Odd. Barack Obama has shown him self to be well within the current view points of Democratic Senators - and I ain't talking Bayh, the Nelsons, Conrad, Pryor or .. [edited] one of the more conservative Democratic Senators, Jim Webb as the markers for where Obama ends up in the political spectrum. [Webb is not a liberal, folks.]
Every thing Obama has done to [gasp!] "shift his position" has still placed him well within the group of Harkin, Feingold, Leahy, Levin, Schumer, Cantwell, Reed, Democratic centrists all .. and yet some people here appear to be egregiously disappointed ..
Every move Barack makes is being scrutinized, torn apart and attacked. I am flummoxed by the viciousness of the attacks being made. I'm scratching my head wondering if I entered a parallel universe.
As most every one here knows, I'm way off to the left. Bernie Sanders, and the House CPC is my idea of where the country should be headed. Sometimes, even they are too 'conservative' for me.
So why am I not screaming bloody murder that 'Obama has abandoned me'?
Maybe it's because I came to support for Obama without expectations of some sort of progressive agenda. I realized from the beginning that Obama is actually slightly more centrist than Hillary [which is borne out by their voting records, by the way].
It leads to me ask what the hell is all the hullabaloo all about?
We have a nominee who does espouse generally progressive themes, and yet has a record which is locked on to the center of the where Democrats are in the Senate. The way some are going on and on here, you'd think Obama adopted the stances of Jesse Helms.
We can tear apart Barack's specific stances on particular issues all day long. I would like to see FISA totally stopped. It isn't going to happen. HE is going to be the nominee. He's taking great care to parse statements to bolster his appeal to the moderates, the undecideds, the 'security moms', the social conservatives .. and it's infuriating a lot of us.
But at the end of the day, he comes from a background of voting along with many other Democrats who inhabit the same space in the political spectrum he does. Levin, Cantwell, Reed .. they are not going to filibuster FISA. They will likely vote for it. To listen to some folks here, it's as if Obama holds the fate of this one bill in his hands. He doesn't.
Am I disappointed in this instance? Sure I am.
Do I demand that Obama do what I ask "or else"?
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I wanted Al Gore to enter the race, because I saw the 'new Al Gore' as someone who is not held back now, not tied down by politics. His speech at the ACS revealed a fearless warrior who would take on the corporations, and who had a different view towards politics. Say what you will about who Al Gore used to be; that man no longer exists.
I feel that Al Gore, if he were in the Senate today would filibuster FISA.
I was very disappointed when Gore refused to jump in; nearly devastated. I watched Clinton and Obama battle it out, and if anything initially you could have called me more favorable for Clinton. I almost voted for her in NH, but I wrote in Gore instead, in the primary.
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Meanwhile, my biggest concerns about Obama were that he would wilt under the pressure. I thought he was weak, all pretty talk. But with each challenge, I saw him toughen up. Even better, with each challenge I saw something rarely observed in politics: he took what was handed to him and threw it right back, not only deflecting the attacks but actually looking more and more like a leader each time. With each attack, Barack became stronger.
So, I was convinced. Hillary's lack of control over her own campaign message, letting it be sidetracked with the "shame on you" bullshit, the whispering campaign underneath, the sly repetitive invocations to race turned me away. If the woman had simply stayed on message, she easily would have been the nominee. It was her own campaign that lost the nomination for her.
It's funny, but Hillary Clinton, during the time that Obama has been in the Senate, actually has a slightly 'more liberal voting record' than Barack Obama.
So, unlike others who were dazzled by the rhetoric of hope, not understanding the nature of the man who spoke the words, I've moved on and accepted that we have a putative centrist nominee, who sits smack dab in the middle of existing Democratic views in the Senate. In fact, unlike many here I get to bask in hope, because I see a very strong Democrat who will pull huge numbers in the House and help win Senate seats, while others here sound like they've given up.
I think Obama will be much more progressive as President than he is as a candidate, because he will be working with a Democratic House and Senate.
Ironic, isn't it? This "way to the left" Kossack, [yours truly] is not alarmed with what is happening within the Obama campaign. I never bought into the line that Barack Obama was anything other than a centrist Democrat. I see movement towards the center of the complete spectrum, so as to gain some traction and put pressure on McCain, who still hasn't figured out what he is. By taking the moderate stances, Obama is forcing McCain further to the right.
Rather than give Obama breathing room to maneuver and do what he needs to do .. not only win for himself, but to help carry House, Senate and other State races, a small vocal group of people seem hell bent on trying to blow every thing Barack does into some type of litmus test. Well to those who insist upon drawing lines in the sand, I say "politics ain't bean bag". And it's not just the vote for President you potentially damage putting forth litmus tests, you potentially are damaging chances down ticket, too.
We, as activists here at one of the control points we have, at one of the nexuses are potentially damaging the chances to develop momentum to get more House and Senate seats, as well elections at the State levels by constantly attacking Obama. There's some irony: the very thing that will help make Obama comfortable with progressive ideas as President [having more progressives and new House and Senate members] is being threatened by our own actions.
I'm not asking anyone to shut up. I have voiced my opinion about FISA, and have urged Obama to filibuster and vote against it. I AM asking that the ridiculous over the top hyperbole splayed in diaries and comments stop. By all means, talk about issues, encourage the candidate to make the right decision that are in line with our progressive values. But for god's sake stop the whining, the threats, the ridiculous comparisons to the right wing.
My expectations were that a wave of disappointment would wash over here, but not until 2009 or 2010. I thought it would be a President Obama who would disappoint people here. I should have thought it through, that once the primaries were over, Obama's simply shifting into General Election mode would be enough to start this hectoring of every move the guy makes.
My bad.
What I said before, that Obama had become stronger with each attack on him is starting to fade out, and part of the reason is US; he's being pulled apart from both directions. We are weakening the momentum, and it has to stop.
Here I am again, the recently minted Democrat who still is at heart an Independent socialist, preaching Party Unity.
Give Obama some maneuvering room, stop jumping on every damn thing he says. What I see is that we are starting to kill Obama's momentum and his coattails. The potential to effect progressives who are trying to get elected is real. Think about that, before you post the next over the top ridiculous thing about the nominee.
There is an African proverb that says, "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." We need to go far, quickly. *
Let's continue to voice opposition, but let us move forward, together.