Who are Obama's sharpest, best-known critics on the left?

[lwcon]

During the campaign, Obama was widely celebrated by famous names and left-leaning media figures.

A year into his presidency, some folks here and elsewhere aren't satisfied with his center-right agenda.

Yet left-side criticism of Obama is nearly invisible in the mass media... except for those who (correctly, IMHO) saw the lack of Democratic enthusiasm in the recent MA special election as a liberal-base referendum on his presidency.

For those who want a more impactful message of lefty-side dissatisfaction with Obama's handling of domestic and foreign policy, and his rhetoric that frequently demeans and disempowers his base, seeing famous personages push him from the left will be essential.

Who's doing it? Who's just getting warmed up?

[NJmaverick]

1. I think the self proclaimed base are the ones doing the demeaning

[lwcon]

12. Thank you, sir, may I have another! n/t

[NOW tense]

2. David Sirota n/t

[lwcon]

18. Sirota's been inconsistent, but at times bracing

He was a bit goo-goo eyed about having a personal call from Obama, etc.

But sometimes he does deliver the straight stuff.

[elleng]

3. So you want people at DU to provide you with names

of those dissatisfied with the incumbent Democratic president?

[lwcon]

5. Precisely

See:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7581114

[Tom Rinaldo]

6. Nothng wrong with that. In 1980 it would have been Ted Kennedy

Democrats being critical of other Democrats falls withing the realm of potentially constructive free speech. You or I can ponder their words or not, embrace them or reject them, but literally our ability to do so and ask these type questions here of our own leaders is a big part of what makes this country great.

[lwcon]

11. Thanks, Tom

If Democrats felt less entitled to our votes and felt more expected to earn them, we'd have a heckuva lot better party.

Warren Beatty's Bulworth character insults the heck out of some black voters and their grievances and then says, tauntingly:

"Do you see ANY Democrat doing anything about it? Certainly not me! So what're you gonna do, vote Republican? Come on! Come on, you're not gonna vote Republican!"

Sadly, this is a rather true characterization.

[EFerrari]

15. It's an interesting point the OP makes. If only the right wing is represented

in the media, is it any wonder that the White House responds to them? If the concerns of our side are never aired or publicized, where is our voice for Obama to respond to?

[lwcon]

20. Bingo

The left was simply never a concern to Obama:

http://www.correntewire.com/discussion_we_never_had
http://www.correntewire.com/obama_stump_speech_strategy_of_conciliation_considered_harmful

[snagglepuss]

4. How true that critism from the left is nearly invisble in MSM. In different ways

it suits both parties. It suits Repugs because they want to frame Obama as being far left and it suits Dems because they don't want have their centre right policies exposed by the left.

[lwcon]

9. Indeed

I would consider it a huge victory if "liberalism" didn't get blamed for Obama's corporatist policies. At least our ideology would live to fight another day.

As I've been saying for some time, populism (ideally of a liberal bent) is the obvious response to an economy like ours, and the Dems are making a huge mistake to shun it and push an economic agenda straight out of Reagan's "greed is good" playbook when the tide -- the one that brought them into office -- has plainly turned.

Obama has mouthed a few perfunctory "I don't love Wall Street" words of late, but his actions (and who he trusts his economic policy to) say otherwise. When he started whipping for TARP votes, he signaled a Goldman Sachs presidency, when a New Deal presidency was needed.

[zipplewrath]

7. The Nation

Go over to the Nation and you'll find a whole magazine of critics. Krugman has stood close to that line. Dean has moved back and forth over it. Kucinich, Madow, Feingold, do as well. I think you might be able to include Moore as well.

[lwcon]

10. Moore is starting to get "shrill," as Krugman used to ironically call criticizing a prez, but...

Large parts of "Capitalism: A Love Story" played like an Obama campaign ad.

Even some of his strong criticism is couched with excuses like Obama's getting bad advice, rather than that he's pursuing the neo-liberal (or, more accurately, neo-con) agenda that suits him.

The Nation is often as far right on "defense" or even further right than Obama, isn't it?

Kucinich seems like he's the most consistently disapproving of the bunch. He's nice about it and all, but he's being quite clear and smart about where the policy should go. I wonder if he, whose pledged Iowa Caucus votes helped put Obama in office, would support (or conduct) a primary challenge?

Maddow can land a few good criticisms, but her trivial "teabagger" shtick and other tribal time-wasters seem more her speed.

Krugman is, precisely as you say, hovering near that line, but I don't see him crossing it.

Dean doesn't have much of a leg to stand on as a liberal light, since he was a huge player in helping deep-six real healthcare reform with his "public option" agenda, which he sold by claiming Americans love their insurers and that "public option" is Medicare, which it ain't.

I haven't heard much of what Feingold's up to. What's he been saying?

One guy -- a former True Believer -- who's getting pretty "shrill" is Matt Taibbi....

[Enrique]

14. Feingold has been critical

he opposed Bernanke recently, but he supports Obama's deficit cutting moves which liberals in general are opposing.

[EFerrari]

13. Dennis and Cornel West are almost ignored by the corporate media. n/t

[lwcon]

16. I wonder what it would take for West to officially de-support Obama and his...

center-right policies?

He criticizes him strongly, but it's not clear what the breaking point is for his support.

[EFerrari]

17. West will never stop supporting Obama because it is his position

that his criticism, which is very sharp, comes from a supportive posture. Or, that is my understanding.

[Robb]

8. Ha ha ha!

Too rich. :D

[EFerrari]

19. Oh, and I forgot Howard Zinn, whom we lost yesterday. n/t

[lwcon]

21. Yes, I was thinking of him

And Chomsky, too.

[EFerrari]

22. The people I most admire on the left are all critical of Obama

as they would be of any president in this political climate. But their criticism is not personal or even particularly partisan. And they are all but ignored in the mass media.

[lwcon]

23. Why do you think that is (that they're all ignored)? n/t

[EFerrari]

24. The right wing captured the media years ago and by now, ignoring the left

is routine unless there is a way to stir up trouble in the left -- by highlighting Rahm's hasty remarks, for example. That's the main thing I see going on, anyway.

[lwcon]

25. I guess for the time-being

They prefer to allow/insist that Obama's Bush-like policies are the outer-reaches of socialism. Only when it's too late for meaningful left-side opposition to Obama will they give us any oxygen. Ditto for left-leaning media/blog figures, who will hold onto hope until we're at the point of no return for 2012.