Cross-posted at my new blog, Against the Leftbaggers.
I started blogging during the run-up to the Iraq War, some of the darkest days of the Bush years. Bush enabled the ultra-wealthy to loot the economy and the Treasury while he waged war on his enemies, foreign and domestic. In the public discourse, Bush was worshiped as God's infallible representative on Earth, those who disagreed were attacked as weaklings and traitors. In the midst of this I wrote two anti-Bush blogs, Dear Leader's Daily Thought and the Temple of George W. Bush.
The Bush years played out with predictable results that are now well-known. Zero net job creation and declining household incomes. A financial panic and a Great Recession, nearly another Great Depression, that is still raging. The wars he started -- also still raging.
In the final Bush years a coalition formed against him comprising almost all sensible Americans. It embraced liberals, moderates, and even some conservatives, anyone who would stand against Bush.
What was left on the other side was a mentally and culturally retarded remnant of Southern evangelical white racists, and the right-wing elites who use them as a power base. By no means a majority but still a significant subculture of about 25-30% of the population.
The Democrats took the mantle of the Anti-Bush Coalition and won the 2006 and 2008 elections. Obama rose to the Presidency and the leadership of the Coalition on the promise of responsible adult leadership and government that works.
Now, after a year, the Anti-Bush Coalition is straining under the burden of governing the country in the midst of the Bush catastrophe. The Coalition is being attacked from two directions.
One one side, despite their utter failure, the Bushists are still with us. They will do anything to defeat the Anti-Bush Coalition and retake power. Now that they no longer have to actually defend Bush, they have found their voice as the Teabaggers. They vote together as a disciplined bloc. They still have a permanent, privileged seat in the national discourse. They are still a real threat to any hope of achieving peace and prosperity.
On the other side are the Leftbaggers.
Who are the Leftbaggers?
A Leftbagger is a progressive who has left the Anti-Bush Coalition and joined forces with the Teabaggers to attack Obama and the Democrats.
They should be opposed because the Anti-Bush Coalition must hold together and keep the Republicans out of power, which is more important than any item on the progressive checklist.
I know that is going to cause a lot of screaming and crying from the libs. And I will have a lot to say about that in the days ahead.