Lecture to "the left" from an Obama spokesperson, one named as possible DNC chair. [View All]

[madfloridian]

Okay, this is just too much for me to take in. There is the assumption that anyone who questions anything at all is just too effing "left" to know anything at all. I despise that assumption. It is annoying and frustrating....and very very obvious.

When I came to DU in 2002 I was one of the most moderate center type people here, and I often got mocked for it. Now I am often said to be too lefty, liberal, fringe.

I'm not, you know. It's just that I question.

So now we have Howard Dean, a centrist, but a populist one....stepping down as chair and receiving absolutely no damn credit at all. His name is never ever mentioned by insider big deal Democrats now.

And now Steve Hildebrand is being mentioned as possible chair along with Paul Tewes....so he decides "the left" needs a lecture.

A Message to Obama's Progressive Critics

The point I'm making here is that our new President, the Congress and all Americans must come together to solve these problems. This is not a time for the left wing of our Party to draw conclusions about the Cabinet and White House appointments that President-Elect Obama is making. Some believe the appointments generally aren't progressive enough. Having worked with former Senator Obama for the last two years, I can tell you, that isn't the way he thinks and it's not likely the way he will lead. The problems I mentioned above and the many I didn't, suggest that our President surround himself with the most qualified people to address these challenges. After all, he was elected to be the President of all the people - not just those on the left.

Oh, gee, Steve...I thought he was elected just for me and my needs. :sarcasm:

Seriously, though, Steve. We kind of got the message when Rahm was picked even before election day to be Obama's gatekeeper.

David Sirota had a reaction to this as well.

Mandate Watch: Were Democrats Elected to Attack "The Left?" Part II

First thing's first: I absolutely agree with Hildebrand that you can't draw concrete conclusions about Obama based only on his personnel decisions - and I've written that repeatedly (and I've also said that most of Obama's policy declarations have been pretty progressive). However, Hildebrand implying that those personnel decisions really don't matter at all is straight up silly. It supposes that all the enormous egos that populate a White House are just mindless functionaries, and that even though those egos are heading major federal departments or are key advisers, they have no hand in making policy and/or their advice to a president makes absolutely no impact. Please - let's get real.

But far more important than that is Hildebrand firing up the whaaaaaaaambulance to whine and cry and moan about "the left." Really, what is with top Democrats explicitly attacking "the left wing of the Democratic Party" in Fox News-style talking points? Why is every substantive, non-partisan, non-ideological question of pragmatism from progressives almost automatically portrayed as some sort of super-Trotsky-ite, ideological and wholly inappropriate demand for Obama to be a president "just for those on the left?" Can anyone even ask a non-ideological question of Obama without being attacked as some sort of raving left-wing lunatic?

Amen, David.

The Democrats soundly attacked "the left" last year, when the voted to sanction Move On of its Petraeus ad

The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to condemn the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org for a recent advertisement attacking the top U.S. general in Iraq.

By a 341-79 vote, the House passed a resolution praising the patriotism Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and condemning a MoveOn.org ad that referred to Petraeus as "General Betray Us."

Will Marshall has lectured us over and over from his perch at the lefty DLC/PPI.

Polarize this

"Since the 2004 election, wealthy liberals, lefty bloggers, and interest groups have been demanding that Democrats reciprocate their opponents' belligerent partisanship. Only by standing up for core liberal convictions, they argue, can Democrats galvanize a new progressive majority and "take America back." It sounds stirring, but there are three problems with that theory.

First, most 2006 voters expressed a strong preference for cooperation over partisan confrontation between Bush and the Democratic Congress. Second, in moderate America, there simply aren't enough liberals to get Democrats anywhere near a majority. Third, liberal and centrist Democrats sometimes interpret their party's core principles differently, especially on such important issues as the use of force, the benefits of trade, the role of government, and questions about religion and morality."

Since the election of Obama, the centrists have sent out their cowardly anonymous sources to attack one of the most centrist of Democrats who governed to the right as a governor...but who helped us take our party back.

Hit pieces started at once.

Mr. Dean certainly had a liberal fan club pushing for him. A medical doctor by training, he burst onto the presidential scene in 2004 on the strength of his "universal health care" plan as governor of Vermont. The militant Netroots crowd -- which he was among the first Democrats to cultivate -- has remained loyal and has been howling for his appointment. Some left-wing Democrats also felt he deserved the job as payment for the electoral victories he oversaw as head of the DNC.

Back in reality, however, Mr. Obama was having none of it. Plenty of top Democrats were fine with letting Mr. Dean run the DNC. His attack-dog style and Internet savvy were well suited to a job that was focused on winning elections. But his personal aggressiveness couldn't be more at odds with Mr. Obama's cool demeanor. And putting Mr. Dean in control of one of Mr. Obama's most cherished initiatives (health care) would've made John McCain's Sarah Palin pick look safe

That was from the Wall Street Journal, there were two others as well. Anonymous cowards.

And now Steve, who is being mentioned as the new chairman lectures "the left."

I am beginning to think that Sirota was right. The Democrats are in office and feel they have a mandate to attack "the left."

Call me Debbie Downer, but note what I say. If you speak out, you will be called "the left". Not in a nice way, in a negative way.