Newsweek‘s Evan Thomas (11/14/09) on Washington gridlock and partisanship:
Diehard right-wing congressmen do not deserve all the blame. Obama tried to foster bipartisanship at the outset of his administration, but he didn’t try very hard, and his fellow Democrats can be just as rigidly partisan on the left. Obama seems reduced to fencing with Fox News, which won’t get him very far or earn him a place in the history books.
I’m not sure how much more ground Obama (or Democrats in general) is supposed to give. Theyadded a bunch of non-stimulative tax cuts into their stimulus package in order to attract Republican support (which didn’t work). They took the most progressive ideas off the table in the health care debate (single-payer and a robust public option), and in the House adopted the “Stupak amendment” limiting abortion rights.The White House almost immediately sent almost 20,000 troops to Afghanistan, and seems ready to send more.
If the notion is that the Democrats (in Congress or the White House) have pushed hard-left policies, I’d like to see some evidence. Thomas (like Doyle McManus in the L.A. Times last week) points to the White House’s criticism of Fox News Channel as an example of their partisanship–perhaps because there aren’t many other actual examples.
So what, exactly, is the point of all this “Obama isn’t bipartisan enough” chatter? Here we go–presidents move to the right to be successful:
The two greatest postwar presidents understood this. Dwight Eisenhower governed in the 1950s by deftly uniting center and right, and Ronald Reagan did the same in the 1980s.
And:
Since taking office, Obama has so far failed to win the battle for the center. The post-election polls show that the country is, if anything, drifting to the right. Obama needs to win some of those drifters back if he wants to get things done.
A Democrat needs to go further right–somehow you just knew that would be the advice from the corporate media.
And it’s wholly unnecessary advice, isn’t it? The DLC’s had that covered for (pardon the pun) donkey’s years, haven’t they?
Is there any real representative left in the US and A? Even Kucinich voted for an immoral and illegal war in Afghanistan, didn’t he?
And not an elected soul questions the basic premises of capitalism, which should come as no real surprise, as hardly any “progressive”, in office or not, does, either, do they?
You have to always ask, “Left of what”?
“Drifting to the right?” Even before the DLC presidency of Clinton the movement toward the right has been more tsunamic than drift.
Of course you are right that President Obama has spent too much time working to be bipartisan. He said he would though and has kept his word. It is time that everyone understand that the job of governing is entirely up to the Democrats and President Obama. If there ever was a more evil, horrible, and disgusting republican party it was before I was around. Reality is that we will see progress and change only when Democrats give it up and do the difficult job that has to be done by themselves.
Excuse me for repeating myself, but most of the money is on the right and money/propaganda rules. If we don’t get meaningful campaign reform (which, of course the “right” doesn’t want) it will continue to be money/propaganda that rules. Obama doesn’t have a magic wand.