Taking Fire From All Sides

by paradox

Don’t be calling me a liberal, President Obama said during the 2008 campaign. Professional political analysts and political scientists, amused, naturally asked what he was, since he obviously couldn’t be conservative. New, came the ludicrous answer, a wondrous catalyst of maturity that would magically end all the horrible fighting and leave the reeking rancor of the past behind.

Digby of Hullaballoo has stated the analysts and scientists knew this was laughable fantasy, but as we watch a ludicrous performance of incompetence bust forth from the election of Senator Brown perhaps we made a grave error in not slamming home how unworkable Obama’s political stance was.

Unworkable. The objections to Obama’s fantasy never had anything to do with some kind of ideology or beliefs and everything to do with basic competence, the ability to politically survive on a sustained basis. The Republicans will never let Obama get away with being the new political savior, it was screamingly obvious from the git-go.

It’s why there’s never been a New Way President, “above it all” never politically works. The Republicans, of course, will obstruct and do everything to take Obama down, and without leadership that provides leverage over an onerous Congress Democrats are dazed and lost, any political caucus would be without strong liberal leadership from the executive President.

Furthermore, your own people get very upset that their righteous liberal agenda is given the finger, Jesus, not even one god damn scrap was tossed our way. So the very people who should be helping you the most turn out to be your most vociferous critics, while naturally the Republicans loathe you as much as ever.

Then the Republicans get ever more confident as the position weakens further, the liberals get more enraged and the independents disgusted, one takes vicious fire from all sides, then the whole freaking enchilada begins to swirl the toilet bowl on the way down, this political turd of a paradigm is getting the flush it deserves. It has always been thus, this is simple old knowledge, and a more forceful case of it in the primaries might have saved us from this terrible liberal political spot we’re in now.

Oh it’s ugly, all right, check out this comment thread at Balloon Juice, very proud bastion of O-bots, as they call themselves. It’s beyond brutal, everyone opens up with all they have to shred Congress and the Executive over what’s happened with healthcare and the first year in general.

So now what? Shaken, Obama is finally advocating what I have been ranting about for eight god damn months, rescuing our financial system to go back to the way were—hundreds of billions of bonuses flamingly shoved up everyone’s ass in a howling arrogance of elitism—was never going to work!

For the last time (Steve Benen, please take note): the stimulus passed last year was and is a political failure, it…did…not…work! It provided a measure of employment and held off Depression II, but Americans don’t expect Depressions (those laughable economists said they were quaint) and really dislike the Great Recession we’re still screwed with. Are you serious that success should be trumpeted with a 10% unemployment rate?

Not only are ordinary Americans still hurting the elite bankers sneer in our faces that their unimaginable wealth is something we just have to get used to. Hello? Political failure, total failure, it doesn’t work, it can never work.

So a year later with an administration adrift, predictably battered from all sides and trusted by no one, apparently sees the light and proposes to finally break up the banks, one of the essential reforms that had to happen, the US taxpayer cannot allow the same environment to exist that screwed them so badly in the first place. Thank you.

However, Mr. President, I’ve heard your pronouncements and speeches before, and even though I watch television frequently I did not take on the asinine presumption of that ludicrous medium, I have a memory, I forget very little. The past is indeed relevant in evaluating your proposals, oh yes, and what I’ve repeatedly seen is a great speech to start good politics and then total failure as no leadership fight evolves to make it happen.

The Republicans will hate you no matter what happens, ever. You have to forcefully whip and lead the ornery Democratic Congress, then fight with them all behind you to make it happen.

Drop that ridiculous dream of bipartisan leadership and fight like FDR did, the only way to politically implement an agenda, of course. When we see the fight we’ll know you’re a good Democrat and President, President Obama.