I campaigned on the promise of change – change we can believe in, the slogan went. And right now, I know there are many Americans who aren’t sure if they still believe we can change – or at least, that I can deliver it.
But remember this – I never suggested that change would be easy, or that I can do it alone.
That's right. He didn't. "We are the ones we've been waiting for," I think was the line. But dovetailing with what I wrote yesterday, I think progressives were out-hustled this past year. It should've been the progressive movement barnstorming the town hall meetings in August -- demanding a robust public option or even single-payer. We were caught off guard in Massachusetts, too.
We're never going to win -- we're never going to move the country to the left unless we're on the ground changing minds. Door to door if need be.
Having a friendly (or friendlier) government in place ought to empower us to be able to do more. Instead, we're screaming at the friendly (or friendlier) government about relatively trivial things like Jon Gruber and whatever the hell we're investigating Rahm Emanuel for. Sure, in a vacuum, they might warrant some attention. But not in the context of the serious challenges we're confronting every day.
Ultimately, politicians go where the voters are, and we need those voters to be influenced by progressive ideas. And we missed out on some golden opportunities to influence that kind of change.