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The Fragility of Hope
Obama's statement in support of the FISA bill has dashed what hope I had that this just might be somebody different. I feel played.
Sure he said he'd work to remove the immunity provision, but what he didn't say is that he would not VOTE for the bill if immunity remained in it.
The pattern of the last few days is the typical slide back into centrism, the morass from which the Dems have yet to extricate themselves. The endorsement of Barrow in GA, the abandonment of his "...I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election" pledge as he never even attempted to pursue an agreement, and now caving in on FISA.
I'm familiar with all the arguments of how politically necessary (or astute) it was to take each of these positions, but taken together it's a clear trend of walking away from the people who so fervently supported him in the primary battles. This is a slippery slope I expect to see the trend accelerate.
Against my better judgement I allowed my hopes to get raised. And now it looks like it's turning out the same way it always does as people like me, who want to see somebody take on the status quo, or tossed aside into the gutter once our support has been used to advantage and is now taken for granted.
Comments (15)
I almost want to feel sorry for people who feel "played" by Obama's centrism, but I can't. He has always been a centrist and most likely will always be one. I'll never understand why or how so-called progressives projected some sense of progressivism on Sen. Obama, but they did and are all screaming 'betrayal'.
Interesting.
June 20, 2008 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's what I've been telling people all along. And what does it get me? A lot of yelling and screaming and accusations.
June 21, 2008 12:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Something it's important to understand is that this is also a centrist nation. Going too far outside that is a good way to lose an election, and I for one feel no honor in "losing pure" - getting into the corridors of power and effecting progress from there is far, far more effective than standing outside and shouting at the walls and windows.
Incremental change is still a plus. Every step forward means starting from further along, and the all-or-nothing-ism I see on the left is beginning to get quite old. Progress comes in steps, not cascades, and to think otherwise is both naive and destructive, as it simply hands over the controls to those who, like the current administration, will use them to do far more harm.
I'm not wild about the whole FISA thing, and yet I am still voting for Obama and still behind him. He is a far, far better choice than McCain on this, and time will bear me out.
June 21, 2008 10:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Contact your senator, please.
June 20, 2008 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm content to wait for President Obama to undo this FISA thing.
My hope isn't dashed. I don't feel betrayed or misled.
June 20, 2008 6:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
He can't undo immunity once it's been applied. So once it passes and the current 40 suits are dismissed, that liability is gone forever and the behavior is excused. The court is empowered to review only **whether** the company received an assurance from the president, not whether that assurance was valid under the law. That's a huge difference.
This is a 4th amendment issue, bigger than immunity. The FISA bill says that if *any* president says a wiretap is legal then the company performing the tap is immune from civil action. There is no judicial oversight of the validity of the president's determination. Would you want Nixon okaying wiretaps based solely on his own (or his appointees') concurrence???
June 20, 2008 6:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
fabooj, I've always known that Obama was well to my right. I'm fine with that. Caving in to the Bush administration's wish list on FISA is not "centrist" -- it's craven and foolish. It allows the GOP to advance their Constitution-gutting agenda, and it makes Democrats look weak and waffling. It gives up a major point without compensation, and it won't help us win the election. Obama is, it appears, allowing the usual suspects to move in on his campaign, and getting some very bad advice.
June 20, 2008 9:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm trying to figure out what did you expect? Did you know look at the long list of Blue Dogs who wholeheartedly endorsed him during the primaries? Come on...this drama is so pointless.
June 20, 2008 11:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
Republican troll. I know the routine. You people wait for an issue like this and then you flood left-leaning blogs with poisonous posts, designed to bring disarray to those on the left.
Anyone who doesn't understand that Obama MUST move to the center in order to win, doesn't understand how politics is played in America. I suspect most readers of TPM are as stupid as you believe they are.
June 21, 2008 8:50 AM | Reply | Permalink
Folks, please note that chophouse appeared out of nowhere, and has posted exactly twice--both times in an attempt to discourage left-leaning voters.
June 21, 2008 8:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
"I suspect most readers of TPM are as stupid as you believe they are."
Please note intended snark.
June 21, 2008 9:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
hrebendorf - I am not trying to discourage 'left-leaning' voters and I am not trolling. Perhaps you should get in touch with your inner paranoia.
I wrote my post because I was so utterly dismayed and deflated by Obama's cave-in on this important, Bill of Rights issue. Are you suggesting that people who are disgusted with this action should just stay silent and not participate in forums like this?? I kinda thought that was the point, to encourage discussion and bring out different points of view.
I am still dissapointed by Obama on this ... majorly. I'll vote for him, sure, because he is better than McCain. But until this move, I was voting for him because I believed in what I thought he was doing. Now I'll hold my nose and vote Dem. just like I always do.
Just once in my life I'd like to vote for a president who I believed in. I thought this was that time but I was wrong.
June 21, 2008 11:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Me personally, I'm not as worried about the Telecoms as I am the president. Reading the bill I see nothing to indicate that president Bush has been pardoned for his mis use of the Telecoms.
If we really think about it most people would (if not pre disposed to distrusting him) believe the president when he said, "it's ok if you do this." So on a small level I believe Bush should be getting sued as apposed to the companies. They should have known better, however the president issued the initial order for the violations of the constitution.
This bill does not say it is OK for a president to violate the constitution, only that if a business follows the orders of said president they should not be held financially accountable.
In order to pardon the Telecoms Bush has to admit that he ordered them to place the taps. We could then check to see if he had gone through the correct channels for those taps. If he didn't he is admitting to a constitutional violation of the tapped persons rights, not only opening himself up to lawsuit but also personally admitting to an impeachable offense.
I am far more interested to see what is done with his admittance of wrong doing then what happens to the Telecoms.
June 21, 2008 1:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
You'll never see the docs establishing Bush's request of the telecomms. There is nothing in the bill requiring that to be disclosed to anyone except the presiding judge (in secret I believe). Once he reviews them, the judge then lets off the telecomm and the docs go back to the White House.
June 21, 2008 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
The passage of the compromise reminded me of a scene in the final star war episode where the sith lord (emperor) finally gets control of the republic by raising the specter of security
Padme's quote
"So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause."
June 21, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
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