The outstanding, million dollar questions are: Will angry House Democrats be able to defeat the President and his conservative backers on the issue of tax cuts? Will the Party allow progressives to share some power? Will progressives flee to a third party?
It was mostly Blue Dogs who lost seats in the midterm elections; with a few notable exceptions, progressives came through unscathed. So, now's the chance for progressives to take over the Democratic Party -- the way Tea Party activists and religious conservatives took over the GOP. See Democrats and Progressives Need Each Other, which argues that in our non-parliamentary system of government, third parties rarely have a constructive influence.
But centrist Democrats like Obama figure that To Win Re-election, Obama Needs Political Center. That New York Times article presents the case that Obama must reject the liberal wing of the party.
Progressives must not let the centrists get their way.
Lest I be accused of neglecting criticism of Republicans in my fervor to criticize Obama, I point out that I am critical of Obama precisely because he's aided Republicans.
What's most amazing, and scary, is that conservatives believe that Obama is a socialist. That's so far from the truth that it's laughable -- except that conservatives are now in control of the House, many state legislatures, and much of the news media.
It was mostly Blue Dogs who lost seats in the midterm elections; with a few notable exceptions, progressives came through unscathed. So, now's the chance for progressives to take over the Democratic Party -- the way Tea Party activists and religious conservatives took over the GOP. See Democrats and Progressives Need Each Other, which argues that in our non-parliamentary system of government, third parties rarely have a constructive influence.
But centrist Democrats like Obama figure that To Win Re-election, Obama Needs Political Center. That New York Times article presents the case that Obama must reject the liberal wing of the party.
Progressives must not let the centrists get their way.
Lest I be accused of neglecting criticism of Republicans in my fervor to criticize Obama, I point out that I am critical of Obama precisely because he's aided Republicans.
What's most amazing, and scary, is that conservatives believe that Obama is a socialist. That's so far from the truth that it's laughable -- except that conservatives are now in control of the House, many state legislatures, and much of the news media.
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