True Blue

Trey Smith

I’ll tell you what. If he shows that he’s going to fight for the things that I care about, I will fight twice as hard for him.” And if he doesn’t? “Then I’ll vote for him."
~ spoken by Markos Moulitsas of Barack Obama via The Daily Beast ~

Talk about an unswerving loyalist! That's what I call a true blue friend.

Of course, it goes a long way toward explaining why our sitting president pays so little attention to his base of supporters. He doesn't have to! They've handed him a blank check; he can fill in any amount (or no amount) that he wants to. He can spit in their faces and yet he knows that they have his back.

There is a place for solidarity in this world, but it carries a high degree of responsibility. If people are going to stand with you, you have the responsibility to stand for principles they believe in. And the people who stand with you must meet a likewise responsibility as well. They must be willing to withdraw their support if you trample on those same principles.

But it seems that neither party in this affair wants to shoulder their share of the responsibility. For his part, Obama talks a good game, yet he rarely walks that talk. His supporters say they fervently believe this or that, but they are willing to toss any principle aside, if asked to.

And so, solidarity morphs into blind loyalty. You strike a deal with the devil to support your guy (or gal), regardless of what they actually say and do.

That's dangerous. That is how dictators rise to power.