Anyone notice a pattern?
–The public opposes continuing Bush's bank bailout, the bailouts continue.
–The public supports the public option, the public option dies.
–The public supports letting the Bush tax cuts expire, Republicans don't, Republicans win.
–The public supports leaving Afghanistan, we escalated the war.
–The public, including many Republicans, favor raising taxes to balance the budget, tax increases are taken off the table.
–The public opposes cuts to Medicare and Social Security, they become part of a grand bargain.
I could go on and on, but what is clear is that despite controlling the Presidency, the Senate and, until 2011, the House of representatives, and despite having overwhelming public support, progressive priorities have fared very poorly during the Obama Presidency. We can argue about whether Obama is incompetent or evil conservative (I assume there are no proponents of the 11th dimensional chess theory left), but it is clear that he has been totally unwilling or unable to fight for our priorities or to even articulate an alternative progressive vision to counter the Republican narrative.
Worse yet, by consistently giving in to the demands of blackmailers he has created a permanent dynamic in Washington. I see no reason why this won't continue for every debate for the rest of the Obama presidency. From this point forward, we can expect Republicans to make unreasonable demands, refuse to give in, and watch Democrats give them 90% of what they want. With this in mind I wrote the following message to my Democratic Senator.
What are Democrats thinking? You have somehow managed to maneuver the Democratic Party into a position in which the Republican Party can force the entire government to do things that the majority of the country opposes while making the Democrats look completely incompetent, powerless, and lacking in principle. Each time you cave, you say that you will fight harder next time, but this same dynamic is sure to continue over and over now that you have proven that blackmail works.
We worked hard to get President Obama and Democrats elected, so it is beyond disappointing to watch you turn around and hand Speaker Boehner and the Tea Party the keys to the government. I can't imagine anything more discouraging to Democrats. Why should we ever vote for democrats, much less volunteer or donate money to Democrats, again? You have given us no indication that Democrats have any desire or ability to lead. I have been an active democrat for years but If you refuse to fight for our priorities, I can no longer fight for your election. You can't base a national party on a fear of the other party, no matter how insane that other party may be. This is even more true if you let them win every battle without a fight.
The Democrats in Washington have chosen a path that is terrible politics and even worse policy. They are ripping the party apart, destroying all hope for progressive policies, and letting the Tea Party destroy the country. Giving them our unconditional support just enables them. We have no credible threat of running a primary opponent against President Obama, but we need to let them know we won't sit back and let them destroy the party.