Okay, some of you have forced me to make MetaJesus cry. I've seen argument after impassioned argument grace the recommended diaries list for the past two days excoriating Obama's supporters that are revolting his revolting decision to go back on his word and not filibuster the FISA bill if it contains immunity and I can no longer keep my virtual mouth shut.
This is DailyKos, whose stated mission is to elect Democrats. Most people here - especially Markos - want to elect Democrats - especially Barack Obama - and will continue working very hard to do so.
Those of you that are upset about the revolt are misdirecting your anger. The argument against those revolting seems to go something like this: Obama may have done a bad thing by changing his position on whether or not he'll filibuster FISA but even if that is legitimately worthy of criticism, we should all pull our punches to keep from doing anything that might make Obama look bad before the election because this could cause him to lose the election.
I, and I think many others, see this quite differently, follow me below the fold if you care to hear about it...
I am up to here with the rending of garments at this site. You've heard it before. You'll hear it again. Now, I'm going to bed and when I get up tomorrow on THE FOURTH OF JULY ... I want us to talk about anything else. Anything. Obama's VEEP choices? Marion Hossa going to the Red Wings? Ways to use less fossil fuels? Will it rain again and block out the fireworks?
Please. But, let me leave you with one thought. First, enjoy this commentary by John McCain on FISA. I tried to transcribe it from YouTube but there was a lot of rambling and incoherent muttering that I couldn't make out. He was pretty hot and could hardly keep himself together, you see. Here it is (below).
Okay first of all this wasn't my idea, I ripped it off someone at Talking Points earlier. Well won't say ripped off but maybe made it my own with adding two of my own candidates. I've also added Barack after much thought. But it was very appropriate and I am not claiming the idea as my own. I've turned into an Act Blue junkie and sort of PT. Barnimish in my silly promotions. But this is something that really hit me when I saw it and had to get on this idea.
link to original $17.76 diary If you give a $2.32 tip then you donate a total of $20.08. Just an expansion of the idea I guess.
The other three candidates I selected are Rick Noriega, Darcy Burner and Regina Thomas
As expected, the protracted kabuki of the general election has sent a fair portion of the left into fits of righteous outrage. Egged on by often false reports by the media (who are themselves egged on by GOP press releases) that Obama has "moved to the center," many self-identified progressives are now selling themselves on the delusion that there’s really not that much difference between the two parties. Obviously, as we learned in 2000, that’s just a big load of dung, but in the world of politics, the outrages and perceived slights of today always overshadow the once-inconceivable atrocities of the last eight years. So, armed with lofty rhetoric and some carefully parsed quotes, good Democrats start calling themselves "progressive independents" and vow to vote against the Democratic nominee to preserve their tidy self-image as lonely champions of principle. After all, they tell themselves, if it’s not possible to institute one’s own ideals to perfection, it would be a violation of principle to act at all.
Barack Obama's home state of Hawai`i launched the general-election campaign this week with a rally featuring Congressman Neil Abercrombie (HI-01) on Maui:
Retired workers, Upcountry artists and college students joined a rally Tuesday night in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign held at Maui Waena Intermediate School.
More than a hundred people, representing a cross section of Maui's voting population, turned out for a bento dinner and speeches by Hawaii Democratic Party leaders, and to sign up to be involved in the summer campaign activities for the Hawaii-born Obama.
"He's great," said retiree Louise Corpuz. "I think he knows what he's talking about."
Although Hawai`i is one of only two states Sen. Obama hasn't campaigned in yet (Alaska is the other), the Aloha State has played an active role in his quest for the presidency.
Below the fold, I'll provide a few notes about what Hawai`i's residents have done - and more important, what they will do - to put Barack and Michelle in the White House.
Environmentalism is not an upper-income issue, it's not a white issue, it's not a black issue, it's not a South or a North or an East or a West issue. It's an issue that all of us have a stake in - Barack Obama
Contrary to reports of my untimely demise I am still here I just have been having problems coming up with stuff to write about. I've written a lot of diaries on Obama's platform but there is one issue that I have not written about much. And it's a very, very important issue. A little something called our environment. Barack Obama has been a champion of the environment for a long time. In this diary I will take a look at his background on this issue and plans for moving our country and environment forward.
I have been extremely proud of my country over this past year because of Barack Obama's candidacy for the presidency. In 40 years, we went from the slayings of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Medgar Evers to having Barack Obama heading full steam towards the White House. It is a mark of extreme progress, yet sometimes I'm reminded of the latent racism that pops up to rear its ugly head during these times. Today, the day before our day of national pride, I received one more reminder that we've come a long way, but still have far to go. Today, I got home to see this on my younger brother's back windshield:
This is my first diary, so I hope you will forgive my mistakes. I have been reading comments from supposed Obama supporters on different sites, mostly this one and HuffPo, and have become more and more distressed. While there are some who are looking at Obama's comments and positions since winning the primary with an open mind, there are many who are, in my humble opinion, being herded quite easily down the chute by the corporate owned media to their own destruction.
Please follow below if you will allow me my rant...
Down in the bowels of Fox News lurks Ambush Central, the sacred room where the real decisions are made. Here the Fox News brain-trusts gather for their regular 5:30 am meeting. Seated at a large oval table are Steve Doocy, Gretchen Carlson, Brian Kilmeade, Fred Barnes, Brit Hume, Mort Kondracke, Mara Liasson, Bill O’Reilly, Alisyn Camerota, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes, Juan Williams, James P. Pinkerton, Neil Cavuto, Liz Trotta. Hovering over the table are the Ghosts of Joseph McCarthy, Ronald Reagan, George W Bush (brainless), Karl Rove (heartless), Dick Cheney (soulless), Donald Rumsfeld (gutless), and Christmas Past (joyless). At the head of the table sits Roger Ailes.
Obama's response to the protest on the FISA "compromise" is horrible.
He's gonna wind up voting for a bill that contains retroactive immunity, despite earlier vows to veto any such bill. What happened to filibuster?
He says the "exclusivity provision" makes clear the idea that FISA is the only method by which the President can spy on Americans - even though the old FISA law already says that.
He talks about overseeing the watchers - but there's no such provision for oversight. In the USA, such oversight is supposed to come from the Courts. Obama seems to think it'll come from the Inspector General's office, or the AG's office. He expects the Exec Branch will investigate itself.
He finishes up with a toothless "promise" (after breaking his earlier promises about FISA, why should we listen now?) to have his AG "review" the surveillance methods under use. Instead of promising to prosecute obviously illegal activity.
I think the discussion above Moves to the Center has essentially been somewhat silly this week as it appears it's the story of the week. Some have criticized Barack for essentially abandoning his Progressive Roots... Others have defended Barack for being Pragmatic (this week's buzz word)... Personally, I LOVE this explanation:
The liberal blogosphere was aflame today with new accusations that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) is trying to win the 2008 presidential election.
Suspicions about Sen. Obama's true motives have been building over the past few weeks, but not until today have the bloggers called him out for betraying the Democratic Party's losing tradition.
Along these lines, Andrew Sullivan has some very good insights I'd like to share below.
We've seen it before: Obama's doing great; he's polling well; he's making all the right moves. Then the media, looking to make a horse race where there isn't one, seizes on some theme or other and tries to knock Obama down. There was the dirty Chicago pol theme, the scary black man with the aggreived wife and the crazy preacher theme and then the elitist theme. Now we are on to the "running to the center theme."
So why are we helping them with this? And yes, I mean you Markos and you Glenn Greenwald.Glenn Greenwald
Two common dynamics among progressives that serve as faults in some situations, including IMO some of the recent responses to Senator Obama:
Progressives (individuals and groups) use an Us versus Them worldview for energy and motivation. (aka Good Guys/Bad Guys.)
It's not just that "Us versus Them" is part of what is going on in some fights, it's how central that is in the movement's energy. Us versus Them serves as the motivating and animating energy. What this means is that without this kind of set-up, progressives would have to find some other source for motivation, energy, connection with other progressives etc.
I get around the progressive blogosphere and have encountered much consternation against Obama over various issues recently. He is not fighting FISA at an acceptable level. He is screwing up by advocating that religion take a role in fighting poverty. He is trying to hard to "move to the center". Going further back there were complaints about his AIPAC pandering, his healthcare plan, and a number of other things. I agree with many of the criticisms. I understand the concern and outrage. But Obama is not the problem I see here.
