The last few weeks, many Kossacks have found themselves arguing in diaries about the futile progressives fighting for a public option and the weak moderate Democrats fighting for the status-quo.
Sometimes I think we forget we're on the same team. Sometimes I don't think anyone realizes that we can disagree and still pull on our side of the rope. You see, this is all a huge tug of war.
Picture the long, thick rope with a ribbon tied in the middle. The ribbon is HCR. The Republicans pull one direction, the Democrats in the other. The Republicans are, for the most part, solid in their hatred of any HCR and they are all trying to hold the anchor position. As they pull harder to the right, the ribbon color changes, it becomes paler and paler. The Democrats are up and down our entire side of the rope with a couple of them pulling for the Republican side.
The progressive arm of the Democratic party serves as our anchor. We need to pull hard to get this to pass. The harder the anchorman pulls, the brighter the color of the ribbon. President Obama will stand where ever that ribbon lies.
You know what happens when the anchor gives up, don't you?
I would like to remind everyone of a cocktail reception that took place many months ago. The President, the First Lady, and the Vice President spoke with "Labor leaders Jimmy Hoffa, Gerry McEntee and Andy Stern; MoveOn’s Eli Pariser; Sierra Club’s Carl Pope; Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richardson; and Joe Solomonese of the Human Rights Campaign" and more.
The message was never published outright, but Greg Sargent wrote in The Plum Line:
“it’s very clear that there will need to be an echo chamber and a way for groups on the outside to build the case for big progressive legislation.”
MoveOn.org's executive director, Justin Ruben also held a one-on-one meeting with the President,
One of his first jobs as the new ED-- a private meeting with the White House and President Barack Obama. Since February, MoveOn has been working to assist and broaden the President's agenda, including health care reform and building a clean energy economy.
The President didn't ask the base to move to the middle. He told us to keep up the good work. He told us to fight the good fight. In the famous words of FDR, “You’ve convinced me. I want to do it. Now MAKE me do it.”
So when you read that a progressive led petition drive calls President Obama a "loser," (Dear Credo, Stop Calling President Obama a "Loser") take a second and look at the big picture. Imagine the anchor man pulling hard on that rope and feeling the rope start to give way in the wrong direction. Your hands burn from trying to hold on. The blisters are starting to pop. Imagine the anger at the team members holding on to the front for not pulling harder. Imagine the disgust at the team members that haven't even held on to the rope, that are standing on the sidelines waiting to see which side might win before they jump in the fight.
Our hands are all torn up because we didn't go into this tug-of-war with the right equipment. No one is wearing a pair of thick gloves to protect from the rope burns. We will all walk away injured at the end. But the fight is still worth it.
If you are standing on the HCR side of the rope, keep pulling. And look to the other side of the rope to remember who your opponent really is. It's not the guys standing behind you.