A rec-listed diary currently laments the loss of hope in much of the commentary here at Daily Kos. The diarist notes that steadily since President Obama won his first election, optimism has gone out of fashion among those who comment here. The diarist feels besieged by those who are critical of the President's policies and argumentative towards those like himself who view the President more favorably.
Obama's own actions are not to blame for the ebbing of hope, he contends.
In the thread, one commenter offers an explanation: "I think a lot of our hope was killed when the Republicans decided that killing hope was their #1 priority."
It is an explanation--I might say "excuse"--that a lot of folks who resolutely defend the President use rather consistently. That it is all the Republicans fault and that the way the President has chosen to deal with Republican obstruction is not also part of the problem.
And yet the President has expended voluminous political energy since the start of his Presidency trying to woo these Republicans instead of trying to put them on the political defensive. "Bipartisanship" has been the watchword. "Negotiating with himself" has been one way he has done this.
Perhaps one of the best examples is putting the cuts to Social Security--chained CPI--in his own budget proposal as a gesture to the Republicans. But it is far from the only example.
In April, 2011, after a budget was negotiated after the Republicans played their "we're going to shoot the hostages game," the President gave his view of what happened in his weekly radio address. The way he framed the events is indicative of the Republican-coddling nature of his whole approach:
This is an agreement to invest in our country’s future while making the largest annual spending cut in our history. Like any compromise, this required everyone to give ground on issues that were important to them. I certainly did. Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful – programs people rely on will be cut back; needed infrastructure projects will be delayed. And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances. But we also prevented this important debate from being overtaken by politics and unrelated disagreements on social issues. And beginning to live within our means is the only way to protect the investments that will help America compete for new jobs – investments in our kids’ education and student loans; in clean energy and life-saving medical research.
Reducing spending while still investing in the future is just common sense. That’s what families do in tough times. They sacrifice where they can, even if it’s hard, to afford what’s really important.
A few months ago, I was able to sign a tax cut for American families because both parties worked through their differences and found common ground. Now, the same cooperation has made it possible for us to move forward with the biggest annual spending cut in history. And it’s my sincere hope that we can continue to come together as we face the many difficult challenges that lie ahead – from creating jobs and growing our economy to educating our children and reducing our long-term deficits.
Instead of an irresponsible hostage situation, this was about finding "common ground" and "cooperation."
He said, "We also prevented this important debate from being overtaken by politics." The battle was all about politics! It was about the Republicans using extreme tactics and putting the economy at risk in order to wring concessions they couldn't get through normal processes otherwise.
He said, "Reducing spending while still investing in the future is just common sense. That’s what families do in tough times. They sacrifice where they can, even if it’s hard, to afford what’s really important." That is both a right wing GOP frame and wrong on the economics.
Barack Obama ran for President in an exceptional historical moment. In 2008, militarist foreign policies and neoliberal, Reaganite economics had created epic crises. A Republican Party that had seemed on the verge of creating a permanent majority six years earlier teetered on the verge of being discredited for a generation or more. The crisis was so bad that millions of Americans put aside their lifelong prejudices and voted for an African-American man to lead the country. It was a mandate for change if ever there was one.
What was required was for Barack Obama to use his significant rhetorical and communication skills to explain how these failed policies had created the mess. Instead, he chose to continue the policies of neoliberalism, albeit with a more caring and less abrasive countenance. He bailed out the banks and let the Banksters totally off the hook for any personal responsibility. But when he bailed out the auto industry, he made union workers and retirees take it on the chin as part of the deal. That contradiction is the essence of neoliberalism and emblematic of the policies that for 30 years have contributed to metastasizing income inequality.
The transformation of hope into anger can be laid at the feet of a President and a party that pissed away a once-in-several-generations opportunity to change the basic political discourse of the country.
One can try and blame the Republicans. And they deserve nothing but scorn. But the President, from the beginning of his Administration, chose "bipartisanship" with those same Republicans and, except when it came to his own re-election, has been rather unwavering in his commitment to that embrace.
Yes, that makes me angry. Yes, that diminished my hope that working through the Democratic Party is an effective way to get the fundamental change this country needs.
So where is the hope? The hope is in seeing unflinchingly how things really are. The hope is in taking the measure of a rigged system. The hope is in making Democratic politicians as scared of crossing those of us who take the platform and the party's historic accomplishments seriously as Republican politicians are of the Tea Party. But where the Tea Party stands for vicious backwardness, the Democratic Party at its rhetorical (and historical) best, stands for economic justice.
You have to hand it to GOP politicians. They run on crazy and then do everything in their power to enact crazy. Hope in the Democratic Party will return when politicians who run on populism and economic justice (and preserving civil liberties) move hell and high water once elected to accomplish those goals.