP attacks that President Obama is hell-bent on pushing a nebulous socialist agenda.
Obama deserves considerable credit for stemming the economy’s free fall last year by getting the stimulus package approved and taking steps to prevent more big banks from failing. Yes, the stimulus should have been larger and the Wall Street bailouts left a sour taste but the alternatives were even worse.
But can anyone dispute that the rocky economic times remain? A family-owned furniture store in my town just went under after being in business for nearly a century. The parishioners filling the pews at my church still fret about losing their paychecks. It is these bread-and-butter issues that matter – and it’s these issues that the president, Congress and too many progressives are virtually ignoring.
The endless wrangling over health care legislation is indicative of our misplaced priorities. Certainly it would have been possible to pass a bipartisan bill preventing insurers from withholding coverage based on preexisting conditions. Such a simple measure would have been a positive step that also may have short-circuited the angry Right Wing rallies that dominated the news last summer.
Then Obama and the Democrats could/should have focused on one issue: jobs.
Too many progressives would rather bitch about Afghanistan, a single-payer health system, the Administration’s failure to prosecute Dick Cheney, etc. Keep pounding away and we’ll see more results like Tuesday’s outcome that left Teddy Kennedy spinning in his grave. Unless pragmatic efforts are made to create jobs, the buoyant sense of hope that all of us felt one year ago will result in a one-term presidency.
So that’s my two cents. Meanwhile, I’ve got some wheat to harvest and a penguin that needs petting over on my farm. Peace.