Cross-posted from Progressive Blue: http://www.progressiveblue.com/diary/3750/on-supporting-president-obama
On Supporting President Obama
by: Michael Conrad
Sun Apr 12, 2009 at 06:35:29 AM EDT
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(the title says it all... - promoted by poligirl)
I'm in the process of streamlining the project I've been working on. In order to make room for other content, I'm posting my general views about what it means to support President Obama now, ahead of the project itself.
Besides being something I can refer to when talking about how progressive populism relates to the Democratic president, I hope this contributes something to the grassroots conversation about values, priorities, goals, and how we reach them. I largely personalized this, as I can only speak for myself, but I'm interested in your feedback.
Michael Conrad :: On Supporting President Obama
The discussion in the netroots about the merits of the president's policies has become increasingly frustrating to many of those involved.
Some thoughts:
- Purposeful criticism is necessary. Part of our job is to hold elected Democrats accountable, whether they're in Congress or the White House.
- Applause and criticism for the Obama Administration are not mutually exclusive.
For example:
The way the president initially went about selling the stimulus was ineffective.
The weekly address he used to rally support for his budget was excellent.
Taking crucial economic advice from the Church of Rubin is bad on numerous levels.
Creating a Middle Class Task Force led by Jared Bernstein was a great move.
- Too much is on the line for this to be about us, or desire for personal vindication.
- President Obama has to deal with a dizzying amount of BS, from right - wing attacks and bizarre protests, to inane chatter from Pundit Land about "doing too much at once" despite the desperate need for action on numerous fronts, to incoherent opposition from members of his own party in the form of the Evan Bayh Vanity Project. Voicing our disagreements with the president isn't going to stop us from aggressively pushing back against the GOP, media hackery, and self - proclaimed "moderate" Democrats.
- If Obama is compared to his immediate predecessors, I think he'll likely clear the bar with ease. With that said, if he is going to get the economy working for everyone, there is a lot that must be done. In this case, very good might not be good enough.
- Merely saying that something is "smart strategy," or that the president is "doing what works" doesn't make it true. Distorting pragmatism is highly counterproductive.
- The notion that acknowledging the president's mistakes will damage him is wildly off the mark. If something he is doing undermines his message, the Democratic base isn't going to be the only entity to notice. This misguided mentality is anathema to improving the Democratic Party. It's also a direct contradiction of President Obama's own words about change coming from the bottom up, his supporters holding him accountable, and his willingness to admit mistakes.
- The influx of new participants presents the netroots with a real opportunity to build on the broad support for a bold Democratic agenda within its ranks. A focused netroots will find itself in a good position to accomplish things it has been working towards for years.
Weak Policy = Bad Politics
It's simplistic, but now more than ever, it's true. Our message machine isn't the feeble shell it used to be, and the GOP has very little credibility left.
Health Care
There is a difference between less than ideal policy and weak policy. Single - payer health care is ideal, but right now it makes sense to focus on passing the best health care legislation possible. This means making sure the public option is included.
Jonathan Cohn, a longtime advocate for Universal Health Care recently wrote about the divide within the administration over the issue. President Obama deserves a tremendous amount of credit for standing his ground, and not being swayed by the faction within his inner - circle that leaned toward delay. Defenders of the Clueless Caucus might say that they "only" wanted to wait, but even that is indefensible. Terrible advice like this shows that prominent Democratic consultants are still capable of scaling Mount Stupid in record time.
It's well - understand how cruel and nonsensical this would be policy wise, but what how can anyone argue it would make for good politics? The concerns mentioned in the article that UHC might not be sufficiently popular with persuadable middle class voters would be laughable if this wasn't such a critical issue. There's a reason why Cons like Bill Kristol and Michelle Bernard positively freak out at the thought of the American people getting the health care system they deserve. If you think the concept of Universal Health Care is popular now, wait until after it's enacted.
While I would bet some kind of polling was behind this concern, there is a ton of public polling showing support for UHC from the country as a whole, and especially from those who either vote for Democrats or are in play. I'm sure I'm not the only one who remembers what happened when health care came up during one of the presidential debates. Then - Senator Obama followed up John McCain's right - wing idiocy by saying that health care is a right. The response from the much - hyped focus group of Independents was overwhelmingly positive. A national poll taken shortly after the debate showed Senator Obama leading Senator McCain by 39% on health care, and trouncing him in the general election.
Wall Street
We'd all breathe easier if there weren't good reasons to question whether the Obama Administration is sufficiently challenging Wall Street, but there are... Larry Summers guiding policy, an anemic outside economic advisory board, Geithner's nomination of Neal Wolin, Elizabeth Warren's comments about the Treasury Department, etc.
I don't think the claim that personnel is largely irrelevant can pass its own "stress test." It seems to me that advocates of the DLC / Third Way / Hamilton Project approach have drowned out other voices. I'd like to be proven wrong about this, but we should be prepared for the outcome described by Robert Kuttner.
The grave political and economic risk is that Obama continues to let Summers and Geithner lead him down the garden path; the industry-oriented mortgage rescue saves too few homeowners; housing remains in the doldrums and mortgage securities with it; the hedge funds and private equity companies make some money with government guarantees, but the banking system remains comatose; and Republicans increasingly become the instruments of public anger.
Mike Lux on what to do next here and here.
Main Street
And then there is Michigan. The failure to distinguish between the big 3 and the auto workers was a sign of weakness. President Obama could have talked about the changes that need to be made and still done something long overdue; use the bully pulpit to confront the smears about people who have actually contribute to our economy. (I'll admit this wouldn't have won over the DC establishment, which much prefers defending those who devour the economy.)
This Wall Street / Michigan double standard was just the latest example of a problem that goes beyond the White House to the party as a whole. From the UAW to EFCA, we've seen how quickly debates involving unions become fundamentally dishonest if Democrats don't assert themselves.
Falling down on the Rust Belt is politically dangerous, and the mood of the electorate make it even harder to understand. The electorate isn't going to tolerate disingenuous attacks from Republicans and their K Street bosses. If we speak the truth, that they are being lied to again by the same people who got us into this mess, the American people are going to listen. Authenticity, passion, and candor will be admired, not shunned.
Fierce Discontent and Fierce Urgency
The Beltway bubble keep its residents insulated from the consequences of their action, and leads them to embrace cop outs and deeply flawed conventional wisdom. Evan Thomas' acknowledgement of the gap between conventional wisdom and reality received a lot of attention for good reason.
But sometimes, beneath the pleasant murmur and tinkle of cocktails, the old guard cannot hear the sound of ice cracking.
This was evident when talking heads came out in droves to condemn the recent wave of populism. To them, talking about stagnant wages makes you a dangerous populist. If you talk about channeling the outrage over ridiculous bonuses into support for re - regulating Wall Street, then you are an extra - scary double populist, and every pundit should be armed with a tranquilizer gun to protect themself from you.
Note: The "we're all in this together" ethos of progressive economic populism are a direct repudiation of right - wing populism. The role economic anxiety plays in fueling the Glenn Beck version is being overlooked.
The Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats need to focus on the perspective that really matters. I've said this before, but I think it's worth repeating. Out of touch Broderites aren't going to like the Democratic Party at its best, but the rest of the country will.
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