I originally posted this diary on November 30, 2009. It was titled "Obama's Bait and Switch.":
Obama has gone back on many of his major campaign promises, and yet people claim it's not his fault. He has continued much of the worst Bush-era policies regarding civil liberties and while it was horrible when Bush did it, now it's fine because Obama "just needs more time, it's only been a year!" Yes, a year of policy decisions that fly in the face of what candidate Obama advocated and what we voted him in for.
I've noticed that DailyKos readers seem to be for the most part marching in lockstep behind Obama, and even attacking those who raise legitimate criticisms of him. I had thought that a main difference between progressives and conservatives during the past ten years was that progressives actually cared that their elected officials lived up to the ideas they espoused. Conservatives didn't give a shit about how conservative Bush was, they just cared that a Republican was in office. Now you have the biggest haters of Bush watching another guy do the same thing, but since it's their guy, it's okay. It makes you wonder if the majority of self-proclaimed 'progressives' really even know what the concept is about or what they are fighting for, or if they even care about those ideals in the first place. Sometimes it is easier and more fun to just be part of the bandwagon and compromise everything you once said you stood for than actually following up and making sure those things are implemented once your side wins power.
On the civil liberties and rule of law issues you have clearly shown Obama to be an extension of Bush, an apparently apathetic figurehead who has perpetuated the worst aspects of the Bush regime. Every day there is a new story of how the current Justice Department is trying to get this court or that court to overturn a ruling against the Bush team, giving powers to the Obama administration that the overreaching Bushies didn't even have. Anyone who has read Matt Taibbi's recent reporting on Wall Street knows that Obama has betrayed the people who voted him in and gave trillions of dollars to the already ultra-rich who shoved this country (and the world) off the cliff of economic ruin. The man has turned his back on the LGBT community, apparently having more Serious issues on his plate (since, you know, the President can only do one task at a time). Healthcare reform, well, the appearance of Tom Daschle (for the 2nd time this administration!) lets you know all you need to know about how much they care about real reform.
The Republican party is clearly fracturing, with the entrenched, establishment members hoping to safely avoid the election year fallout from the hapless morass of teabagger constituents they have long taken for granted. Is a similar movement occurring in the Democratic Party? Could the Alan Grayson wing break with the Rahm Emmanuel wing? (yeah I know he's COS but he represented what was wrong with the Party perfectly when he was in congress)
A poll came out day before yesterday saying 40% of Democrats are staying home the 2010 elections, while 85% of Republicans are definitely voting. This massive movement that propelled Obama into the White House has fallen apart, and the blame lies solely on Obama and his Democratic colleagues in congress.
Stop buying the BS. He has thus far advocates the worst of Bush era policies, even just today in an action the ACLU has called "appalling", the Obama Justice Department managing to get the SCOTUS to overturn a previous ruling against the Bush administration yet somehow it's all okay with us because Obama has a (D) next to his name.
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It's been two years since I wrote that, but it seems like people are finally starting to wake up and smell the coffee. The Presidency and country has been captured by big money interests and they have a very powerful messaging arm to try to fool all of us. Don't let that happen. There are very few people in powerful positions who are on our side, and the President is not one of them.
At the time of posting this diary some agreed with me, but it was mostly criticism. Hopefully some people have come around to reality, and hopefully together we can all figure out something to do about it or else our country is going to be in real bad shape a decade from now (even though it already is).
