I have been coming to DailyKos since about 2006. It's fascinating to watch camps develop and battle it out over the particular meta-issue of the month. Lately we have been seeing more and more diaries showing how the President has betrayed us or how there is just too much whining when it comes to the President. To me it's starting to feel like two sides becoming parodies of each other. I see diaries and comments with people jumping to conclusions and then talking past each other. I also see my friends have the exact same sort of exchange.
So I'm a cynic. I've been called a cynic by just about everyone I know. I have also been a Democrat since I could form an opinion about politics (about 12). My first presidential election was the hotly contested 2000 election. I voted for Ralph Nader. If I had lived in a "swing" state I would have voted for Al Gore, but I am in the very red state of Kentucky, so I made a little protest vote. Why was I protesting? Because I wanted to vote FOR something. Nothing against VP Gore, but I hate to vote for people just because I fear them less than the other guy. Sure I thought Bush was an idiot, that would be disastrous for our country, but I hate to vote just because I loathe the other guy.
In 2004 I did place a vote just because I was scared of the other guy. I voted for Kerry this time because my wanting to be woo'ed was just not a luxury after 4 years of failure.
Finally, after eight years, I had a Democrat that made me proud to go to the polls. I had a Democrat that got this lifelong cynic to contribute and campaign. In Kentucky you generally get the choice between a blue dog, a bluer dog and a Republican. This really would be the first time that I felt that I would have a person that at least sort of represented me. I am not sure if I am the only person in that position, a liberal in a red state that really just wanted a lifeline back to sanity, but I do not think I am.
So what was it about then candidate Obama that really connected to me? First, it was the near constant message that things have to change in Washington. I don't think Gore nor Kerry were bad people nor do I think that they weren't decent politicians, I just thought they were team players, beltway people. I don't see an America with much life left in it. I see one that is getting attacked from all sides by powerful corporate interests that viciously guard every last ounce of power that they have. I see a system that rewards failure, ignores good ideas, and eschews innovation because it might harm an existing industry.
Normally everyone says something about the culture in Washington, it's like getting "tough on crime" and other meaningless throw-away lines. It was different this time to me because I believed that Barack Obama was a person of considerable talent and charisma who might be able to effectuate that promise.
Second, I thought he was a person unafraid of being to the left on some issues. This too is a big deal, after a near decade and a half of triangulation and Republican-lite I was tired of listening to those conservative bozos and their failed ideas. There's nothing wrong with taxes, there's nothing wrong with allowing government to fill a role that cannot be filled by the private sector, there's nothing wrong with oversight. Again though this was not just about ideological purity, it was about convincing others that this was right, it was about moving the country to the left.
In short, I thought Barack Obama was my generation's Reagan, only this time he was a Democrat championing liberal ideas. This is what gave me hope, it was the complete package, not just the message but a person who I thought had a credible chance to follow through.
Fast-forward to today. Democrats and the left in general seem to be divided into two camps and I understand completely why both sides feel the way they do. One side is worried that once again Democrats will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. That we will live up to the herding cats euphemism and will in-fight until the Republicans win in 2010, thus ending the hope for progressive legislation. The other side is weary of nearly two decades of Republican-lite Democrats. They have seen bills sky rocket, Democrats implicitly ship jobs overseas through unfair trade deals, and they've seen what absolutely no oversight can do and it worries them -- they want action.
To think that 28 years of mind numbingly stupid lassiez-faire policies can be righted in less than a year is not just naive but dumb. If anyone is expecting such a dramatic shift then they just are not a credible critic. Yet, what I think is being ignored is not that the "action" side wants results, rather I think they want to see some measure of good faith, they want to see progress. They want leadership.
I have read the diaries with the lists of accomplishments. The Lilly Leadbetter Act, the executive orders, and the stimulus package and so have many other people. First, look at the list of things that have been done so far, how many of those are items that really get the base excited, that really get people to the polls and form a core of their political identity? My top three issues are as follows: 1) healthcare reform, 2) infrastructure building and repair and 3) EFCA. All three to me represent an attempt to fix America, prime it for decades of growth, and to revitalize the middle class. If I were to distill my chief worry it would be that there will be no middle class in a few more decades. Second, again no one should expect miracles in nine months. Being results oriented does not seem appropriate given the timeframe and the scope of the problem.
So what do I want? I want a President that is fighting for me. I want a President that realizes what will happen if healthcare costs continue to skyrocket, that some things aren't non-negotiable because we are stubborn a-holes, but because without them reform is illusory and we will be even worse for the wear. At 10.2% unemployment (17% U6?), a decimated manufacturing base and too much debt (consumer/mortgage), now is not the time for half a loaf, now is not the time to just pass a bill. In 2000 I think everyone would be thrilled to have one of these healthcare bills become law, but that was before Bush and before the unrelenting assault on the middle/working class and poorer people of America. What I want, and what I think many "whiners" want is some god damned fire. We want passion. We want the guy that filled stadiums, got people to believe in their government again, we want the guy that melted the cynicism that lead us to think that America has plenty of good days left. At this point, in the worst economic crisis since the Depression, it's time to go "all in."
I wouldn't mind losing if I knew that I had someone fighting for me with every last ounce of their strength. I would accept a "watered down" bill if I knew that it really was the best deal, because we fought for every little inch.
I am not seeing it and it worries me. The populism in America today I think can be boiled down into one phrase: we just want someone in Washington to fight for us.
/end rant