It would be nice if Obama appoints some progressives

[AlphaCentauri]

If he is considering some republicans for his cabinet why not some third party or independent progressives like Matt Gonzalez

[tblue]

1. Amen to that! Didn't we just vote the Republicans out of Washington?

[Art_from_Ark]

34. Funny how that seems to be working out

We've already had 8+ years of Republican opinions shoved down our throats, and look where we are. They and their opinions were just given the boot-- for the second time in 2 years. It's time to consider another apporach.

[anigbrowl]

2. I would have agreed about Matt Gonzalez if he hadn't gone down the rabbit hole with Nader

As a former campaigner for him when he ran for the post of SF mayor, I've been rather disappointed. I had hoped he would stick with the green party ticket, as well as his brand of pragmatic liberalism. I have little to no respect for Nader. It's easy for someone who has no likelihood of succeeding to promise the earth; this is something I dislike about single issue candidates too.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. nobody is perfect but I believe that Matt still the same person n/t

[CreekDog]

36. he's still an ass that's true

see my other post if you want to know some of the reasons why.

and nevermind that he ran against the very Green Party he claimed to support.

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. Do you have any evidence that he won't? Isn't Melody Barnes a "progressive"? nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Agreed. Unity and being inclusive should cover people on the left too

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. Here's what I think...

1) I want all progressives in the govt. and no centrists or conservatives
2) Obama is inheriting a financial situation that might very well be worse than the Great Depression, so he's putting into his cabinet and staff people who most recently fixed a financial situation (albeit one not as bad as this one). In that sense, he's going for experience. And that explains the Clinton people.
3) Obama wants the Repubs to go along, and not spend all their time fighting him, which is why he's putting in some Repubs.
4) Yes, this horrific financial situation is something we can thank Repubs for, and I do wish we could just flush them down a giant toilet. However, that's not the way the real world works.

HOWEVER, Obama is a progressive. Today on Walters' interview he repeated for thousandth time that Iraq is a war we should not have gone into. He has already said that he will give tax cuts to the middle class. He has stated that he will increase the taxes of the wealthy. Upon being elected, his staff immediately got to work on figuring out how to cancel most of the orders given by GW Bush. He wants to create jobs, not send them abroad. He said he would give tax breaks only to those industries manufacturing here, and not to the ones manufacturing abroad. He said he would open up flights to Cuba again (I live in Miami, so that's why I mention that - it's a very important issue in Miami). I can go on and on and the man is a progressive. However, I think he wants to do things intelligently. But he will do the things he says. He, more than other presidents, has seen how the humble live, and knows that he has a lot to change.

I didn't think he'd get elected, but he was more intelligent than I was, and he proved me wrong. How about if we give the man a chance? Our country is falling apart, and his #1 duty right now is to piece it together.

I think he'll be a great president and you'll find yourself grateful to have him to guide us out of this "perfect storm" and into peaceful waters.

[Truth2Tell]

8. "people who most recently fixed a financial situation"

By "fixed," do you mean "caused?"

Because these are the exact people who created our present problem.

:shrug:

[Sarah Ibarruri]

16. Well, what I'm saying is that under Clinton things were fine.....

... right now our country is in the middle of a CODE BLUE. We don't have the time to fix it nicely. Whatever needs to be done expediently, should be done. Then, once its life is saved, then Obama can go about making this country better.

I agree with you on Clinton. He was, for example, a BIG HUGE proponent of taking jobs away to other countries, something I find piggish. In that sense, he was on the side of the Repukes. However, the greatest damage done to our country was done by DECADES of Repuke policy being supported by the entire country. Even when Clinton was elected, the country was leaning right. You agree with me on that, don't you? Our country went Repuke. The country is now, finally, slowly reconsidering their stupidity.

AMERICANS ARE FRIKKIN' TACTILE LEARNERS!!!

[Truth2Tell]

25. I was referring to these same economic advisers

having laid the groundwork for this crisis both during their terms with Clinton, as well as in the private sector. These are not "non-ideological" people, as the propaganda machine is trying to claim. They are in fact quite ideological, and it's their ideology of less regulation, globalization and loose credit that directly caused our economy to collapse. These people have all been thoroughly discredited at this point.

[JDPriestly]

11. Sarah Ibarruri, Obama can talk progressive all he wants, but he

is surrounding himself with conservatives -- and the Secret Service is limiting his contact with ordinary people and you can read that as meaning limiting his contact with those of us who are more progressive. He talks progressive, but he appoints conservative. Actions speak louder than words.

I like what I hear from Obama but not what I see him do.

Believe it or not, Bush took a stances that were more reasonable, more liberal before he got into office. Then he surrounded himself with Cheney and the super far rightees and pretty soon he was just a right-wing robot. I never voted for Bush, but when he was running for office, he spoke strongly against America being the policeman of the world. And before he was elected, some years earlier, he stated on Larry King live that he believed that issues regarding gay rights and marriage should be left to the states. He sure changed his tune when he got elected.

The D.C. shadow is falling over Obama. I hope it isn't too late. We just have to keep watching what is going on.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. Do you understand that we're not in a relaxed little time?

We're in CODE BLUE right now. Everything is going to shit. The time to make this a nice progressive country was back during Kerry, back during Gore, back. Now? Now we're just able to throw lifeboats, maximum. I live in fear that my job will be cut. This is just throwing lifeboats and he's just putting in people that can resuscitate the country. Once the country is breathing again, THEN he can do those other things he wants.

By the way, just asking, not defensive or angry, but who was your favorite candidate during the election? I ask because I'd like to know whom you felt was more suitable than Obama.

[tomp]

20. has it even occurred to you that progressive ideas....

...MAY ACTUALLY BE THE SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS!!!!!! jesus, god, the density of du is utterly astounding!

[leftchick]

22. exactly right

the conservatives gave us this fucked up mess of a country.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

23. Listen, he's picking from people who succeeded in fixing a drowning nation....

That's like a person being given 3 different types of antibiotics to cure a monster infection. AFter it's all over the person's liver may have suffered and he may have to endure years of healing, but at least his life was saved.

I understand you want progressives. Do you think I don't? I'm FAR more lefty than any Democrat I've met in this country.

However, I don't know of ONE progressive that has already experience in fixing a financial crisis that is promising to have half this country roaming homelessly. Obama is putting in his cabinet people who went through a criss, smaller, but a crisis. That's all he's doing. If things were calm and peaceful, and this country were not in the process of drowning, I'd say, "Go ahead and pick from the choice progressives without experience in a financial crisis, for they have their heart in the right place."

When someone is having a heart attack, you don't bring out a natural health practitioner. You bring out an ER doctor. When the patient is fine finally, THEN you bring out the natural health practitioner and put the patient on special diets, supplements, etc. to make his body whole again and avoid another heart attack from happening.

That's what's going on.

[w4rma]

30. Bullcrap. These people fought against the reforms that should have been passed to save this drowning

nation.

[JDPriestly]

45. I liked Edwards. He foresaw the economic breakdown long before

most people, and he understood its real cause -- outsourcing of American jobs. A lot of people criticized Edwards for his associations with a hedge fund. But, I think that his ties to them had given him and inside view of the economic chaos to come. I suspect that some of his hard edge on economics was due to his experience in the hedge fund. I realize also that Edwards, with an undergrad major in textile mill management probably had the best practical business and economics background of all the candidates.

I like Obama and campaigned for him. I realize that we are in Code Blue and that we have to work together -- all the more reason why Obama's advisers and cabinet should have a better balance of left, center and right than they do. Where is Robert Reich? Where is Galbraith? There are a lot of very good experts whose names have been omitted from the appointments lists. Where is Wesley Clark for example? To whom is Obama answering? I hope he answers to a cross-section of America, not just big business. His appointments suggest he is heavily relying on big business lackeys. We shall see.

[AlphaCentauri]

46. Harsh times are the best times to bring changes

history tells us

[John Q. Citizen]

29. Absolutly we need to watch and provide positive input and organize for what we want

We have to be active if we want and desire justice. Especially if Obama is a good guy (which i think he is)

And pushing for more lefty and progressive cabinet positions is a good thing to do, even if Obama appoints more retreads.

I thought the Messina appointment to deputy chief of staff was a very good choice.

[bigtree]

13. He'll certainly get 'his chance' whether we disagree with his appointments or not

The prospect of a majority of appointments of folks who have shown resistance to progressive initiatives or have supported regressive policy in the past makes it imperative that Mr. Obama practices progressive politics in his own deliberation and decision-making.

The issue with the appointments, though, is a perfectly legitimate standard of judgment on his administration and its potential for effecting or promoting progressive change. President Obama will need to rely on the advice of many of these appointees on issues which he may not be well-versed or experienced in. Our participation and feedback is a vital element to the advancement of progressive initiatives.

Without that active and insistent prodding from those of us outside of the inner-circle of White House advisers, there may well be an overbalance of centrist or conservative voices which are advantaged by their closeness to the Executive. That's the impetus for many in insisting that folks with a record of supporting and promoting progressive policies and actions are included in Pres. Obama's inner-circle.

It's a view of some that progressive politics is somehow an anathema to progress, but it's actually the one approach which insists on more than the half-steps and rationalizations which come with the incremental change that centrist politics encourages.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

18. Well, two points on this....

Cabinet folks can be changed at the drop of a hat. If the course of this country improves, he can change the cabinet around.

Second, I TOTALLY agree with you that all presidents need to be prodded and told what WE want. It's a good thing. The good thing about Obama is that this is not a Bush-style administration. This is a president that truly LISTENS.

[tomp]

19. one does not have to be progressive to oppose the war on Iraq...

...one needs merely to be sane. the meme that opposition to the war is a leftist position pushes the country to the right and should not be repeated.

the rest of the ideas you mention are not really "progressive", either. the tax cut for the middle class would be really progressive if it were accompanied by a repeal of the cats cuts for the wealthy that bush pushed through. most of what bush did was so far to the right that to oppose them is mere centrism and not true progressive-ism. again, opposing bush is mere sanity.

[Mari333]

27. but if he sends 20,000 of our kids to afghanistan for perpetual war

which he plans on doing, thats not a progressive. thats just the same old warmongering.

[rpannier]

6. Agreed

More and more it seems that his unity government is not including those from the progressive community.

Maybe we shoul;d have opposed him in the strongest terms.
It might have gotten us something

[John Q. Citizen]

7. Obama is the first New Party endorsed candidate to win the White House.

[Radical Activist]

10. Obama is in the cabinet.

That makes at least one progressive.

[John Q. Citizen]

14. Now if he just picks fusion voting friendly judges!

[ColbertWatcher]

12. Which cabinet position should he appoint a progressive to?

I'm not sure, but there are a lot of people in an Administration, and he's only got less than 30 so far.

I posted some of them here, I know I've missed some, but there are way more positions to fill.

[w4rma]

31. I want economic progressives on the cabinet. So far I only see deregulators and 'free' traders. (nt)

[liberalpragmatist]

33. Reich, Krugman, and Roubini have all endorsed Obama's team

... Geithner has called for a major new regulatory framework for Wall Street. Jason Furman and Austan Goolsbee support greater regulation as well.

Melody Barnes is very progressive and will head the Domestic Policy Council.

Also, all of Obama's picks support major changes to the tax code, universal health care, and major efforts to combat inequality.

[w4rma]

39. Krugman has doubts.

…
Time magazine famously named Mr. Greenspan, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers “The Committee to Save the World” — the “Three Marketeers” who “prevented a global meltdown.” In effect, everyone declared a victory party over our pullback from the brink, while forgetting to ask how we got so close to the brink in the first place.

In fact, both the crisis of 1997-98 and the bursting of the dot-com bubble probably had the perverse effect of making both investors and public officials more, not less, complacent. Because neither crisis quite lived up to our worst fears, because neither brought about another Great Depression, investors came to believe that Mr. Greenspan had the magical power to solve all problems — and so, one suspects, did Mr. Greenspan himself, who opposed all proposals for prudential regulation of the financial system.

Now we’re in the midst of another crisis, the worst since the 1930s. For the moment, all eyes are on the immediate response to that crisis. Will the Fed’s ever more aggressive efforts to unfreeze the credit markets finally start getting somewhere? Will the Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus turn output and employment around? (I’m still not sure, by the way, whether the economic team is thinking big enough.)
…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/opinion/28krugman.html?_r=1
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=405424&mesg_id=405424

Reich helped get us into this mess by opposing regulations and promoting unfettered 'free' trade (he was even head of Citibank when it collapsed recently). He's not one to be listening to on economic matters. His ideology is a problem.

[liberalpragmatist]

42. You have Reich confused with Rubin - nt

[w4rma]

44. I did confuse the two names. You are correct in that respect. (nt)

[ColbertWatcher]

38. In which positions? Obama will have more positions to fill!

The ones he's announced so far are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg!

There are hundreds of appointments to be made. Some will require Senate confirmation and others won't.

[w4rma]

41. Which economic positions are left? They need to be filled with economic progressives. (nt)

[ColbertWatcher]

43. Okay, see? That's different that what others are asking about.

Other people have been saying Obama has not named any progressives, you're asking where the economic progressives are.

That's something completely different.

[JanMichael]

15. Ditto but don't hold your breath.

You may faint prior to exhaling.

[mdmc]

21. and let evil win?

[Thickasabrick]

24. Obama is progressive enough for me. He will call the shots. nt

[EFerrari]

26. Yeah. Like Matt.

:)

[CreekDog]

37. Oh shoot. I like it when we agree.

I guess it's not to be this time. :(

[Pastiche423]

28. Yeah, that wold be nice

Especially since it was his progressive base that worked so hard to get him elected.

But since November 5, 2008 I've been living in reality (which really sucks) and progressives seem to be the last thing on his mind.

RECOMMEND.

[Two Americas]

32. no consensus

I think there is no consensus as to what the words progressive, liberal, left, and even Democrat mean.

It is impossible to tell what we are talking about - our own personal feelings, our personal definitions of the words, what we imagine Obama to "be," what we think he has done, what we imagine he might do...

[CreekDog]

35. Matt Gonzalez who tried to become mayor by falsely claiming Newsom donated to Bush?

The Matt Gonzalez this spring who said McCain's position on global warming was better than that of either of the Democrats?

The Matt Gonzalez who said the responsibility for the Iraq War is really the fault of the Democrats?

Gonzalez is... and not a very honest one at that.

[leftofthedial]

40. he's too conservative and corporate

and the DLC hates progressives WAY more than it hates repukes.