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Why Are Democratic Leaders at War With 'the Left'?

Posted by David Sirota, Open Left at 3:03 PM on November 18, 2008.


"The left has been foiled again. They can rant and rage but they still do not put the fear into folks to actually change their votes."

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Seems to me that House and Senate leaders have declared an all-out war on "the Left." In fact, "seems" is the wrong word. It doesn't "seem" like that. They are actually saying it explicitly. Here's this excerpt from the Washington Post (h/t FDL):

Asked what it would mean if Lieberman kept his chairmanship, one Senate Democratic aide said bluntly: "The left has been foiled again. They can rant and rage but they still do not put the fear into folks to actually change their votes."

Here's the Hill newspaper today:

Democratic leader says party won't turn left
By Mike Soraghan
As the House prepares to elect its leaders, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is challenging the idea that the expanded Democratic majority and its leaders will make a hard left turn.

To show that these aren't errant, uncommon statements, make sure to read Glenn Greenwald's review of how this hatred for "the Left" now reaches all the way to the top of the new Obama administration through Rahm Emanuel.

It's pretty odd that only two weeks after a landslide election that saw a huge ideological progressive mandate, Democratic congressional leaders think it's a great public message to declare jihad on progressives.

I don't know, call me crazy, but I think 67 million people voted for Democrats because they want Democrats to reject Bush's ideological conservatism and solve problems - not spend their time making paranoid, quasi-McCarthy-ist speeches deriding "the Left."

If we wanted that, wouldn't we have elected John McCain and Sarah Palin?


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This will prove to be pure
Posted by: Quannah on Nov 18, 2008 3:15 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
folly if they don't give this some serious thought. Exactly who are the Democratic Leaders trying to make happy if not their base?

Nevermind... no need to answer.

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» Want to know what happened? Posted by: DCostello2
Clearly...
Posted by: Xynyx on Nov 18, 2008 3:16 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Clearly, the ones speaking are centrists or conservatives. Clearly, we did not do a good enough job extracting them from the body politic. We will have to work harder.

Clearly, they have taken advantage of progressives again. We all knew they would. Some of us even dared to hope it would be better. Some of us still do. But it's entirely possible and probably even likely they will continue to do so until we mount serious challenges with serious progressive candidates.

We need to start replacing people at all levels of government. We need to be more involved.

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I'm waiting to see what happens after January
Posted by: pelican beak on Nov 18, 2008 3:24 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I began stating last winter that I'd vote Democrat this fall, but if a Dem won and didn't seek investigations of Bushcrew's crimes (which was actually Pelosi's job), it would be my last nod to them for a while.

What's going on now with all this posturing and jockeying for position is irrelevant to me. The acid test is whether or not Obama pursues justice.

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» Thank you. Posted by: pelican beak
» Thank you. Posted by: pelican beak
jareilly
Posted by: jareilly on Nov 18, 2008 3:51 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I decided to allow myself a few hours of joy when Obama won. I called my friends and did some cheering. I got out my guitar and played, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered", loud enough to irritate my Republican neighbors. I went to bed relieved if not ecstatic. The next day, of course, reality set it. The Air Force bombed yet another Afghan wedding party, Rahm Emmanuel and an army of oily Clinton era apparatchiks began tightly circling the Obama camp. Then the betrayals started as many of us knew they would.

As the rats bailed out of the flaming, sinking Republican ship, Lieberman happily jumped on board, announcing himself with a bunch of vicious, McCarthy-style attacks on Obama and the "angry Left". If a Repub congressman had treated Tom Delay the way Lieberman treated Harry Reid, he wouldn't have just lost his committee chairmanships; he would have had his nuts handed to him on a blunt shovel. But then, they are Republicans; they actually play to win.

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DumboCrats- Either Spineless or have been Co-opted
Posted by: left_libertarian on Nov 18, 2008 4:35 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
from not impeaching the criminal bush and cheney for their many many crimes
to supporting FISA, the Iraq War, the billionaire bailout
The DumboCrats - spineless gutless clueless
OR
covert members of the Bush Crime Family

either way they are Pathetic

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It's called triangulation!
Posted by: MeyravLevine on Nov 18, 2008 6:15 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm glad I'm moving to Canada!

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If you by the "left" means socialist, communists and greens
Posted by: Social liberal on Nov 18, 2008 8:05 PM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The far left of the Democrats should be held at a very short and tight leash, Socialists, Communist (Marxist-Leninist)as well as the Greens and the racial dividers such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

It seems that Obama and Emanuel is taking the center-right road to prosperity for all American and not for special interest groups, it will make his reelection a walk in the park.

Keep em' short Barry, go go!!

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New party, anyone??
Posted by: warrior woman on Nov 19, 2008 4:25 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Perhaps we should better define what left and centrist means. Left is anti-war and would like the end of spending in this arena to then go toward 1)spending for infrastructure, education, healthcare 2) a move away from corporate or wall street interests and 3) to get rid of the deficit. Centrist means continued warmongering and hegemony. Centrists are owned by wall street. They are not managing the economy as they should. In other words, the right is now called centrist. Even the Blue Dogs are referred to as Centrists which is ridiulous since they are pro-war, pro-life, anti-Constitution and the list goes on.

New party, anyone??

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» RE: New party, anyone?? Posted by: Lauren
The Left is Going to Need to Toughen UP.
Posted by: FAITHCARR on Nov 19, 2008 5:23 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
We on the FAR LEFT are coming to a rolling boil over the inequities. (no need to list 'em here)

Remember, remember... Is it too late to organize action?

I'm enjoying my cake, as diabeties slowly kills me off.

Pitchfork? Check! Torches? Check! Barricades? Check!

Soon the call.Here's hoping.

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Wake up!
Posted by: ProgressiveRedStateResident on Nov 19, 2008 6:42 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You guys need to wake the fuck up.
Obama is going to lead a center-LEFT party. Just because his views and policies are not as far left as the progressives who read this website, doesn't mean that he's going to govern from a center-right position. It's just to the right of you. But, this will still be a center-left administration, just like this is a center-left nation.

Wake up!

What's more important to us? That Americans start to self-identify as "progressive" or "liberal"? Or, is it more important that Americans' politics start moving left? Obama, and yes, even the Clinton era officials that will make up his administration, are working to deliver that. They're playing it smart and LEADING the nation in a more progressive direction.

It would be foolish and idiotic to assume that Obama's victory means that everybody in America is ready for far left politics. Going "far" in any direction still scares the shit out of a lot of Americans.

So, the "progressive left" needs to wake the fuck up. This isn't about gloating, or some kind of radical mandate. If Barack had run on a radical agenda and won the way that he did, then that might be so. But, his mandate is for sensible, cooperative change. He's ready to LEAD the nation to a more progressive place.

But, you fools won't be happy unless he not only rubs it in the faces of conservatives, but also enacts a radical agenda that would drag, rather than LEAD, America to your way of thinking.

Grow up.

Thankfully, Obama has enough sense to get some stuff done in his time in office, despite the left trying to ruin it for him.

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» RE: Wake up! Posted by: Lauren
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: ProgressiveRedStateResident
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: mum.rocks
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: Quannah
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: ProgressiveRedStateResident
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: Quannah
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: ProgressiveRedStateResident
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: Quannah
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: BigRon
» RE: Wake up! Posted by: ProgressiveRedStateResident
Should be no surprise: it started with Clinton!
Posted by: BigRon on Nov 19, 2008 9:50 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
..who skilfully removed the aspirations and values from that part of the party which actually wields POWER, and moved it firmly to the right (closer to the trough of pigswill) His political advisors had worked out a new way of "doing" politics. It's not about values, it's not about issues... it's about SWING VOTERS. Let's be realistic: 2/3 of the vote is going to stick with "their" party, come hell or high water. Doesn't matter WHAT you do, they're going to vote the same way they always have. The votes that WIN elections are the "undecideds". Find out what THEY want, and promise to give it to them (being careful about what it is you're promising - they don't all want the same thing! - so you pick promises that'll get you the maximum new votes while driving away as few undecideds as possible; avoid anything that's at all controversial)

The result is VICTORY... but the price is the soul of the party, which no longer really stands for anything. From here across the pond, the Labour Party watched what Clinton had done with great interest... and invented "New Labour", fronted by a man (Tony Blair) who could ooze skillfully faked sincerity better than anyone. It's taken three terms of office and a change of leader (Blair became an electoral problem) for the voters to decide that the name ("New Labour") may be similar, but the beliefs it supports are nothing LIKE "old" Labour. Polls showed New Labour heading towards a wipe-out at the next election; but now (given the economic meltdown) they're getting nervous about kicking out what's known for another party that's unknown and untried.

The puzzle is that if the Brits managed to see through the smoke and mirrors... why is it taking Americans so long?

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Hard Right to Hard Left? You're kidding!
Posted by: mum.rocks on Nov 19, 2008 10:15 AM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Come on now, you hardly expect the government to lurch from hard right to hard left in one fell swoop,do you? Big changes come in little steps. Electing Obama was a mandate for change, not revolution. Get a grip.

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» RE: Hard Right to Hard Left? You're kidding! Posted by: ProgressiveRedStateResident
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHEN THE RIGHT WING
Posted by: Raymond Emerson on Nov 19, 2008 7:48 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
propaganda let up. Ask your self why that is. What do they have to gain. Out of Ben Franklin what axe do they want ground? Surely, surely, surely you are beginning to see it. They own the newspapers. They own the radio stations. They own the TV stations. They supply the advertising money. How many of their lies did you internalize while you were still in grade school?

Did you notice that when the rich needed (and still need) help from the federal government it wasn't socialism? Did you notice that over the right wing hegemony years anything for you was called socialism? Did you notice that there was a certain group that spent time telling you how bad sex was when you were a child. You remember how that worked. Sex turned out to be greater than you could have guessed. Is it just possible that you have been equally misled about some Scandinavian form of socialism.

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ATH
Posted by: ATH on Nov 23, 2008 7:04 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Mister "Wake up!" needs to wake up. No one
becomes President in this country anymore that is not willing to tow the line of Corporatism,
the Federal Reserve, and the Military Industrial Complex. These are the 3 major evils
in our lives, and what keeps a tiny minority in power, getting all the money while doing no real work (unless lying and convenient amnesia
could be called work.)
Obama spun a good tale--he's a great speaker. But look at the people with whom he's
staffing his cabinet! A treasury pick that Wallstreet loves, Lieberman keeps his Chairmanship of the Secret Police--I mean Homeland Security Agency...I even heard he was considering Jane Harman for a post, that b**ch
who tried to pass that "Homegrown terrorism &
Radicalization Act," that would have killed the
1st Amendment and would have made dissent illegal! It wouldn't suprise me to see him pick
Cheney for his SecDef...okay, that's a bit of hyperbole, but just a bit!

No one becomes President in America anymore without the approval of the "shadow government," made up of the big Corporate Interests, the FED, the Military Industrial Complex, and the C.F.R. All of these corporations are more powerful--especially the FED--than the U.S. government.

I mean, we have given an un-Constitutional,
private corporation--well, it's really a hybrid--not a true government agency, but works
with the government,although is not audited by
Congress, and the President picks the leader
from a short pre-chosen list. Yet, it is also
a private corporation, incorporated in Delaware,I believe.
The FED was created under utter secrecy in
1913. It was sold as "a central bank neccesary to keep what people called "the money trust"
from consolidating all the wealth. It just so
happened that it was that very same "money trust," or extremely wealthy bankers like J.P
Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Paul Warburg,
among others, who created the Federal Reserve Act.
The Act made it through the House but was stuck in the Senate. It was a hotly debated issue. Then, Christmas break came, and all agreed nothing would be done, that the matter
would be settled when they returned from their Christmas break.
However, someone forgot to close the Senate session, so it was still open, and on December 23rd, 1913, the Act was passed in the Senate by a unanimous vote of 3 Senators.
President Woodrow Wilson signed the Act into Law in the same year, but later deeply
regretted doing so.

"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country! A great industrial nation is now dependent on its system of credit. We are no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and
duress of a small group of dominant men."
--President Woodrow Wilson, 1919

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency,
first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks, and the corporations which will rise up around them, will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless..."--President Thomas Jefferson

"We have in this country one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board..This evil institution has impoverished...the people
of the United States..and has practically bankrupted our Government. It has done this through...the corrupt practices of the moneyed
vultures who control it."
--Represenative Louis T. McFadden (R-PA)

Since the FED was enacted, it has devalued our dollar by aprox 95%.

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