So again we meet at a crossroads, as the left reaches a boiling point over Obama's plan to compromise, much in the same way Bill Clinton did with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act back in '96 that got us into our current UI mess, the rec list and numerous diaries fill up with metaphorical (and one nearly literal) calls for Obama's head on a platter.
Well then, let's consider the consequences and who is to blame.
The deficit will increase, most assuredly. And Polling will show that Obama's numbers are dropping. And likely nothing will get passed from the Democratic side of the aisle in either house as it's been for most of the past two years save for a few good bills here and there. The republicans will continue to hound Obama, and likely try to use this as a campaign issue saying that Obama didn't deliver on the jobs because he wouldn't' let us.
Or if he didn't compromise, everyone's taxes would increase. Those in the middle class already struggling would become worse off. The rich would still remain mostly rich. The government would be able to fund more things, but the continuation of Republican obscuration, and the likely wastefulness of a republican majority in the House would probably squander what little those taxes brought in. The economy would tank even harder because people already having a tough enough time as it is wouldn't be able to afford even the basic enough spending required to keep businesses, small or "small" afloat. The republicans would hound Obama come 2012 that he destroyed the economy with his tax hikes.
Who do we blame for this?
Do we blame Obama for attempting a compromise in the first place? Although he doesn't have the power to create and pass laws single-handed and practically has to work at the whim of Congress, he did make some promises, and those promises are his to keep. If only he had fought the Republicans on this issue and brought us into a stalemate of nothing at all happening. Sure, nothing at all is likely to happen either way, but certainly would look better if he fought for nothing to happen. I mean, it's the thought that counts. So what if health care wouldn't have gotten passed so long as he stood for Democratic principles. But even beyond health care, he's made far too many passes to the right to seem healthy for a democratic president, regardless of their very public attitude towards him.
Do we blame the Senate democrats, who, as a whole, have been mostly spineless behind the yellow leadership of Harry Reid? Reid, who mostly bent over backwards so far that he could wear his arse for a hat to try and gain the votes of a handfull of "moderate" republicans on a lot of issues, and the fellow democrats of the Senate who usually ran to MSNBC to complain to Keith Olbermann or Rachael Maddow about how bad things are with the Republicans but would usually remain utterly silent about it or do nothing to oppose them.
What happened to the specter of filibuster reform and other such things they didn't want to bother with until after November, only to not touch them now? And long since has the word "Reconciliation" has been forgotten after it's use on the Health care bill. But with the likes of Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman and Blanche Lincolin and other "moderate" democrats who make up our big tent, nothing gets done in the senate that shows the benefits of a democratic control.
Do we blame the media for it's overactive and over-reactive grasp for anything negative coming out of or around Obama's administration? Of course, there's always Fox News, whose central mission has been to destroy Obama and the democratic party, but with the others grasping at the slightest bit of ratings bait regardless of how irrational it may be, such as the premature calls of the Health care bill's death, the numerous news cycles spent covering he-said-she-said to try and gain viewership out of jinned up outrage and controversy.
Let's not forget how they continue to grant legitimacy to the likes of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party by jumping at every single thing they say or do like ravenous wolves and granting political figures a plainly obvious platform to spew lies without confrontation or fact checking. And let's not forget the numerous blogs made up of people who work standard day jobs yet are apparently Harvard law experts by night, knowing how to write good policy yet dismayed the President won't listen to them. They know far more about politics than the elected officials.
Perhaps we blame big business? From Wall Street to Wal-Mart, the major corporations have always been hand in hand with the Republicans, and know that the only way the republicans can help them get things the way they want them is if democrats play ball, and with enough green on the field, everyone plays. From lobbyists to attack ads with blatant lies, big business sees all and wants all, as its greed is only limited by its tax burden. Just a shame that their multitude of research dollars in technological advancements for our convenience (and their own profits) and the jobs they provide when they're feeling gracious get in the way of removing them from the equation
Out of this, who do we blame?
The answer is simple, as there's quite the theme running through each:
In every single case, the republicans have a heavy hand. By partnering with big business, they get the funding to run heavily against democrats, pushing them out of office or keeping them out, thus letting them gain control or block the controlling party from governing. As such, they can prevent the administration of the opposing party from keeping his campaign promises.
Over the past two years of this presidency, I've seen more diaries lamenting the election of Obama than I have lambasting the republicans for everything they do to stop work from being performed. The news reports republican obstruction, and then moves on to another subject or brings on a republican congress member or strategist to allow them to spew lies about why the obstruction is the fault of the democrats without any rebuke or fact checking. Only Obama had the guts to go forth and tell people about what the Republicans have been doing and what he says gets treated like campaigning rather than a warning.
Yet, when he attempts to get one of his promises to us passed by bending some to the will of these villains, it is apparently an absolute tragedy to the likes of Daily Kos and a sign that we should have never voted for such a fiend.
I say this to you now, and mean this with every fiber of my being: Grow the fuck up. Don't let a movement die at the hands of the Republicans with misplaced blame and anger. FIGHT. When 2012 comes, all hell will break loose. Will you continue to side with the republicans by believing, falsely, that you've been betrayed? Or will you stand up and fight for our god damned country to prevent them from finishing its destruction.