The GOP Strategy? Drive a Wedge Between the Democratic Party and its Liberal Base
By Michele Troiano
The Republican attack on Obama is very simple: Do everything possible to stop Obama from fulfilling ANY of the political dreams of the energized liberal base that paved the way to his victory. The plan is to de-energize these folks, make them lose faith in Obama’s capacity to bring real social justice to the country through things like a strong, government-provided health insurance plan and real efforts to regulate the economy so that it works better for the middle class.
Is their strategy working? To some extent. Many liberals are already feeling deflated after standing by and watching minority status-Republicans, the health insurance industry, and the hating it handful of blue-dogs (along with Lie-berman) essentially gut healthcare reform. Indeed, liberals are coming to realize that if we get a public option at all, it will be so weak and miniscule that it will hardly be able to compete with private insurers. This might be all well and good if that is really what the majority of the Americans want, but it REALLY is not.
On the economic front, the Republicans succeeded in forcing Obama to make concessions in his stimulus plan — like more tax cuts for the rich — that have only served to slow job growth and the general economic recovery. Meanwhile, relatively few of the needed banking regulations have been restored and our tax dollars have only served to re-inflate the bubble that already popped horribly last year. Thanks, bi-partisanship!
The current civil war in the Republican party between moderates and the hard right is largely due to the Republican party’s failure to push through enough of the hard-right’s agenda during its stint in the majority, such as shrinking government, privatizing social security, making abortion illegal, and federally banning same-sex marriage. Should the Democratic party make the same mistake of disappointing its energized base, its fate will be sealed.
Obama should remember that it wasn’t fence-sitting independents and moderate republicans that handed him a victory last November but rather the enthusiasm and the sweat of proud liberals all over the country. That is the group he spoke to and inspired in the campaign, NOT the Olympia Snows of the world… In fact, I’m pretty sure Olympia and her ilk voted to put Sarah “I can see Russia from my porch” Palin a heartbeat away from the doomsday button.
Enough of the reaching across the isle, Mr. President –because you are losing us — the true liberals — in the process. We who got you elected are now beginning to doubt your commitment to the liberal cause. Stop fearing the socialist label, because the right will apply it to you whether the public option you sign into law is strong and helpful or on life-support and useless. Take a stand for real LIBERAL reform and watch your poll numbers swell once again. Because it seems that now you are losing 10 liberals for every moderate you attract. Yeah, that’s what’s really happening. And that kind of ratio will never propel you into a second term. It’s time to change course. Do it NOW or we are ALL hating it!