On the Contrary

What happened in 2008 in the Presidential election was that after eight years of seeing our country heading in the wrong direction, with Democrats unable to summon the courage to stand up to a Republican President and a Republican majority in Congress, we had a candidate in Barack Obama that we thought could bring about real change.  Remember the campaign slogan:  “Change You Can Believe In”?  For the first time, many of us thought we had a chance to bring real change and reason back to government.  We thought that finally the gross abuses of the Bush administration and a government controlled by the corporations and their lobbyists would be reigned in.  That government would be put on the path of building a better America instead of the shill for corporations.

That is what brought the young out to the polls. The hope and belief that this time it would make a difference, that it would not be business as usual, and we would see real change.  And this brings me to the issue at hand.  If President Obama fails to keep this light of hope lit, I fear for our future.  If real disillusionment sets in and we lose these voters, then what is left is the radical right and our country will be lost forever.  I believe President Obama is misreading what needs to be done.

He came in promising us a new approach to our problems, with less of the partisan bickering and a more cooperative way to work through our problems.  But it takes two to be non-partisan and the other side is not giving an inch.  He continues to try to work with the other side and show that we can work together as Americans, but the Republicans are not playing.  He risks compromising away the change he promised us.

He has said we will have a health care reform bill this year.  But we don’t want “a” health care bill, especially if it has been watered down to the point of being ineffective.  What we want is leadership that shows us what “the” bill should be and then fights for it. If he believes in a single payer plan that he championed before, then he should fight for it.

If Congress can only produce a mediocre plan, then veto it and we will wait.  That is the change we want to believe in.  Not settling for something that will fail, but championing what will succeed.  That would be someone who sees the way forward and does not compromise away our ticket to our future to settle for a political victory.  Thinking what is politically possible is good enough is not what we came along for.  We want what will work, not what is politically possible.

But there are other areas where he is losing us.  From abandoning gays to warrantless wiretapping, from signing statements to preventative detention, from arguing the State’s Secret Act to investigating torture, from getting out of the war in the Middle East (Afghanistan specifically) to immigration reform, it has all been put off to another day.  We all know that the political climate is difficult, but instead of putting up a fight and standing firm on issues we elected him to deal with, his instinct for a reasoned approach and partisanship has stymied every effort.

Somehow he is confusing legislative success with success as a President.  We are looking for someone to stand tall and fight our battles, and remember they are battles, not wars.  The war will be lost if he refuses to fight the battles that he might even lose, but sets the table for the next round.  He may find that in fighting that losing battle he has stood up for us and he has expose the other side for what they are.  They will be far weakened the next time.  But compromising with them only legitimizes what they are trying to destroy.

What I fear is happening is that he is starting to losing the support of those new voters who brought him to office.  Oh, the political flacks will argue that we have no other choices and moderation is the safe thing to do right now, and they will lead to him to his biggest failure.  He is about to lose those who just won’t come back to the polls at all.  They came because they had real hope this time and if he compromises it away, the real loss will be our country’s because those disillusioned young voters will just quit caring.  They won’t believe that change is possible anymore.  They will say why fight the greedy and selfish?  Why not just join them and get my share?

What is going on right now is a battle for this country’s soul.  You see it at the Town Hall Meetings where the intolerant are taking over the debate.  We are looking for a leader who understands that we need to stand up for what we believe and not allow the other side to weaken us with promises of partisanship or foolish attempts at compromise.  If he won’t stand now and fight for us now, then I am going to quit caring and worry about my grapes.  So will all the young people he brought into the process.  I hope the White House wakes up to this before it is too late.