Progressive Strategy

Posted on 09/03/2009 at 10:24 pm by admin

by Lee Stranahan

I think this piece from FDL states the problem with the White House very well. Here’s the coda…

The Progressive strategy is to stop being the patsy for a compromising White House, while genuine reform is given away yet again. So this not about playing chicken with Mike Ross. Even if it’s true that some Blue Dogs don’t care whether we get health reform — and I believe many do care — the point is that the White House cares. And they care not so much about genuine reform but about not being seen as losers, because that means this is a one-term, failed Presidency.

The Progressives’ clear-eyed strategy says that a winning Presidency depends on demanding and fighting for real reforms. And if the White House can’t see that, the progressives are telling this President that they won’t be used again if the White House acts as if it only cares about itself.

And never mind waiting for next Wednesday’s speech, because the White House has been damaging its credibilty all week. The President has a chance every day to tell us what he really cares about. But if the message every day is it’s only him, he’s on his own.

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  • http://homepage.mac.com/wildlifeweb/bird/flamingo/honolulu/flamingo01.jpg veralynn

    I have to say this is getting tiresome. Give the man a fucking break people. He has been in office since the end of January. I agree with what Nano wrote on another thread.

  • Redmond

    “The Progressives’ clear-eyed strategy says that a winning Presidency depends on demanding and fighting for real reforms. And if the White House can’t see that, the progressives are telling this President that they won’t be used again if the White House acts as if it only cares about itself.”You’ve got to be kidding me. What’s so “clear-eyed” about abandoning Barack Obama in 2012? Because letting the Republicans back in office will really facilitate any progressive causes. And progressives can piss and whine all they want about it, but that’s the cold hard reality. Go ahead and vote for the Green Party, or whoever’s promising single payer on the back of a golden unicorn, while the Republicans get back in office and continue flushing us all down the Christofascist toilet. But, hey, you voted your principles. Those will help you pay for your now permanently fucked health care and Code: Pink T-shirts when we’re starting five more wars.

  • http://worleydervish.blogspot.com/ MaryRW

    What Obama is doing is not even remotely what he said he would do. I don’t have to give him a break. He’s paying more attention to Wall Street and Big Pharma and the health insurance industry than he is to the American people, the vast majority of whom support health insurance reform with a public option. The administration mollycoddles the Blue Dogs and then slaps the Progressives in the face, because, hey, the Progressives aren’t going to vote for the Republicans.We need a two-party system, and the Republicans appear to have imploded to the point of irrelevancy. So here’s an idea: Let’s leave the Democratic party to the Blue Dog corporate shills and ask progressive politicians like Feingold and Kucinich to form their own party.

  • Redmond

    Yes, let’s split the Democratic party and then we can see how relevant the Republicans are when President-elect Palin is handing out guns and King James bibles on the White House lawn. Now that’s health care reform! *wink*So great strategy, Mary. I love the part where it’s realistic and not full of naivety that an Obama presidency should be an ultra-progressive free-for-all. On that note, I’m going to close my eyes really hard and wish for a cupcake to appear because I voted for Obama. I deserve MAGIC!

  • Rogect8

    Two words in retort: “President Cheney.”Jesus Christ, talk about being a self-saboteur…

  • DaBomb

    @Redmond- LOL! That’s shit was funny. You tell ‘em. Maybe if we close eyes and twitch our noses like they did in “I dream of Jeannie” we can get a pony too. These people have gone stone crazy.My question to Mary is did you vote for Clinton in 96? Becuase if you did then you are a hypocrite, because he didn’t get hardly any of his major reform passed. Especially Healthcare. His healthcare bill sank like a brick once it hit congress