fdr said MAKE ME DO IT, so let's MAKE OBAMA DO IT

[unblock]

despite all the premature verdicts, the jury has yet to even convene on obama's tenure as president. is he a republican or dlc suck-up? or is he really progressive?

perhaps the real answer depends more on US than we care to admit.

fdr found a very effective political strategy in that he did NOT come in with a screaming liberal agenda. he promise action, he promised a "new deal", but he did not specify what it meant. in fact, he probably did not know himself what it was going to mean other than that it would not look like hoover's old deal.

clinton came in an quickly did a few things to appeal to liberals, most obviously try to integrate gays in the military. he met resistance and wound up backpedalling, leaving us with the ridiculous "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and such was his burn that he was careful never to overtly appeal to the left again. mostly what we got was a slowing of the move to the right for 8 years.

obama, by contrast, is minimizing the criticism on the right by appealing to common interests, talking about the fact and problems and non-political themes we largely all agree on. this frees him up to do what he wants, to the extent that he doesn't get overwhelming flak from the right.

should we be quiet, he will continue to solidify his power and broad appeal by doing things in a centrist way.
should we be vocal, he will be compelled to do some things to appeal to us. BUT, he will be able to do it in a politically acceptable way, i.e., he will be able to go back to the center and the right and say, hey, you saw all those demonstrations, i HAD to do that liberal thing, even if i didn't want to.

THAT's the way a popular president needs to operate, and that's how fdr worked his magic. to the center and the moderate right, he was one of them, just doing extraordinary things in extraordinary circumstances, he wasn't a socialist by nature, he was just doing what he needed to do because of the nature of the economic situation and because of all the clamoring for government help from the left.

to the far right, of course, he was an evil commie, but of course you can't be all things to all people.

personally, i'd rather have obama have the image of a centrist, pragmatist, who we can bend to our causes while being acceptable to the rest of the country, than have obama overly identified with the left and rendered less popular and less effective as a result.



now, in an ideal world, a self-identified leftist would be immensely popular across the board, but that's not the reality we live in, at least not yet. in the meanwhile, our best bet is to MAKE OBAMA DO what we want him to do.

create the circumstances in which obama has no choice but to give us what we want.

[RichGirl]

1. I didn't vote for you.

I voted for Obama, for his judgement and because of the things he said he would do: like bring the country together, look for common ground and stop the partisan fighting, and most important, improve the lives of the lower and middle class.

The very small percentage of people who want something different than that COULDN'T force him to do anything, but what he thinks is best for the American people. ALL of them.

[navarth]

2. take off the sunglasses

Obama's going to need us to keep him honest just like any president.

It's not especially about harrassing him. It's about letting him know that we've got his back if he'll only do the right thing.

And we'll damn sure let him know if he's NOT doing the right thing.

If you disagree with this, enjoy your ride as the country slides further and further right.

[Captain Hilts]

4. People take this issue very personally...

that's what sports are for...

[RichGirl]

22. If you think you are a better judge of what is right...

than Obama, then you are wearing the sunglasses...blocking the glare of your humongous ego!!

My view of "doing something wrong" would require actual results, not just speculation, projection, opinion, etc. YOU thinking he has done something wrong does NOT mean he has done something wrong. It only means that he didn't do what you think he should do.

[Runcible Spoon]

26. Obama has said, repeatedly, that he values feedback and criticism

which is, ostensibly, why he appointed all of these people with whom he has fundamental disagreements. Either that or he is a DLC mole. Take your pick, either way he encourages people to be active in the political process and has offered many avenues and opportunities for people to pipe up.

Some of the people on DU have lived through more presidential administrations than Obama, some people have advanced degrees in political science, some people are dedicated activists. Are they "better judges" than Obama...this is a disingenuous point. The reality is, as long as we vote and remain politically involved, we ALL are entitled to a viewpoint and voicing this is not somehow challenging Obama's ability to govern.

As I said in another thread, if you can compliment him on something, then that same thing is fair game for criticism, by the extension of the same logic.

[navarth]

27. pfft.

please see response #26

It's a good example of somebody making sense.

[Hawkowl]

31. Democracy is not a spectator sport

Just because you voted for him doesn't mean you do nothing but agree with anything he does. Being from Chicago he understands and WANTS people banging on his door telling him their perspectives. He's a former activist and community organizer and that is the way he wants it. (Being a former Chicagoan and organizer myself)

[whistle]

3. Obama is no Harry Reed or Nancy Pelosi

<snip>
January 02, 2009
Obama and Old Harry Reid
As the President-elect heads to Washington one can see that his avowed bi-partisanship is less a matter to be honored in the House and more a problem of the senate. For all her faults (and they are many) Nancy Pelosi presides over a house chamber that is sufficiently partisan to achieve something like Democratic consensus at least on most days.

The senate is a different story. Harry Reid may once have been a boxer but he's oddly without any scrap left in him. His tenure as the majority leader has been marked by a singular avoidance of confrontation with the G.O.P. That's good news for Obama you might say but in fact the opposite is more precisely the case: the Republicans who believe that all government programs designed to save the banking system or the auto industry are socialism pure and simple are never going to be persuaded that an ambitious stimulus package is worth supporting.

Enter Harry Reid who is 9 times out of 10 unwilling to allow his slim Democratic majority to stand independently. Watching his stewardship of the Democratic party it is hard to remember why Senator Reid's party was given majority status in the first place. Opposition to the war in Iraq? Job creation? The voters' disgust over the misuse of power by the executive branch?

Yes Barack Obama promised to unify the red states and the blue but if the principle of unity is achieved at the expense of serious change then the new president will himself resemble old Harry. Bi-partisanship is a fair principle and it is not to be treated lightly as the Bush administration has managed to do with disastrous consequences. But neither should it be a monolithic totem of sacrifice before which the duly elected Democrats squander their opportunity to save the nation as F.D.R. once did by promising a new deal for Americans.

Not offending the hard right is not bi-partisanship though Harry Reid may not have heard.

<MORE>

http://www.planet-of-the-blind.com/2009/01/obama-and-old-harry-reed.html

[Captain Hilts]

5. They didn't turn on FISA. nt

[babylonsister]

6. What do you want him to do that he said he won't?

Maybe he should at least be sworn in before we try to make him do anything.

[unblock]

7. as i said, it's quite premature to render any judgment about him.

my point was that WE should take responsibility for ourselves to PUSH him to do whatever it is that we want him to do.

gay rights?
more help for the unemployed?
more help for lower income people?
higher taxes for the ultra-rich?
more government regulation of runaway corporate irresponsibility?
less corruption of our government bureaucracy?
... or whatever it is that irks you?

the point is, be vocal, be loud, fight for what you believe in. don't sit back and hope that just because he's a democrat or just because he sounds good that he'll be everything you want, while we can just kick back and enjoy the show.

WE must play our part in the politics of change.

[babylonsister]

10. I think that's also what www.change.gov is for, so we can

voice our concerns and opinions.

[navarth]

28. yep. n/t

[Runcible Spoon]

11. he's already begun to make a huge amount of decisions..

unveiling the structure of the economic stimulus, cabinet appointments, etc. There is no magical date that allows us to give him feedback, and since his campaign rhetoric was intentionally vague, it's completely disingenuous to call him out on specific "things that he said he would do that he hasn't". Besides that fact, many of us didn't really like some of the things he DID say he was going to push, like extended faith based initiatives, and we're not going to shut up on that EITHER. You can disagree with him on whatever date you like, and I will do it RIGHT NOW if I so choose. I'm sure Obama would agree with me, too.

[babylonsister]

13. Knock yourself out. No one's is stopping you or suggesting you not

say what you want.

[Runcible Spoon]

18. lol. oh really.

I see people being told to shut up everyday. I can't believe someone who posts so prolifically (the other day I arranged "view threads by author"...wow you really, umm, have a lot of free time) could ignore that unless she was so focused on starting 1,000 threads that could have just been posts in someone else's. But hey, post what you want. I'm not telling you to STFU. Doesn't mean others aren't; you know VERY WELL they are and it's against forum policy for me to link them. You don't have to look very hard.

[babylonsister]

19. I think you just like to argue. But that won't be with me. Bye now. nt

[Runcible Spoon]

21. No, I like to discuss issues and call out bullshit when I see it.

I know you have better things to do than exchange discourse, like starting thread #4585948590348504935 that will get all of two replies. Have at it.

Ciao!

[unblock]

23. hey, most of the threads i start get all of two replies, so don't knock it :)

[Runcible Spoon]

29. well, I'm happy to pad your response count ;)

it was a worthy topic, unlike the thousands of others started by SOME people.

[unblock]

14. well, i am saying be vocal!

i'm simply being reasoned about rendering a verdict about obama himself, or about his entire presidency.

i encourage you and others to be vocal about the direction in which we all want to push obama. i think this is the best recipe. if the center and the right are content so far, and the biggest hue and cry is coming from the left, then that forces obama to do some meaningful things to appease us.

which is ultimately what we all want, right?

[Runcible Spoon]

8. FWIW, I agree with you.

and I disagree that just because Obama hasn't been sworn in yet, he hasn't made immensely important decisions and appointments that indicate the direction of his agenda. And from what we've seen, WE WILL HAVE TO PUSH HIM.

[unblock]

9. what i mean is that while we've seen some of his cards, we don't know how he will play them.

if he shuts the door to the left, then i for one will not be pleased.
however, if he positions himself as the centrist who reluctantly placates the left, i'll be thrilled -- but that does mean we need to be loud enough so that it's obvious to everyone that we NEED to be placated.

[Runcible Spoon]

12. well, I'm plenty loud and I'm there with you

:evilgrin:

[Skidmore]

15. I'm more concerned with what we'll need to make Congress do.

[unblock]

16. point taken, but there are many ways to be vocal.

the nice thing about being loud is that it, all at once, forces EVERYONE to do something about it.

most importantly, it puts pressure on obama to lead in our direction, and it simultaneously puts pressure on congress to follow in our direction.

besides, one of the best ways to be vocal -- for obama's benefit -- is to call your congresscritters.

[LaydeeBug]

17. I think republican and dlc suck are two different things...

Joe Lieberman: republican suck up who happens to be in the dlc. Obama? The jury is still out to be sure, but the indications aren't really liberal, no matter what his apologists say.

[unblock]

20. presidents need first to gather power.

the vast majority of politicians eventually get so lost in the mission of amassing power that they forget why they wanted the power in the first place.

pressure, wisely placed, on politicians pull them in the right direction, because it aligns their interests (power) with ours (issues).

bush was what he was and there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it.
not so obama. we're not finished making him who he is.

[cascadiance]

24. This time around though Obama needs to take the first step with the CORRUPT media!

and do some major reforms so that we both can have our community informed what is going on, and that it will accurately reflect what we are trying to say to Obama as well. Right now we're getting neither, which is standing in the way of us "telling" Obama to do certain things.

Obama can legitimize his efforts to "free the media" so that he can get better communications with the grass roots and they about the government.

[unblock]

25. i'm with you on that one

he needs to (a) restory the fairness doctrine and (b) seriously enforce anti-competitive laws already on the books (not just for the media industry, but that's a good place to start).

[mopinko]

30. this is the lesson that obama took from one of his early political influences.

he came to chicago to be a part of the movement that made the late, great harold washington the first black mayor of the city of chicago. i believe that he learned a LOT from his struggles to get anything done in a racially charged, polarized city. the tactic of -i want to do it, now make me- was one that washington used to great effect. i am sure the lesson was not lost on young mr obama.

for what it is worth, tho, i am thrilled with my new president, and have no problem with anything that he has done so far. my judgement is on ice.

[Vincardog]

32. create the circumstances in which obama has no choice but to give us what we want.

[unblock]

33. bingo. it's not even about fighting HIM. it's about giving him what he needs to fight THEM.