18 January, 2010 | Leave a Comment
This week marks the first anniversary of Barack Obama’s presidency. Last night I read this post at Black Agenda Report about “Progressives for Obama” having to change their name, since Obama – or is it Obomba – isn’t the least bit progressive. I would like to highlight some of this post, since it’s relevant to Obama’s first anniversary:
The organization formerly known as “Progressives for Obama” has changed its name. After almost a year of President Obama’s massive transfers of the people’s wealth to Wall Street, his escalation of U.S. wars in South Asia, his shameless alliance with insurance and drug corporations, and his callous disregard for Depression-level Black unemployment, even the president’s most loyal sycophants on the Left are running for cover. It’s not a pretty sight.
“Progressives for Obama” are now calling themselves “Progressive America Rising.” Two of the founding members, Bill Fletcher and Tom Hayden, are making uncharacteristically loud anti-Obama noises and acting as if they played no role in convincing Obama that he could make war and serve corporate interests to his heart’s content, without fear of any trouble from the Left. They had his back.
The left-wing Obamites were the nastiest of all. They viciously libeled anyone that advanced a Left critique of their hero, calling them enemies of a new “people’s movement,” when in fact it was they who were shutting the movement down in favor of a fan club and cheering section for Obama…Bill Fletcher and Tom Hayden stuck with Obama like little sorcerer’s apprentices as the president methodically savaged virtually every item on the progressive agenda. What else could they do? To break with Obama would amount to an admission that they were wrong about the progressive “potential” of their candidate; that he had always been a thoroughly corporate politician who would lurch to the Right as soon as he took office; and that, by failing to criticize Obama early in the campaign, they were guaranteeing that he would disrespect and ignore Blacks and progressives, once in office.
“The left-wing Obamites were the nastiest of all.” This resonates with me, since I experienced it first-hand during the campaign. What bothers me the most is that so many of Obama’s most strident supporters, particularly in the blogosphere, are virtually silent about Obama now. They don’t even mention him. I received so many lectures during the campaign from self-righteous people claiming that they refused to vote for Hillary because she was in favor of the war in Iraq. Well, to those people: How’s your “anti-war” vote for Obomba working out for you now? I hear nothing but silence on this issue. I wish you would take ownership of your behavior during the campaign and have the guts to admit you were wrong. Not only is Obama pro-war and in bed with corporate America, he’s turned his back on women’s rights, but Obama’s mainstream liberal feminist cheerleaders are largely silent on this matter. “Stop Stupak!” is a familiar refrain, as if Stupak came from outer space and not from a Democratically controlled White House and Congress.
Barack Obama mania was really just a successful advertising campaign. There was a product – Obama – and people were whipped into a frenzy over him. Now, not surprisingly, they’ve lost interest. Obama mania was a fad and an opportunity for people to feel smug and pat themselves on the back – it wasn’t about real change. No candidate in favor of real change would have gotten anywhere near the reins of power.
Would Hillary Clinton have done any better than Obama? No, she wouldn’t have. She would have sold out just like him. The reason I was upset during the campaign was not because Obama supporters were attacking Hillary – it was because they were being dishonest about Obama and just being dishonest, period. And they still don’t have the courage to admit it. [And of course, the rampant misogyny, a lot of it coming from the Left, disgusted me the most.]
As for me, I can’t imagine ever voting Democrat again. In order for things to change, we must address the root problems. Placing Democrats and Republicans into office will never result in change. Never. I have also broken off from mainstream liberal feminism and have embraced more radical feminist ideas as a result of this whole Obama experience. “Radical” is from the Latin for “root.” It means going to the “root” of the problem and overthrowing systems of power that oppress people. This cannot be done within the status quo of Washington politics. Without radical reform, change will never happen. If more of us have learned this lesson as a result of Obama’s campaign and election and presidency, then at least something good has come out of this very ugly time in American politics.
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I could have written this myself. I’m in complete agreement.
