So there is this progressive conference, Netroots Nation, I think that its in Minneapolis or something.
I have no issue what so ever with progressives being aggressive and pressuring the Obama administration to do more on key issues like the DREAM Act or on gay issues.
But the headlines coming out of that place is terrible for them. You have conservatives straight crashing the show and you have headlines and stories on liberal leaning websites suggesting that progressives may not support Obama in 2012.
I get the frustration. The issues associated with the DREAM Act and gay rights effect progressives on a personal level which I can not even begin to relate to— but there is a real danger of losing sight of who the progressive’s real enemies are.
Yes, it is President Obama who is in charge. Yes, Obama did not deliver on comprehensive Immigration reform. Yes, he did not forcefully advocate for the single payer option. Yes, he has not closed Gitmo. Yes, he has not come out for full marriage economy…but damn! Politically speaking, there is no way you can expect the man to deliver on everyone of his pledges in the first term.
Also, along with the negatives, you have to calculate the BFD’s (shout out to big Joe Biden) that he has achieved. Health-Care, although not perfect, IS a BFD. Financial Reform, BFD. The auto-bailout, BFD. The repeal of Don’t ask, don’t tell, BFD. Stopping the American economy looking like Greece’s, BFD. Obama has not just been lounging in the Oval Office. If you actually think about, the man has got a lot of things done.
The more important point for progressives, I feel is the simplest. Look at the alternative. Yes its a depressing and uninspiring message. Its not YES WE CAN, there’s little HOPE in the message, but — look at the alternatives.
Look at the Republican agenda on the state level when it comes to anti-union legislation or anti-women’s right laws. Who in the current crop of GOP Presidential candidates can progressives really live with? And, for progressives, is it really worth the risk?
Again, it is fair to be devastatingly dissapointed with the pace of progress on some issues, but abandoning Obama in 2012 could see those same issues set back for some decades to come.
Its not up to me to tell a Dream Act kid to understand, or tell a gay couple to wait a while — they are living with the consequences of these issues, I’m not. I applaud their activism, but the pure politics of the progressive situation can not be ignored.
Obama is there best hope.
