I can respect such progressives, because I too am upset with Obama. I've explained why here and here and here.
But I wonder: have these hardcore progressives really thought through the costs of their choice? Moreover, are they willing to respect other progressives who choose not to follow their (risky) strategy?
Many Democrats complain that progressives spend more time denouncing Obama than they do denouncing Republicans. (I always try to avoid doing this. I always say, "Obama acts like a conservative. He helps
conservatives.")
progressives spend more time denouncing more moderate progressives like me who still want to work within the Democratic Party.
It reminds me of religious fanatics who reserve their strongest condemnations for fellow believers who aren't completely committed to their pure doctrine.
Hey, I'm your ally! We just differ on strategy. I come in peace. Stop the circular firing squad!
My problem with the strategy of punishing the Dems is that it's a scatter-shot approach. It will punish good Dems as well as bad Dems. It will help the GOP gain power. It's a blunt instrument that will destroy more than was intended.
Yes, drastic measures are needed, because both parties are seriously ill with corporatism and corruption. But punishing all the Dems is powerful medicine that, via side effects, may end up doing more harm than good.
Remember 2000 and what happened when progressives voted for Nader over Gore?
OK, OK, I know. The Democrats keep relying on scare tactics like this to stop progressives from voting their consciences. They keep bringing up the specter of Bush or the Tea Party to convince progressives to vote for them.
Yes, it feels bad to be used and to be cheated the way progressives were cheated by Obama.
And yes, way too many progressives were fools to fall for Obama's slick and vague promises.
But despite all that, it's still true that allowing the GOP to gain power in order to punish the Dems is a very risky and costly strategy indeed.
As I've said before, anyone who says the Democrats are as bad as the Republicans is either a Republican plant trying to incite division on the Left, a hardcore leftist trying to seduce progressives into giving up on the Democratic Party, or a deluded blockhead. This is perhaps overly strong but it's basically correct. I'm not saying that Obama and the Democrats haven't made many terrible mistakes; I'm just saying that the Republicans would be even worse!
Unlike most Dems, most Republicans will have no qualms about dismantling the New Deal and completely turning government over to the corporations or to religious fanatics. And they'd be much, much worse than the Dems on women's rights and environmentalism and regulations in general. Think how the GOP unanimously opposed virtually every Democratic bill in the Senate, especially the good ones.
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