As I sit here reading about the issues people have with FDL and Jane Hamsher, a lot of discussion in comments is about the idea of true progressives and whether Obama is one. It seems to me that both parties are suffering from the laser-beam intensity of their constituents and corporate benefactors, and I'm wondering why it's that way.
I believe that two advances in media have made this possible: cable TV and the advent of 24 hour News and Opinion shows, and the spawn of the internet--email and the web.
First, let me state what I think is a basic problem for both parties: there is no single unifying principle that will please everyone all the time. Look at the different issues governance must cover:
Infrastructure
Health
Welfare of the Citizens
Defense of the Country
Raising Revenue
Trading with Other Countries
Education
Basically, all of our cabinet posts. Then, to add to the joy, we have the social issue set:
LGBT issues
Gun Regulation
Abortion
Freedom of Religion
Religion and Schools
Evolution in Schools
The Death Penalty
Drug Legalization
We could go on and on here, but politicians are just like you and me. I want my congressman to have a nuanced and well-thought out position on these subjects that is more than simple sound bites or party policy planks. (Since I live in Texas, the odds of my agreeing with it are slim, but one can dream.) So often, votes on these matters are used as payment for future favors by legislators on both sides of the aisle.
Thanks to Fox and the internet, a goodly portion of the right wing has been able to coalesce under the "Tea Party" moniker, and whether you respect or mock them, they get coverage and get their voice heard. They have narrow focus on many issues: taxes (bad), Democrats (bad), LGBT (bad), Guns (good), God (good), etc., and since it's usually an older crowd, they have time to do the meetings and town halls that normal working people might not have the chane to attend.
I think the issue that blocks progressive causes from gaining real traction in America is that we don't have the same set of block issues that we all agree on. Look at the different communities here on dKos as proof of this. Even voting for Obama only means that you liked him better than McCain and the also-rans. After 8 years of incoherent governance, we needed someone like Obama to come in, even with his centrist ways and willingness to compromise to get things done as opposed to stalemating the country into a worse position (something I believe the Republican leadership has been hoping for instead of trying to compromise on anything).
So, we get fractured and split into groups that get called "the Democrat party" and "liberal" and "pinhead" because our opinions outside of some time on MSNBC and Current TV do not get heard in any coherent manner. We can't sum up a nuanced position in a three minute interview on The O'Reilly Factor or whatever other preconceived right-wing notion Roger Ailes chooses to air, and no one single Liberal or Progressive can adequately speak for all of us. Not Jame Hamsher, not Glenn Greenwald, not even Keith Olbermann (although his series about his father and the healthcare system in this country made me cry). I don't know about site statistics between dKos and LGF or RedState, so I can't comment on "unity". I can count dKos as the leader in COMMunity.
So, love him or hate him, Obama (and to a more entertaining extent Biden) is/are what we have. Mario Cuomo spoke a long time ago at a Democratic national convention speech where he shouted: "We are Democrats and we will disagree with each other!" The late, great Molly Ivins tells the story of another corporate centrist, Bill Clinton, who, in ending welfare as we know it, told a supporter "It's a bad bill, but we'll fix it." Subsequently, over the next two legislative sessions, Clinton was able to regain almost all of what he wanted in the original bill.
I say these last two things to embrace what we have: a diverse set of good people working toward a common goal, even if it isn't perfect, and a president working toward good governance, even if it isn't perfect.