Like Chinese water torture, Gallup's daily tracking poll has shown a steady and unrelenting drip of bad news. He has been in and out of the high 30s for his approval, and in the low to mid-50s for his disapproval.What Stoller is suggesting is that Barack Obama is destroying the Democratic Party from the inside out. A person would be hard-pressed to dispute such an assertion when we consider that the president has repeatedly adopted the GOP framework and talking points on most of the key issues of the day. Since Social Security and Medicare were enacted, it has been the Democratic Party that served as the chief protector of each, but even in this critical area, Obama has chosen to lean hard right.
George W. Bush's approval rating didn't drop this low until Katrina hit. And on the economy, 71 percent of Americans disapprove of how Obama is doing his job. Even among reliably Democratic groups -- union households, women and young people -- he's now unpopular.
No one, not even the president's defenders, expect his coming jobs speech to mean anything. When the president spoke during a recent market swoon, the market dropped another 100 points. Democrats may soon have to confront an uncomfortable truth, and ask whether Obama is a suitable choice at the top of the ticket in 2012. They may then have to ask themselves if there's any way they can push him off the top of the ticket.
That these questions have not yet been asked in any serious way shows how weak the Democratic Party is as a political organization.
~ from What Democrats Can Do About Obama by Matt Stoller ~
Fortunately, Stoller's call will fall on too many deaf ears. The chances of a viable candidate challenging the president in the Democratic Party primaries is about nil. So, the party will continue its slide to the right and may eventually crowd the Republican Party for the reactionary territory.
I began the preceding paragraph with the word "fortunately" because that is the word I meant to use. Since our political system is built for two parties and we may find the Democrats unwittingly merging with the GOP in the near future, this would open up the opportunity for a bona fide left of center party to step into the void left by the Democrats. It could be the Greens (if they ever can get their act together), the Reds (not very likely), a newly created Labor Party or some other variation.
So, I hope the Democrats don't field a primary challenger to Obama. I hope they allow him to lead them off a rightward cliff. And I hope that progressives and leftists can put aside their typical sectarian squabbling to bring forth a new political party that will cater to the needs and interests of the vast majority.
While I don't think this is the kind of hope Obama referred to in 2008, it's the kind of hope I'm going with!
But the vast majority would not support a progressive/left party. The majority has never leaned that way. I really doubt that they are going to start now.
ReplyDelete@Joy I wonder why that is. Could it be that the majority are wrong, and if so, what does that say about democracy?
ReplyDelete@Everyone
What went wrong? Could it be a failure of the press? Is television to blame? Corporate owned media censoring news that really matters from ever getting through? Are the majority of people voting for the wrong candidates, due to a lack of education or access to accurate information?
Why isn't the information getting through? What is stopping it?
TV Sucks. And yet, for the majority of Americans, television is the primary source of news. I came across that statistic recently. I think it was from Project Censored. No wonder the majority of people appear to be as clueless as a flock of sheep being lead to their own slaughter.
Do you think it will ever change?
Joy,
ReplyDeleteYou're probably correct! That's why I wrote that it was my "hope," not my expectation.
Cym,
There are a multitude of reasons -- media, religion, culture, political system, capitalism, etc. -- which is why it becomes so difficult to change.
It's like the little Dutch boy who puts his finger in the dike to shore it up. We may be able to shore up one leak, but there are 5 more. Shore up those 5 and 10 more spring up. There seems to be more holes than fingers!
--@Joy I wonder why that is. Could it be that the majority are wrong, and if so, what does that say about democracy?--
ReplyDeleteWhether the majority are wrong or not depends upon the opinion of the one making that observation. Right-wingers will say the majority are correct, Left-wingers will say the majority have been duped.