Full disclosure -- I haven't written a diary or done more than an occasional post since the 2008 election. I worked my heart out for Obama's election in 2008 -- calls, letters, even traveling to another state (Nevada) to help on election night because I thought Nevada might be really close and every little bit might make the difference.
But since the election, like many, I kind of just turned the job over to the President -- and, like many of you, was less than enthusiastic about some of the policies, tactics, and programs that didn't meet my expectations -- you know -- "no public option" "letting the Republicans frame the debate" "caving" and "compromising" when I wanted him to fight for a more progressive agenda.
So follow me after the jump and I'll explain why I feel Obama has made a major shift, and why we need to start a new, truly grassroots effort to get his back, by pledging a weekly effort to change the media narrative, which has been pushing the meme that the majority of Democrats are unhappy with the American Jobs Act and don't support the President, who is weakened by falling poll numbers.
After the 2008 election, I backed off from my involvement on the national level, busy with my own life, the challenges of surviving the effects of a souring economy on my small business (business is down 40-50%), and a general frustration with Obama's "failures" to push the progressive agenda I supported.
During the past few years, I have written the White House several times, mostly to complain about the failure to frame the debate (I wrote him a long lecture on how the one thing he should have learned in law school is that whoever frames the debate wins, period.) I also wrote him about how he needed to stop trying to get Republicans in Congress to agree with him, and should instead focus on getting the country on board, so that we could carry the message to a recalcitrant Congress. I did occasionally write something positive when I liked a particular speech, but mostly I wrote to complain about his failure to frame the debate in strong, direct, stark language, and his failure to engage us -- the people who fought so hard for him in 2008 -- to get us onboard rather than spending all this energy on Boehner and the "Just Say No" Party, whose first and only goal is to see him fail, even if the country fails with him.
Honestly, I didn't think he was listening. And when I heard there was a new "major" jobs speech in the works a few weeks ago, I almost didn't want to listen, because the media narrative was that it was gong to be "just another speech" blah blah blah -- an attempt to re-inspire by a leader who had lost his "mojo" and who wouldn't propose anything big enough or specific enough to do much of anything. I almost dreaded listening to the jobs speech to Congress, because I expected a rerun of whatever we'd already heard -- "payroll tax cuts", blah blah blah.
So I was blown away when the President spoke -- strongly and directly in front of both houses of Congress and a listening nation, and made the case for the clear difference between what he was proposing, and what the Republicans were opposing.
AND THEN HE DID IT: HE ASKED FOR OUR HELP!
He said he would take his proposal to us -- to the country -- and he asked us to write our Congressional Representatives and Senators and tell them to PASS THIS BILL!
In the weeks since the speech, he has repeated his request for help. He's said we should write, call, email, skywrite -- whatever it takes to let Congress know we want them to PASS THIS BILL!!
And in the immediate aftermath of the speech, I understand that the switchboards were down with the number of calls made, and I'm sure many of us have written or called, but I haven't heard of any organized grassroots effort to let Congress know that WE THE PEOPLE are behind our President, and to let the President know that WE HAVE HIS BACK -- that he is not alone in the Beltway echo chamber, not confined to the media narrative of a weakened President and an apathetic base.
For the first time since he was elected in 2008, HE HAS REPEATEDLY AND CLEARLY ASKED FOR OUR HELP, BECAUSE HE CANNOT DO IT ALONE, AND HE CANNOT DO IT JUST WITH CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS. HE NEEDS US. AND WE NEED TO RESPOND IF WE WANT TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY FROM THE DISASTER OF THE REPUBLICAN AGENDA-- NO SOCIAL SECURITY OR MEDICARE, NO SPENDING ON EDUCATION OR INFRASTRUCTURE, A CONTINUATION OF FAILED BUSH-LEAGUE POLICIES.
So, despite the fact that I am more than busy with my own life, that I am tired and stressed and have more than enough to do already, I am hereby pledging to respond to the President's request and GET HIS BACK by calling or writing or emailing my Representative (Ugh -- Kevin McCarthy) and Speaker Boehner and the local newspapers, national media and anyone else I can think of ONCE A WEEK, EVERY WEEK, ON WEDNESDAY to tell them that I want Congress to PASS THE BILL -- that I support the President's American Jobs Act, and that I will do everything in my power to see that any Republican who puts party over country will be defeated in 2012.
AND I AM ASKING EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO READS THIS TO DO THE SAME, because we need to change the media narrative of a failed and failing President and we need to support the President who has FINALLY heard us, and drawn a line and said he will veto any proposal that cuts entitlements or needed investments without tax increases on the wealthiest, so that they pay their fair share.
For this to succeed, we need to have this effort "go viral" -- so that, EVERY WEDNESDAY, the media and our elected representatives receive a large and growing number of emails and calls and contacts telling them WE SUPPORT the American Jobs Act, and the President's call for all Americans to pay their fair share so that we can continue to invest in America while reducing long-term deficits.
For this to succeed, it truly needs to be a grassroots effort, not organized or managed by any existing group, and it needs to be consistent and repeated each week. Once a week.
I am hoping anyone commenting can help choose a name -- I thought of the WHYBBs (We Have Your Back, Barack) -- patterned on the SNL Bees -- but I also thought of GOBs for JOBS (Got Your Back for Jobs) and I am sure someone out there has the perfect name, but until then I will call us the WHYBBs.
And I suggest that every time we send the letter or make the call, we ALSO send a copy to the Whitehouse, with the subject line WHYBBs.
I started this diary about four days ago, and yesterday, when I got home from a day trip to Mohave (for the opening of the Virgin Galactic Spaceship Company's new hangar), I was amazed and delighted to see that -- in happy synchronicity -- I had an email from the Obama campaign asking me to do exactly what I'm suggesting, in exactly the same words -- the email said:
So right now, I'm asking you to say you'll stand with the President on something that won't be easy. Get the President's back today:
http://my.barackobama.com/...
And this morning, my local newspaper (in my conservative district) had a headline saying "Obama Playing Hardball on Debt" -- and the article detailed how (finally) Obama has stopped compromising before the debate even starts, and is drawing a clear distinction between his plan and the Republican agenda.
(Sorry I can't figure out how to link to the Tribune article).
So FINALLY the President seems to have gotten the message that I and thousands of others have been trying to send and he is FINALLY showing strength and leadership on these critical issues.
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY he's understood that he needs US to make the case for him -- that he can't just keep trying and trying to convince Republicans that they need to support these policies (they will never do so because they don't want to see him succeed). He needs US to convince Republicans that THEY will FAIL in their efforts to bring him down BECAUSE WE HAVE HIS BACK on this, and that if he leads in the direction we want to go, WE WILL SUPPORT HIM.
I know this is long and not very well written, but I want to get it out there, and see what kind of support there is in the community, for such an effort. I KNOW that, if we do it, and if we are able to get this to "go viral" through facebook and email etc., it will succeed.
So -- this is the first WHYBB diary -- if the idea can get support from this community, it WILL succeed. Tomorrow can be the first Wednesday of this effort. Are you willing to do your part?