This is the question that wracks my mind. As I listen to the way in which ardent Obama supporters talk about progressives, I find myself completely baffled as to what they're trying to accomplish. In the last three years, I've heard progressives characterized as the "progressive left" (i.e., as hacks who have nothing to say), as immature (all the lectures about incrementalism, pragmatic realism, wishing for ponies, magic wands, etc), as "white progressives (translation, "racists"), as not truly belonging to the base, and so on. Examples could be multiplied. Earlier today I read a diary discussing a memo from the DLC that argues that progressives are to be ignored because the electorate is "moderate" and that's where the votes are.
So I'm writing this diary to ask the ardent supporters "what are you trying to accomplish?" You'll notice that republicans never attack their most extreme members, nor suggest that their extreme members are the problem. They just remain silent about them. Yet among "democrats", from the very top (Obama himself and his surrogates), all the way down through party officials and the rank and file, you folks never seem to miss an opportunity to attack and demonize progressives. This is a very peculiar strategy. You want our votes, you want our money, you want our activism, yet you perpetually denigrate us. You even release public statements that our concerns will never be taken seriously.
We are the most reliable voters in the democratic party. I know some of you folks would like to claim that "we're not the base". But if the base is defined as those who reliably, throughout history, vote democratic, then we certainly qualify as members of the base. I am not suggesting that we exhaust the base, but we're certainly a significant portion of the base. So again, I ask, what do you hope to accomplish by demonizing your foot soldiers, contributors, and reliable voters? What's your end game here?
Given the diary I link to above, it appears that you have no interest in giving us a place at the table or listening to our voices. Despite the fact that our positions continuously poll as wildly popular among the electorate, you still insist on drawing false equivalencies between us and the extremist elements of the republican and tea parties. To my thinking, this leaves one option. If folks like me don't even have a mere seat at the table, then the only thing left is to start some sort of third party and begin challenging our elected officials. What other choice is there? You tell me that I won't have a voice at the table, that I, a gay, Jewish, educator am not a part of the base but am just a "white progressive" (I'm Cuban, thank you very much), and am a part of the ridiculous "professional left", and that therefore you are happy to take my money, vote, and activism, but without giving me anything in return (even a mere voice in the process of deliberation).
I realize that many of you folks are frustrated. But your votes are guaranteed, ours are not. Our votes are among the votes you want for re-election. So why do you quit pissing on us and trying to tell us that it's lemonade? I realize you get some catharsis from this, that it's emotionally satisfying, but when you take a step back and reflect do you honestly think this is good strategy? This shit needs to stop. Some respect for our positions and some understanding of where we're coming from needs to be shown. If you're truly interested in getting more democrats in congress and in getting this president re-elected you need to adopt a lighter touch and bite your tongue. You earn more bees with honey. If this continues the only option will be the formation of a third party.