Reading the Entrails
Jul 31st, 2008 at 7:00 am by Susie
Like me, Avedon still worries about the outcome of this election. Go read the rest:
And here’s the thing: The Republicans don’t like McCain, and they’re not even all that eager to be in the White House when all the crap they’ve sent down the chute hits the fan. So why are the numbers so close? Why did one recent poll even show McCain ahead in likely voters? And why is it that the more Obama tacks to the right, the dicier things seem to get? Could it be that it’s a mistake for the (predicted) Democratic nominee to court the right at the expense of the Democratic base?
I DO NOT understand why Barack Obama is doing this. It’s the same story as with Hillary’s long history of pandering to the Right. The people he’s trying to “win over” wouldn’t piss on him if he were on fire. So what’s the point?
Meanwhile, he demoralizes and erodes his own base. That cost Hillary the bloody nomination.
My story: the day of the FISA vote; I was so pissed at Obama, I donated money to Bob Barr.
I live in the most reliably Democratic state (RI), which allows me to vote my conscience presidentially without worrying whether the Republican will be voted in due to my choice. On the other hand, I did vote for Whitehouse for Senate in ‘06 over Lincoln Chafee. Had Chafee been reelected, I am sure he would have voted with Reed and Dodd against FISA, whereas Whitehouse voted with the Republicans for FISA. Have one and a half years of nominal Democratic control of the Senate moved the progressive agenda at all?
Each step Obama takes to the right diminishes my enthusiasm to replace a bumbling, inarticulate, corporatist with a smooth well spoken corporatist.
Yup. Got a fundraising Email from the DNC with Obama’s name on it. On the piece of paper asking Can we count on you for a contribution?, I wrote in BIG LETTERS: No, you caved on FISA.
Obama’s game is that he thinks he can do without a large part of the traditional base of Democratic voters in places like Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania (working class white ethnics) and women over 40 nationwide, because he’s going to expand the electoral map by picking up Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado, and he’ll find lots of unregistered voters and previously ignored voters who will be happy to vote for him. (Big Tent Democrat and Jeralyn Merritt have expounded on this recently at TalkLeft.com)
Seems to me like a great big gamble. Without Pennsylvania and the industrial midwest, he really needs to run the table in the West. If he wins, he proves that he was right, he didn’t need the old base. But if he loses…? I just don’t get NOT campaigning for votes among people who are already predisposed to support you, in favor of chasing votes that may or may not materialize. But, it’s his show, and he can run it however he chooses!
Wow- am really divided on this tack to the right as well-for 8 years I have had to compromise my progressive wishes in favor of so called more centrist viewpoints and I am still swallowing that bile-where did it get us? And is it really necessary to embrace independent voters to win this election?
My younger co-workers ( 20- 30yrs old) have no problem with this at all, and frequently talk about my generation’s divisive politics, and i want to scream oh, grow the F**k up,
the Repubs will never compromise, or come close to true bipartisan cooperation on any issues like universal healthcare and corporate accountability.
Michael: my mom and I did the same thing. I just wrote FISA in big red letters on mine though.
I’m concerned about Obama’s courtship of the loony right and his consistent right-of-center position in general but the only thing that will keep me from voting for him is if he picks a Republican for VP. That’ll tear it.
“at the expense of the Democratic base”
When will we get it right? It’s NOT the Democratic base, it’s mainstream America, dammit. A significant majority of Americans have backed progressive positions for years. The idea that ‘tacking to the right’ is moving to the ‘middle’ is bullshit. Call it what it is, courting the blue dogs or as I like to refer to them, opponents of all that’s good in America.