The One About I'm Sorry Mr. Schaeffer But Many Of Us Don't Have The Luxury Of Trusting President Obama Too Far For Too Long.

[Toriach]

(The following article originally appeared at The One About...)


It would appear that Frank Schaeffer has a deep and endless reservoir of trust where our current President is concerned. Actually, if I was going to be snide I'd observe that it really more appears that Mr. Schaeffer is in love with Mr. Obama. But I shall not go down that road. Either way, Schaeffer's affection for and trust of President Obama is made self evident by statements like this one:

Ignore them all, Mr. President. Stick with your long term vision. You are smarter, kinder and nobler than all your critics put together. Bless you for trying to save us from ourselves. Some of us are sticking with you for the long haul and we're grateful.

This is not the first time that Schaeffer has publicly lauded Obama and made clear his undying and unwavering support for the President and his policies, and exhorted others to do the same. These pieces of his usually pop up on The Huffington Post, in indirect response to a new piece of criticism by a Liberal Progressive columnist or blogger, most especially Paul Krugman who seems to serve in Schaeffer's eyes as a bit of an ideological nemesis.
Now, given Schaeffer's oft-stated (ad nauseum, frankly) history with the radical Christian Right, I could make much of his apparent need to cede his agency to a "higher" authority, going from a darkly fundamentalist God, to our current allegedly Liberal Progressive President. But I am going to save that for another day.

Rather, my aim in this article is to attempt to articulate to the Frank Schaeffers of the world why many of us are quickly coming to lose faith in President Obama and his policies, and why we feel that long term trust is a luxury that we and the country simply don't have.

Problem One: The New Mulligan.

Once upon a time this country was in such dire straits that it seemed to many that a new American Civil War was on the horizon. Between the working class who felt increasingly ground beneath the boot heel of their Capital Class Masters, and all the organizations and institutions that shored up those very same Masters, as well as the Masters themselves. Into this fray stepped Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt via last.fm

realized that nothing less than sweeping, immediate, broad, real change would alleviate the problem even the least iota. And so the New Deal was struck. Now in all fairness Roosevelt was many things -- a Capitalist sympathizer, a member of the moneyed elite, a politician and more. So, truly, much of the New Deal was not anywhere near as Progressive as it could have been. But it was certainly a damn site better than the plenty of nothin' that the working class had been enjoying before. Roosevelt was pro worker, pro union, and pro reform enough that much of the New Deal, especially in the early days was strong enough to make real and meaningful change in the lives of countless Americans. Giving them a chance at a fair day's wage, the opportunity to make enough money to enjoy a little time off each week, and if they chose to work longer and harder, to be further rewarded for that work. A chance to see their children if not themselves educated. A chance to own a home, or at least to live in a rental structure that was clean and safe. Chances that for far too long had been denied them by people who saw no profit in decency.
Sadly between the war, and the prosperity it brought, which made the working class less angry and hungry for change, and the rise of Soviet Communism, which made anything that smacked even remotely of "Socialism" difficult to enact, the drive towards progressive change was slowed considerably.

It would begin again under Kennedy, but frankly Kennedy was better in some ways at talking a good game than at playing one. Even still, with the New Deal not yet three decades old, Kennedy no doubt felt he had the luxury of time, and that incremental lasting change was better than attempting to rush and fail. Sadly, while his administration may have had that luxury, the man himself did not. After his death, however, in a move that is still a bit of a shock, former Vice President now

Lyndon B. Johnson via last.fm

President Lyndon Baines Johnson moved to enact a great many Progressive policies, especially where racial equality was concerned, in a rush that echoed the New Deal in speed if not breadth.
It seems however that all Presidents and Congresses since have been working slowly and steadily to undermine those reforms. Whether it was Nixon and his attempts to broaden Executive Privilege to undreamed of levels, or Ford and his use of his presidency to allow Nixon off scot-free, it started as soon as Johnson was out of office and has only grown exponentially worse. Usury laws were all but removed from the books across the board under Carter. Reagan effectively broke the Unions. Bush Sr. started us on the road to permanent war. Clinton using the "health" of the economy as an excuse exacerbated the deregulation begun under Reagan, and with the help of every former President living helped to get NAFTA passed which has done nothing at all to help the American worker, even if as some claim it has not done as much to harm them as early opponents believed. Bush Jr. managed to pick up threads left by every Conservative President since Nixon, from taking Executive Privilege to levels that were only a Nixonian wet dream, to putting us deeper into a state of endless war carrying on his father's legacy, to doing away with as many of the financial, civil and environmental protections as he could, trying so very hard to finish what Reagan started. In short, a near total reversal of the gains made under the New Deal and the Great Society.

Th

Image by BL1961 via Flickr

e result is the country that Obama found himself President of as of January twentieth two thousand and nine. One suffering under what I call the New Mulligan.
This is a country in which things like health care that does not lead to bankruptcy, education, meaningful work at a living wage, safe housing, safe food, and more as seen as privileges, not rights. Privileges which, if the working class dare speak up and demand as rights, they are demeaned as lazy, as whiners, or with that old saw, still popular and sadly effective after all these years, as Socialists.

The state of the nation, especially after Bush 2 Electric Boogaloo so terrified so many of us that a great many sought to find the most Liberal Progressive looking candidate they could, and hope that appearance matched reality. It was on this that Barack Hussein Obama got elected. And almost as soon as he got into the White House, it started to look frighteningly like The Who had it right once again: "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss."

This is not a fear that we have come by dishonestly. It has been borne in part because of Obama's actions, which I will address in a bit. But also many of us are still trying to get the bad taste of the last Great Progressive Hope's turn into bitter ashes out of our mouths. Which brings me to...

Problem Two: The Clintoning Of America.

When he was elected Bill Clinton seemed like just what America needed. A true Liberal Progressive that would get this country back on track. Help to strengthen both the middle class, and the working class as well. His appearing to treat Hillary as a genuine equal was seen as a positive sign by many. However with a high number of scandals, and a willing to throw to the wolves anyone who he saw as a liability (including his own wife), it quickly became apparent that Clinton was more politician than ideologue. But many of us were willing to keep faith with him as he did seem to be a canny survivor, and a second term seemed almost a dead lock. Most of us assumed that once in his second term he would, as presidents in the past have done, push a true Liberal Progressive agenda much harder. He didn't. Instead he spent his time defending himself from attacks regarding his sexual activities, taking hostile actions against less developed nations in an attempt to distract us from where Lil' Willy had been playing, and for the most part acting like he was trying to hoard political capital, but for what nobody could at the time figure. The result was a final four years in which he played it as safe as possible, enacting policies that led to the rapid growth of the tech bubble, which burst almost as soon as he was out of office. So what was he hoarding all that capital for? Well, as we quickly found out, for his wife to use, and also so that he could set himself up with a cus

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

hy little ambassadorship as soon as the wind blew favorably back in the Democrats' direction. And the whole while this was happening, the numbers of Liberal Progressives in all walks of life who continued to support him almost blindly was legion. From politicians, to journalists, to activists, to celebrities. They all continued to sing the "Hey hey Bill's Okay" song at the top of their lungs even when some had started to seriously question both his integrity and his effectiveness.
As a result many of us looking back at the Clinton presidency now look at Barack Obama, and see someone who made all the right noises to get elected, and yet so far hasn't really done much that is terribly progressive at all. And with The Who's challenge echoing in our ears we reply in kind, "We won't get fooled again!"

This brings us to...

Problem Three: What's (Not) Been Done So Far.

If there were only the first two problems to contend with, and Obama had so far shown himself as truly working to enact the Liberal Progressive agenda even in small part that had gotten him elected, then I would side with Frank Schaeffer in decrying the ones who are serving as a Greek Chorus of nay sayers and Oracles of Doom. But let's pause for a moment to look at what has been done so far, and just as important or not so, what has not been done.

From the moment Obama took office he continued on the path of "bailing out" grotesquely huge financial institutions that had been begun under Bush. And then when it was discovered that the bailout money was being used for things like new luxury planes, and more ridiculously huge bonuses, Obama and Congress did a great job of sounding like they were on the side of the average citizen, but only for as long as it took people to calm down. And then nothing was done. All attempts at reining in banks and brokerage firms have been not only weak but also almost entirely voluntary.

Then there were the things in the stimulus that were supposed to be the modern equivalent of the Works Progress Administration, programs to put Americans back to work right now, helping to take care of things for the good of all that needed doing. Most of them seem to have evaporated. The transparency that was supposed to be a key part of Obama's administration has been sorely lacking at all levels. Especially where the stimulus is concerned, as no one quite seems able to account for where the money is being spent.

This was troubling enough but then came an opportunity to take action regarding the torture of suspected terrorists that took place during the Bush administration. There were high hopes that memos and photos would be released, that commissions and special prosecuters would be empowered. That the gross and ridiculous stretchings of Executive Privilege under Bush would be scaled back at least a little. Instead we've gotten some nice sounding words about wanting to look forward not back, which have basically amounted to a big fat NO to the very transparency and accountability that was promised by candidate Obama.

From there it's been a pretty disturbing snowball. No support for the Employee Free Choice Act, but plenty of continued support for NAFTA. Attempts to silence freshman Progressive legislators who don't play ball, all the while seeming to kowtow to the Conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats. An exit in Iraq that is anything but, and an escalation in Afghanistan that is so mind blowing that it has Progressives, Liberals, and now even some Conservatives questioning its wisdom, all the while looking back to Vietnam with nervous and wary eyes.

And then there was health care. Between closed door meetings with the very institutions that have caused most of these problems, to refusing to even listen to single payer advocates, to touting a public option and then denying it, to all but making an individual mandate a done deal, Obama is starting to look shadier and shadier.

There are many, myself among them who at this point are waiting to see exactly what if anything gets passed under the title of "Health care reform". If it is legislation that at least in some small way does manage to legitimately make things better for the working and middle classes, then perhaps Schaeffer will not be proven wholly incorrect. But even after healthcare there are a great many other issues that need addressing. From climate change, to food safety, to workers' rights and more. And frankly we do not have the luxury of waiting until after Obama year eight to realize that we should not have put nearly as much blind trust, for nearly as long in the Obama's undelivered promises as Schaeffer would ask us to. Because by that point it will be quite simply too late for any future President to do much more than rearrange deck chairs on the Ship of State Titanic.

Rather what is needed is a loyal opposition. People who want Obama to succeed. Want our country to fulfill its promise both to its people and to the world, and who are willing and able to speak up, and remind Obama and all of our elected officials of what they owe both us and future generations. This is a voice of reasoned passion that simply is not coming from The Right, and so must come from The Left if it is to come at all.

Or you know, we can just keep writing open love letters to Obama. I'm sure that will work. Maybe. Well maybe not.

Keep The Faith My Brothers And Sisters!

[JOHN]

The points in this post have been well defined by you and leads one to consider the importance of a more vocal liberal electorate. If Health care reform passes without a single payer public option then one must conclude President Obama is notbeingeffectife for those who have the most riding on the rhetoric he espoused during the campaign season.

I will wait to see what happens with Health care, and Iraq, and Afghanistan and of course the economy swining toward more oportunities for the average man-if steps are not implemented by President Obama- Then his presidency will be the cause for much dissapointment and more reason to remain cynical and pessimistic.

To stand strong against the corporations and power brokers who hold the ligitimacy to claim money has a particular value in relation to time, place and object or property is a monumental task but one many of us expect from President Obama's administration.

If president Obama is true to his word the work involved will be painstaking but enormously valuable for working people and those who are not able to work due to ligitimate circumstances.

Perhaps after two years in office, a more precise decision can be made. However; your post has made a good case for serious scruntiny.

[JOHN]

above; it should state: not being effective- a typo- sorry