This may very well be the last post I do here because I am about to be so disgusted with this president that I may just swear off making any comments at all. From the Vice President to the Secretary of Health to the President himself, the Obama administration officials are all showing signs of giving up a public healthcare option in order to get some semblance of "bipartisanship". This administration is going to be willing to throw the uninsured and under-insured in this country under the bus in order to get a couple of Republican votes (which may or may not actually happen. I doubt that there would be any votes in the House unless the bill was absolutely worthless). The President is willing to protect the profits of the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical companies and the doctors in this country at the expense of the American people. There was hope when Obama was elected, but in my mind that has quickly crumbled into the most disappointing presidency in my lifetime. I realize that Obama is the better of the options from the last election, but that does not make his actions any easier to stomach. I wrote an article in January which outlined what I thought were the most pressing issues for this president to address. To date, not one of them has been addressed to my satisfaction. There is still no plan for an exit in Afghanistan, education reform has not even been whispered about, healthcare reform is going to amount to nothing and the Constitution continues to be battered by the policies of this administration. This administration has also decided that they are not only fond of the anti-gay, Defense of Marriage statute, they are in fact it's biggest supporters. The lack of support shown to the gay and lesbian community by this administration has been stunning. You would think that there are Republicans running this country.
I no longer believe that Obama was only pretending to oppose gay marriage in order to get elected. I no longer believe that he wants healthcare for every American. I no longer believe that he wants to end the Constitutional abuses that took place under the last administration. I no longer believe that he wants to bring anyone to justice for the torture policy of the previous administration. I no longer believe that he wants to do anything that is even within sniffing distance of radical. He has become Bill Clinton without ever losing a fight. At least Bill had his losses before he decided to throw in the towel. At least Bill tried to get healthcare coverage for every American. At least he tried to stop the dismissal of gay military personnel. At least he tried. I no longer believe that Obama is even going to try. He's just going to try to get along. He doesn't want to piss off too many people so that he can get re-elected in 2012 and then he can go about making lots of money on the lecture circuit. He will leave behind the legacy of being the first African American president (which is no small feat), but I was hoping for so much more.
Those "Change we can believe in" posters are just painful to look at now.
3 comments:
Mycue23,
You raise many valid concerns here and I share your anger, frustration, and disappointment. But I myself am not quite ready to thrown in the towel on Obama---yet. I want to see how the health care and Gitmo situations finally play out before I decide to pull up roots and move to Canada. It IS beginning to look like 10% of something is better than 100% of nothing. But, 10% is woefully inadequate. I am VERY fearful that any undercut of popular support for Obama will translate into an immediate political power surge for the vicious neocon Republicans, so that is why I am watching and waiting with great anticipation and apprehension. The lack of a strong push for public health care and continued violations of the Constitution are definitely matters of the gravest concern. But we cannot give up. Apathy and withdrawal are our biggest enemies, as they equate to aiding and abetting the neocon forces of darkness. Bill Maher was right the other night: Obama needs to stop flirting with the uncooperative Republicans and start kicking some ass! We progressives must remain strong and vocal!
I wish I could share your optimism but I don't have any faith that this administration has the backbone to get anything substantial done. The president has the support of the people, but he for whatever reason he refuses to spend that political capital on the issues that matter to those of us with a progressive viewpoint. I do agree that 10% of something is better than 100% of nothing, but it is so much less than I had hoped for.
I do not want to give aid and comfort to those who would oppose what is right and moral and yet I don't find the support that I need from an administration that is supposed to be on our side. Jack, you can rest assured that my voice will always be on the side of the powerless in society. Unfortunately, the biggest "Change we can believe in" that we have recieved is one from open hostility to apathy. I'm not sure which is worse.
I'm glad to hear you will continue the fight. I saw a Bill Maher clip that seemed to sum it up very nicely. He said, "Democrats are now a pro-business, center right party. They're what the Republicas were when we were kids. Today's Republicans are...far, far, far right."
I'd like to stretch that 10% we've gotten out of Obama so far into at least 60-70% by this time next year. We on the left, progressive, forward-looking egalitarian types, we've got to hound our Congresspersons and Obama nonstop and shout from every rooftop that the time has come to boot the GOP and corporate America in the ass to get going on behalf of the regular people!
Post a Comment