A perspective: "Here's what I think's happening here."

[Undercurrent]

This whole article was an interesting read for me, and caused me to further reflect on the grenade attacks and carpet bombing that is going on in much of the left blogosphere, and forums since the Warren curve ball was thrown.

Like many others, I'm trying to grapple with this. As part of the process of gaining further perspective I've frequently referred to the words of Lincoln. They have turned into a handhold of sorts for me. Seems the author of this article, mcc, shares a similar understanding of Lincoln's words

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." - Lincoln

-----

<snip> Here's what I think's happening here.

This, I think, is the problem: The left does not know how to win. It is a completely foreign feeling to us. We do not know what we'd do if we ever caught the roadrunner. Similarly, the idea of allies are foreign to us. We don't know how to work with allies; we've never had anything but enemies. Allies are not things that work with you toward a common goal. Allies are those things that stab you in the back.

Moreover, we have gotten some very strange neuroses from the long period during which we've lost at everything. Like, for quite a lot of years, the Democrats have been a long procession of people who've given lip service to groups like progressives, but never follow through on actual policy. Everybody's noticed this. Nobody likes this. But we've also become, to some extent, dependent on that lip service. Since it's all we've had for so long it's what we've learned to respond to in politicians.

So what happens if we ever get allies? People who aren't part of the movement, who aren't us so to speak, but do have common goals with us and intend to work on them. Well, obviously we'd work on those common goals with them. But what happens when the goals diverge, as is inevitably going to happen at some point? What do you do with allies that disagree with you? I don't think we really know. But we do know what to do with enemies: you attack them. One thing we could do is assume that the disagreement is in fact the allies stabbing us in the back, and attack them back for it. And if we're going to attack them, we have to turn them into enemies.

----- ----- ----- -----

Why does any of this matter? Well, it matters because we don't know what Barack Obama is going to do. Barack Obama is, somewhere between "on occasion" and "always", going to get things wrong. And when that happens, we need something in place to pressure him back into doing the right thing. In fact, given that Obama, although he's committed himself to trying to move the center leftward, also has committed himself to appeasing that center, Obama can't function without this outside pressure dragging the Overton window where he wants it. <snip>

more... http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/mcc/2008/12/i-got-banned-from-open-left-fo.php

[dipsydoodle]

1. Surely what's important

is that he does things right on balance.

[Undercurrent]

2. That is exactly how I feel as well.

Obama said many times that he will make mistakes, or will do things people don't like, and will drive some his his supporters nuts.

I've been through a lot of politics in the last 60 years, and I think this guy is the real deal. I think he'll try very hard to be a good, and effective President. I don't think his thinking is weird, or he somehow lacks empathy for others as some have suggested. We've hated Bush, but have gotten used to dealing with him as a small minded, mean spirited cut-out for the pig corporations for the past 8 years. Obama is a different sort of man. A complex man. We have to sort of re adjust ourselves to this new reality.

The last thing in the world I want to do is argue with my fellow Democrats when we have come so far together, and are now on the brink of actually having our guy in the Oval Office. We spent a long time out in the political wilderness during which time the whole country has gone to rat shit. The problems we face now are huge. We need each other, and we need as many of our fellow citizens to join us in whatever way they can.

[XemaSab]

3. I like this post, but I'm not sure I agree

I think the problem is that we ourselves are a loose coalition of different interests, and we have always been uneasy internally.

Now we're in power and we're trying to expand the party, but how do you do that?

Every group you reach out to, you will anger or annoy someone already in the party.

Reach out to hunters, annoy the animal rights people.

Reach out to pro-life Catholics, annoy the women.

Reach out to evangelicals, annoy the gays.

The next 8 years are going to be a delicate act.

[Undercurrent]

4. Well said.

A delicate act indeed.

For me it helps to try and maintain some perspective. Not an easy task, I can assure you.