As a progressive, something I have heard repeatedly during the Obama Presidency, is "Be practical". Don't expect too much from someone facing such significant political challenges. Alternately, from progressives, I have heard that Barack Obama is a moderate not a progressive. You are wrong to expect drastic change from a man that never professed to be a Progressive.
If these statements are true let's put all this in perspective then, more below.
"First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season."
Dr. Martin Luther King in a letter to the clergy dated April of 1963.
After the celebration of MLK Day yesterday, I thought this quote was extremely meaningful and highlighted my increasing disappointment with the Democratic Party. Now granted, Dr. King was speaking about civil rights and social equality. I also acknowledge that Dr. King was perhaps the most exceptional leader of my time. But here was a man that did so much, without the benefit of being the County Sheriff, much less Commander in Chief. We just had two years of potentially unbridled leadership by Democrats, only to be squashed by "moderates". The apparent leader of which is the President of the USA.
So come 2012, I will vote my beliefs. I will vote for the person that best represents progressive/social democratic values. I am unsure who that person will be at this point...but I can promise you they will not be moderate.
At a time when leadership could potentially have been bold, so effective and provocative, we instead received two years of support for the social status quo. Is he as bad as George W Bush, or likely as bas as John McCain? No, but he has been a moderate on most issues as defined by Dr. King. THere in, lies my disappointment.
*** a note...if someone else has featured this MLK quote or posted a similar diary, my apologies. I did my best to search to insure no duplication.