I am an eternal optimist. In the worst situations, I believe good will eventually arrive. But the timeline for good arriving is always a realistic one.
If I get the flu, I don't expect to be up and running one day later. If I lose a client I don't expect another one to arrive without a great deal of work on my part. If I lose a battle it's not the end of the world but it also doesn't mean I've secretly won it.
And when it comes to politics, I NEVER trust and idolize my elected officials to the point where it clouds my bullshit meter as to which way the wind is ACTUALLY blowing in Washington and locally.
So lets talk about healthy criticism then. I feel (and I know most of you do) that it is our right and duty as Americans to criticize our government when we feel it is heading in the wrong direction. As Democrats, we are particularly attuned to this duty and have shown that through some of the most tumultuous cultural times of our last 60 or so years.
This does NOT, however, mean criticizing the government ONLY when someone of the opposing party is in office. In fact, it is equally our duty to hold our personal elected officials feet to the fire when they DO slack off or do the opposite of what they claimed to WANT to do.
You know what I'm getting at. There are Democrats who are true believers. They are more American than the right WILL EVER BE, but they are also a little too lenient for our times. They worship our President wholeheartedly but jump at the idea of criticizing him in a meaningful way. When he does something that is the opposite of what he's said, what he's proposed or where he claims to be - the true believers cut him slack. Again. And Again. And Again. And Again. And Again.
Lets face it. No one here is defecting to the other side. We loathe the right for their bald-face lying, their treasonous approach to politics and their absolute and complete callousness for anyone who doesn't have a wallet as thick as theirs or who is different from them in even the most insignificant way.
They are self-centered, selfish human beings who see the world in black and white because to see it any other way would require actual contemplation.
But by being Mickey Mouse Democrats it doesn't mean we should look at our political figures as fragile china that will break at the slightest whiff of a critical word. To do that - to be so fearful of making waves - is to me as utterly wrong as those on the right embracing their political figures and his/her values simply because they are not us.
Naivete gets us nowhere in politics. Backing down has NEVER been the strategy of anyone who's won anything. Hoping for the best because you simply think the other side is the worst and EVERYONE HAS TO SEE THAT is a recipe for disaster. And praising a President as he folds on the tenants of his campaign - and the party - for fear that someone might notice he's not strong is the worst approach for any party that sees itself as enactors of our constitutional rights and believers that our actions mean something.
I am not a cheerleader for President Obama. I like the man. I think he's sharp. I feel his heart is in the right place and I don't give in to the notion that he's a tool for the right. I do, however, believe he is, and has been, naive. I think he is fearful of confrontation and that is poisonous to our party. I believe that he is disconnected from logical assessments of his situation and that might be the reason for some truly bone-headed strategies. Furthermore, he and the party have given away the farm because they have no idea how to play the aggressive chess the right is so good at (from HP):
Between Thursday night and Friday morning, Democratic negotiators working on the budget went from agreeing to $34.5 billion in cuts to signing off on $38 billion. Yet no deal was reached.
So what, exactly, did the party get in exchange?
According to an aide familiar with the talks, Democrats firmly removed controversial riders from the discussions, save the one prohibiting funds for Planned Parenthood.
In other words: For $3.5 billion, the party was able to protect the EPA’s ability to regulate power plants, ensure health care reform’s implementation is funded and secure the immediate future of the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Board.
To a true believer, this is a joyous moment. To the rest of us, we see what joanneleon refers to as Liberal Shiny Objects. We gave away another 3.5 BILLION so we didn't have to succumb to a newly created threat from the right. Will this be the last threat in this fiasco? As of a few minutes ago, we find out it is not:
GOP Aide: More Cuts In Exchange For Planned Parenthood Rider Removal
One Senate Republican leadership aide said that the Planned Parenthood rider could be removed if Democrats accepted more cuts above the $38 billion that is now the working number.
The aide said that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is wrong to say that the spending cut number is agreed to while the rider issue remains the last sticking point.
"They can't nail down one side because if one side moves, the other side moves," the aide said.
The aide also said that Reid's "chattiness" today doesn't help negotiations.
Our "strategy" - if you want to call it that - has been an abject failure based on the results - and an unqualified win for the right.
Look. We spent 8 years with a bully who pushed us so far to the right most of us can barely balance ourselves. To get back to where we need to be cannot be accomplished through politeness, hopefulness and good intentions. If we want to save this country from making the huge mistakes the republicans would have us do to attain their short term goals we need to be just as tough and critical and forceful as they are. IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD.
If the Tea Party has shown us anything it's that we cannot underestimate our opponent or their willingness to fight dirty. If we are only willing to make excuses for our officials because we're just so damn happy they are not the other party, well, we deserve the miniscule crumbs we get, too.