Among my many talents for which I don't get paid that much, I claim amateur historian. I read constantly, have done some very modest original research and have serious problems ever getting rid of a book. Any book I get on history, political history or military history stays MINE for a very long time. I skim through my shelves on occasion, checking my memory on various tomes, looking for how previous events contribute to today.
What I've been recently re-reading revealed below.
I hate the kind of diaries this one will become. DailyKos has broken open like a rotten pumpkin in yet another round of infighting. The horror show on the rec list brings a wry smile to my face when I think about the opening chapter of (now Senator) Al Franken's 2005 book The Truth (with jokes).
"It's time to do this," I said.
"You're right." There was an unexpected softness to her voice. A weariness, laced with exhaustion, tinged with resignation, with an undercurrent of relief. "Time to give up. We've had a good run. We tried, and we...we failed."
I could hardly believe my ears. Was this the Katherine Lanpher who had sat, and fought, by my side for these seven long months? Was this the Katherine Lanpher who had laughed at some of my jokes, even when Air America Radio was a hairsbreadth away from collapse?
No. No, it was not. This was a Katherine Lanpher badly in need of a bucking up.
"No, Katherine. If we quit now, they'll have won."
"But they have won."
"Have they, Katherine? Have they really?"
"Yes."
--Franken, The Truth (with jokes), 2005, p 20-21
Think about where this country was in 2005. Bush re-elected. The Congress in conservative hands since 1994. The supposed liberal media sounding the death knell of the Democratic party, Karl "turd blossom" Rove planning the permanent Republican majority, John Roberts nominated and confirmed to the Supreme Court. Samuel Alito would follow at the end of the year. It was a dark, dark, depressing time to be a Democrat, much less a progressive.
Now here we are 5 years later, with Dems in control of Congress and a Dem in the White House. That is a good thing. Obama's first year was an economic horror, but wasn't anywhere near 1932-1935 because TARP, the stimulus and the bailouts were mostly successful. (Yes, more stimulus spending was necessary, but the total meltdown never happened.) Have Obama and the Dems gotten any credit for that? Nope. The success of pulling the economy back from the brink has made the progressive agenda more difficult to enact.
So it was a good news/bad news year in the economy. Obama and his economic team had prevented a depression--no small accomplishment
.....
"We have the right people in Washington," Warren Buffett concluded. "If we'd had a group that behaved like a deer in the headlights, that deer would've gotten run over."
--Alter, Jonathan. The Promise, 2010, p 428
What's our complaint? About the only theme I can find on the Kos Civil War is that Obama hasn't been successful enough. We expected a total 180 degree change in course of the country with Obama's election. We expected more on every piece of legislation, and we wanted those changes NOW. But we need to stop fooling ourselves, pretending that progressive change can happen quickly. FDR's first term has been the only historical moment that allowed rapid progressive change. Every other bit of progress in this American society required a long, painful struggle, from equal rights to women's rights to the right to unionize to protection from poisoned food. Nothing comes easy or instantly when struggling against the entrenched ruling/corporate interests.
"And make no mistake," this country is emerging from an 8-year regressive resurgence. It's not like Obama came into office with the government already moving in a progressive direction. Anyone remember the "Bush burrowing" stories before and after the inauguration?
At the very least, the move prevents Obama from getting his key people into these positions immediately to start dismantling some of the Bush administration's most damaging programs. But these holdovers can make policy-making more difficult...
--McCarter, Joan, "More on Bush burrowing", 11/19/08, DailyKos
A government doesn't just turn on a dime. As Jimmy Carter found, it doesn't even turn in one term. Frankly, if we want long-term progress towards the basic values we here on Kos share, three or four more presidential wins in a row are called for. Long-term dominance is required to clean out the agencies, to educate and move the political conversations and attitudes of the citizens. (I believe a part of the Republican appeal is the "football" analogy, in that people like to attach themselves to a winner.) Long-term dominance is required to fight the real battle we are engaged in against the cancer of corporate influence in this country, because the vast majority of issues we struggle against flow from this single corrupting horror.
We are taking our eyes off the ball fighting amongst ourselves, squalling like children about what Obama hasn't done yet while the Republicans are getting up off the mat. Remember when the Dems were dead and gone in 2005? Weren't we saying the same thing in late 2008 and early 2009? Screwing around now will only slow down the progressive agenda. We need to be united, working as hard as we did in 2008 to win 2010. Re-electing Obama in 2012 will start the momentum necessary for long-term change. Electing Obama's Democratic successor in 2016 will be the key moment that could begin the rollback of corporate rule.
Yes, I'm talking about 6 years, then more effort after that. If this isn't your bag, if the progressive future we want isn't worth this kind of long-term commitment, then look in the mirror very hard. Because if we don't re-elect Obama and then elect his successor, there WON'T BE REAL PROGRESSIVE CHANGE. All we'll get are the crumbs and "half measures" people are screaming about now. A true green energy future or real cuts in military spending or the beginning of the end of corporate rule won't happen in Obama's first term, or even his second.
So let's get to work and play the long game. Get the bench ready for 2016, or we risk becoming the Republicans of 2008. And I don't care how mad you are, our country has come too far and doesn't deserve what would happen if we lose this fight.