MoveOn’s Plaintive Cry in the Dark
MoveOn is not happy with our President. See, they “miss” the tough-talking candidate of 2008 who was going to close Guantanamo Bay, restore our standing in the world, and, most importantly, stick it to those awful rich people who make more than $250,000 a year. Their upset has reached the point that they’ve written a letter imploring their members to ask the President not to go all wobbly moderate on them and be the progressive champion he claimed he was during the election.
Dear MoveOn member,
Remember Barack Obama in 2008? The guy who refused to go along with a “dumb war” and said, “In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.”
I miss that guy. Imagine if someone told you in 2008 that Barack Obama was actually thinking about signing legislation to extend the Bush tax giveaways for the rich. I wouldn’t have believed it.
Now more than ever, we need the Barack Obama we elected in 2008—the smart, tough, hopeful progressive champion who inspired millions of us—to stand up and say “no” to a millionaire bailout.
Right now, with the change we all fought for hanging in the balance, President Obama needs to hear from those of us who supported him the most.
So we’re asking MoveOn members nationwide to record a video message from the heart to tell President Obama to go to the mat to stop any extension of the millionaire tax giveaways—and to bring back the progressive fighter we all knew and supported in 2008.
Now I’ve never been one to stand between a hopelessly naive person and the windmill against which they’ve chosen to tilt, but in this case, I do think I have to at least try to intervene.
Okay, MoveOn, let me explain something to you, in blunt terms because, well, it’s about time someone spoke bluntly to you. You can’t miss what you never had. Barack Obama was never the “progressive champion” he purported to be. He lied to you and you, in your desperation, swallowed his lie without ever once checking to see if he had ever spent a dime of political capital on your precious progressive causes. If you had listened to us conservatives for a minute instead of calling us warmongers and Jesus-freaks, we would have been happy to show you the truckload of “present” votes he left in his wake and the hours of talky-talky backed up by not a whit of meaningful action ever in his entire political career.
Barack Obama never loved you. He never intended to do what you wanted him to do. He used you for your organization and your donations and your votes and the very second he could abandon you, he did, without a second thought. What do you think that whole “I’ll close down Gitmo in a year, maybe” Executive Order business was all about? You got played by a master player. He knew he couldn’t close it in a year; he barely knew anything about Gitmo beyond what you guys in the nutroots fed him.
And taxes? Look, I don’t doubt that he’d love to shake every last dime out of everyone, rich or not, if he could get away with it. However, jacking up taxes on anyone in the middle of a recession that has beaten him at every turn is going to require that he actually take a bold stance and flex some considerable political muscle. Look deep into your heart of hearts and ask yourself, “Do I really believe that Barack Obama is that good a politician?” You and I both know he’s not. He barely has two years of experience as an executive. There is no chance at all he’s going to outsmart or out-stubborn people who have been in Congress since he was in short pants. If you aren’t quite ready to believe that, let me ask you this: have you heard one instance where he’s invited a key Republican or two to the White House to have a nice quiet sit-down chat? See, that’s where the real deals are done. But instead of doing the delicate work of diplomacy with an entrenched opposition, he lobbed a few rhetorical bombs then went off to play basketball. Do you really think that’s going to help? From where I sit, I see a man who doesn’t care all that much about the tax hikes you want so very badly. But what do I know? I’m just a guy who tried to warn you two years ago that he was an empty suit.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Violence Isn’t the Answer, Blah Blah Blah. Oh, and The MoveOn Agitator Lied.
- Behold the Full Spectrum of Obamaness!
- Well, There’s Your Recession Silver Lining!
Category: President Barack Obama, Progressives
Oh, SNAP!
Well done, Jimmie.
You're right, Obama and his people used MoveOn like a cheap trick and, now that he has what he wanted, their particular needs can be sacrificed to other parts of his agenda. One quibble, though:
"Barack Obama never loved you. He never intended to do what you wanted him to do."
I think Obama shares their beliefs, if not their particular priorities. His career as a state senator showed he was quite happy to work on hard-left projects, such as the juvenile justice bill he fought in alliance with Ayers and Dohrn. After all, his beliefs are not much different from theirs.
But Obama's big priorities are transforming the US and its economy, with health care as the lever. Everything else, including MoveOn's goals, can be sacrificed short-term for long term Progressive "progress." Just as any Alinskyite community organizer can tell you.
That niggle aside, good post!
I think that Barack Obama loves himself more even than his progressive beliefs. There's no doubt he shares MoveOn's beliefs, but I've never gotten the impression that those beliefs were all that important to him save as a means to climb the political ladder.
As a libertarian, I held my nose and voted for this guy, suckered by his talk of ending the wars, the Patriot Act, Guantanomo Bay, and fighting for equality for gay families–for my family. Lower taxes and pro-life are important to me, but I'd hand over 90% of my income and consigned all the souls of all the babies in the third world to hell to spare my kids the hateful injustices that were intended to just hurt me. I am bitterly angry with myself for selling my soul in exchange for pretty words. The libertarian gets my vote from now on even if there's no chance of a win–I at least have my soul.
Poor guy. I'm sad that you were so easily suckered in.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jimmie and ate mely, Lorie Reed. Lorie Reed said: RT @jimmiebjr: New Post: MoveOn's Plaintive Cry in the Dark http://bit.ly/hwtSLh [...]
I think that you are absolutely right that he's not capable of any bold actions. I'm not sure that his goal is to retructure the economy ala socialism, or that he hasn't, at first, tried to work with an obstinate republican opposition. That said, I hope you're right that he will fail at jacking up the taxes–but I wont hold my breath.
I think it's pretty obvious that he hasn't tried to work with Republicans. His only real statement on the matter to them was "I won".