I know I am, but what are you?

[FrenchieCat]

I know I am, but what are you?

I am a progressive who took a long view at the unevenness of the playing field in United States politics very early on.
snip


Let me make it very clear as to what I believe is going wrong in this country currently. It isn't this President, but rather:

The extreme rigid and unyielding opposition who demonstrate plain hatred for this country and the working folks who made it a great place by any standard;

Media conglomerates and their bought-and-paid-for polling companies, who appear bent on manipulating public opinion to have us be as uninformed as possible when we go to the polls, even to the point of hacking phones and spreading outright lies;

The Citizens United decision that allows large corporate monied interests the very real opportunity to buy American elections;

GOP redistricting that is aimed at fucking us up further on the political playing field by tilting a country that is generally rather moderate to be represented by GOP loonies;

Republican Governors and legislatures in various states, gutting whatever in our history has been helpful to regular working folks, and doing so as quickly as they can;

A Supreme Court which (usually by a majority of one) favors and rules for giant corporations and is full of shit when it comes to the rights of ordinary people;

and 30 years of Free Market "pull up your bootstrap" policies that got us where we are.

To believe that one man was supposed to do by himself what we as a nation have obviously not been able to do for those 30 years was a ridiculous notion to begin with, and one that should have never been a point of contention. And yet it has been. Barack Obama requested of Americans long ago to help him get things done, not just pull the lever and sit back and point our fingers. But what most did was to decide that their time would be better spent singling him out for not saying exactly what they had determined he should say as the only important thing to do. We haven't done near enough to speak out against the ones who are willing to really screw us up forever, and too many have done the easy thing: criticized this President for every fucking thing, no matter what it was.

more....http://democratsforprogress.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=7291

[LongTomH]

1. Well said, Ma'am

There's a great deal there that I agree with. I could still wish for Mr. Obama to stand up to the GOP more on SS, Medicare, Medicaid and Education.

[treestar]

6. What does this standing up consist of?

POTUS did end the meeting with Cantor.

Would it be letting us default rather than making a deal that contains that which should be "stood" for?

[Tennessee Gal]

2. In total agreement with your post.

Those who expected an overnight (or even within his first term) reversal of policies the Republicans had worked years and years to put in place had unrealistic expectations of Obama.

[Tennessee Gal]

3. Clicked on the link.

This towards the end struck me as applicable to some regarding DU:

As a progressive, I want positive progress, not perfection in every way, which is an impossible quest anyway. Those advocating that we turn this nation upside down obviously have nothing to lose, while those who are waiting for a revolution obviously don't want to understand unintended consequences, as I don't believe a revolution would bring about a liberal utopia or a teeny-tiny government that does nothing to help its citizens, but everything to help mega-corporations.

Too many Democrats voted for President Obama looking for a liberal George W. Bush, a leader who would be mean-spirited, incompetent, manipulative and petty all at the same time. Too many Republicans are trying to say about President Obama what Democrats were saying about George Bush. They don't want to see that he has not earned in his 2.6 years what George Bush wrought upon this country for the longest-ass 8 years I have ever experienced!

Personally, considering the immaturity of many who speak with the loudest voices, I'm surprised that this nation has been able to progress positively as much as it has to date under this President's administration.

I won't say this again, but hear me now; I'm tired of the amount of negativity and wasted time spent on defining President Barack Obama or his "base" by those who measure progress by how loud they can moan and groan. I encourage instead that folks who claim "disappointment" become better informed as to the unevenness of our political playing field, and think a bit more realistically as to what this nation has done to itself for the past 30 years, and what it will take to get us out of the large mess that we made for ourselves.

[Fire1]

4. They don't hate this country. They hate HIM and anybody who

looks like HIM!!

[FrenchieCat]

5. They don't really care about this country,

which is as bad as hating it, IMO!

[bahrbearian]

8. So which country are you refering, the one your living in , or the one you think your in

[Mimosa]

10. Who's 'they'?

It seems you two are contributing more heat than light.

Fire1, who do you mean by people who hate people who 'look like him'? Are you insinuating that the once ardent now disappointed obama supporters 'hate' the President based on race? Or are you referring to teabaggers?

On Du it seem to me that the sowers of division are those who can't discuss policies and issues without attempting to discredit critics of policies. Many of whom were the most ardent Obama supporters! If there's any hate at DU I think it's coming from those who use the word hate.

The rest of us don't make things personal. I sincerely doubt any legitimate democrat 'hates' the President. Quite a few have been troubled by his actions and words. But we keep hoping things will improve. Please drop the lies that critics hate the President. In many ways we still admire him. We're troubled by the continuing and expanding wars. We're worried about the economy.

[bahrbearian]

7. LOL good one

[Armstead]

9. UM' That basically misses the point

FIRST of all, most progressives ARE more concerned with the Big Picture than whether or not President Obama is our savior or not. PRogressives who have been seeing and trying to change the overall drive into a right wing Corporate ditch over the last several decades may be understandably strident at times. However they -- of all people -- know full well how large the problem is, and how difficult it will be to change it.

The frustration does NOT stem from him not being able or seemingly willing to change everything overnight. Nobody expected or expects that.

The criticism and frustration stems from the larger mess, including the lack of a unified front in which the Democratic Party fights for liberalism as hard as the GOP fights for the wealthy and conservatism.

As the leader of the nation, and the party, however, Obama seems to many to be squandering the opportunity to at least begin to turn the ship away from the iceburg. Rather than challenge the drive of the GOP and their corporate masters, President Obama too often legimatizes their wrongheaded starting points.