Ezra Klein in Newsweek says the Dems accomplished quite a bit in two years, mostly fulfilling their campaign pledges (rare politicians!). Their problem was that much of the progress didn't register with voters. Klein lists these accomplishments:
* Health Care reform, which included a lot of little (and not so little) things -- cover 32 million more people, cut the deficit by about $14 billion a year, insurance exchanges, make it illegal to turn down customers for preexisting conditions, pay doctors for quality instead of quantity, and even require restaurants to include calorie and nutrition info on their menus.
* Financial regulation, including a way to monitor bubbles, the ability to take down institutions without bailouts, and a consumer advocate in the government.
* The economic stimulus, which "failed" because it was too small, not too big. This included infrastructure improvements, digitalizing our medical records, and investments in renewable energy.
* The Race to the Top program, which is changing education.
And those are just the big things.
Why wasn't that enough?
Daniel Lyons, also of Newsweek, provides a clue. Obama was able to harness the vast social media resources of the internet during the campaign. The prez. campaigned in a new way and that led to expectations that he would govern in a new way. He didn't. Social media sites are built around discussion and all these Netizens expected Obama to let them in on the discussion of the details of programs and priorities. Instead, he carefully shut the door. One big facet of the annoyance was the Netizen's priorities: Close Guantanamo, end Don't Ask, Don't Tell, legalize marijuana, support gay marriage, use the internet to create a more transparent government, and to get out of Iraq and Afghanistan. And how many of those did Obama and the Dems accomplish? One guess.
Obama may have done a lot. But of the specific dreams of the Netizens who put him in power, the hope he offered came up empty.
Terrence Heath fills in some details, though he isn't directly responding to Lyons. Heath features the story of Jodi Jacobson of Vieginia, who worked her tail off to get Obama and Democrats elected in 2008. She didn't just vote, she told lots of other people why voting for Obama was a good idea. Once Obama was elected, Jacobson wanted something in return.
In exchange, I wanted the change I was promised. And I was willing to keep working for it well after the election.
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I certainly never thought it would happen without a fight.
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I further expected the Administration to call on us, command us, to fight in support of a clear agenda for change.
Instead, this Administration not only failed to do much of any of the above, it has also vilified people like me by calling progressives the problem. It has locked out progressives in meetings and in the press. And it has catered slavishly to the religious right.
And while Obama stayed silent, equivocated and pre-emptively compromised away the rights of my children, gay children, Latino children, and black children, status-quo politicians in leadership, like Chris Van Hollen, my own Congressman, gave away the store by supporting people like Bart Stupak and undermining those like Jennifer Brunner.
I would not in the end been so distraught at the many giveaways that eventually happened if the good fight had been fought en route to getting there.
Not only did Obama not fight, he made his base feel like "cheerleaders at a Charlie Brown football game." Instead of a reason to believe we get told to sit down, shut up, and settle for whatever crumbs get tossed our way. Electing Dems, simply because they are Dems (or, worse, not GOP), won't get progressives very far.
Jacobson voted in 2010. But she did not work to tell anyone else that voting for Dems was a good idea. And 45 million voters stayed home.
The GOP policies won't help the country. Dems can take the government back in 2012. But only if they prove they won't be wimps.
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