I'm not interested in the pie fight over Obama's purported excellence; like Bush's response to Katrina in 2005, Obama's eventual attempt to gut Social Security will solidify opinions among those capable of responding to stimulus.
The real question is -- and the question underlying the pie fight -- what then? What does Daily Kos become when the head of the Democratic Party is well right of center?
This is the question that the Obama Administration has forced on us. On issue after issue, the Administration has placed itself to the center or to the right of American public opinion. The Public Option was wildly popular, but Obama killed it. Unemployment is 9% and rising again, and the states are going to start laying people off -- but Obama is working on implementing Simpson-Bowles and touting a compromise that kills infrastructure spending. Financial reform is a consensus opinion, but the Administration first waffled on appointing Elizabeth Warren, and is now disinterested in her recommendations. Heck, Obama's even wrong on medical marijuana.
How does a Progressive movement that wishes to affect policy function when both Parties are openly hostile to its preferred policies?
That's the question I want to ask. And I want to know: are we going to follow the Progressive model from the 20s and 30s and start a third Party that eventually is strong enough to be co-opted? Or are we going to follow the conservative model from the 60s and 70s and organize to take over one of the major Parties? Or . . . are we going to do neither and fail?