Red State Progressive

The Case Against Obama: Civil Liberties

2012-01-26T05:19:00.001-06:00

Conor Friedersdorf recently posted the following question in The Atlantic:

How would you have reacted in 2008 if any Republican ran promising to do the following?
Codify indefinite detention into law;
draw up a secret kill list of people, including American citizens, to assassinate without due process;
proceed with warrantless spying on American citizens;
prosecute Bush-era whistleblowers for violating state secrets;
reinterpret the War Powers Resolution such that entering a war of choice without a Congressional declaration is permissible;
enter and prosecute such a war;
institutionalize naked scanners and intrusive full body pat-downs in major American airports;
oversee a planned expansion of TSA so that its agents are already beginning to patrol American highways, train stations, and bus depots;
wage an undeclared drone war on numerous Muslim countries that delegates to the CIA the final call about some strikes that put civilians in jeopardy;
invoke the state-secrets privilege to dismiss lawsuits brought by civil-liberties organizations on dubious technicalities rather than litigating them on the merits;
preside over federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries;
attempt to negotiate an extension of American troops in Iraq beyond 2011 (an effort that thankfully failed);
reauthorize the Patriot Act;
and select an economic team mostly made up of former and future financial executives from Wall Street firms that played major roles in the financial crisis.

For me, the answer is obvious. I would have strenuously opposed a Republican candidate who ran on such a platform. I would have identified these as serious threats to civil liberties, and I would have argued that the candidate should not be elected on this basis. And if a sitting Republican president actually did these things? I'd say that they needed to be tossed out of office.

Yet President Obama has done all of the aforementioned things.

Yep. That's a problem. As Friedersdorf suggests at the end of his article, it is such a serious problem that it makes it tough to argue that anyone should support Obama's re-election because he's the lesser of two evils.

Of course, one could claim that Romney would do everything on this list and that he'd also hurt the economy, start a war with Iran, promote a Mormon theocracy, etc. This would allow one to argue that Obama is still the lesser of two evils. I'm just not sure I could stomach voting for someone with Obama's record on civil liberties. In this particular case, the lesser of two evils is still pretty damn evil.

H/T to Bay of Fundie

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Income Disparity Could Be Potent Issue

2012-01-24T05:24:00.001-06:00

Michael Cohen's recent article in The Guardian was a great read. He suggests that 2012 could be the year that we in the U.S. finally have a real debate about income disparity and fairness. I sure hope he's right because this is long overdue.

Cohen suggests that "growing income inequality and its negative effect on the American middle class" could become the central issue of the 2012 election. That would be a positive development indeed.

The reason in part is that talk of inequality is resonating with voters. When asked recently what was a bigger problem – "unfairness in the economic system that favours the wealthy or over-regulation of the free market that interferes with growth and prosperity" – 55% of Americans chose the former and only 35% the latter. Two-thirds of Americans believe there are either "very strong" or "strong" conflicts between rich and poor in America – a nearly 20% increase from 2009.

It is no secret that the state of the economy is going to be the focus of this election. And I believe that the time is right for progressive candidates to push the issue of income disparity. There is considerable public support for progressive economic policies, and this hasn't always been the case.

From a policy standpoint, polls consistently suggest that Americans believe taxes should be raised on the wealthiest Americans. It's even a view held among rank-and-file Republicans, in stark contrast to the tax cut absolutism of party leaders.

The real test, as Cohen suggests, is whether the Democratic Party finally decides to embrace populism and halt the party's shift to the right. Republicans are going to whine about class warfare and accuse Democrats of being divisive no matter what Democrats do. Just look at how they have called Obama a socialist despite his centrist policies.

If Democrats accept this challenge, they can become the party of the people. If they do not, they become irrelevant.

H/T to Library Grape

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To Those Who Work to Keep Abortion Legal, Thank You

2012-01-22T12:44:00.001-06:00

Today is the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a decision which has been under assault from the beginning and has resulted in some of the worst examples of Christian terrorism we have seen in the United States. To all those who have worked tirelessly to defend reproductive rights and keep abortion legal, I just wanted to say thank you.

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Romney Remains Inevitable as South Carolina Looms

2012-01-21T11:01:00.001-06:00

As the media, including the political blogosphere, buzzes with stories about Newt Gingrich surging in the South Carolina polls ahead of today's primary vote, I find myself beginning to tune out. Romney will be the Republican nominee. It is inevitable. The only question is how long it will take.

Gingrich has gained some momentum as the favored non-Romney candidate of the moment, but that will pass. He is not a serious candidate who could compete in the general election, and establishment Republicans know this. A Gingrich win in South Carolina would slow Romney down a bit, but it will not change the fact that he will be the eventual nominee.

Consider the remaining options for Republican voters as we leave South Carolina behind. Despite his many flaws, Romney is the only remotely serious candidate.

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If Liberals are Always Wrong...

2012-01-21T09:10:00.001-06:00

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4.5 Million Have Signed Google's Anti-SOPA Petition

2012-01-18T19:45:00.001-06:00

I've seen a lot of skepticism about the efficacy of today's efforts to drum up opposition to SOPA and PIPA. However, Google reports that roughly 4.5 million people have signed their anti-SOPA petition. And that is just one of the many petitions opposing this legislation. The fight is not over yet, and similar bills will undoubtedly emerge if these are defeated. But numbers like this are going to be tough for Congress to ignore, especially if we are willing to keep the pressure on.

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Huntsman Departs, Takes Sanity With Him

2012-01-16T06:11:00.001-06:00

I certainly didn't agree with Jon Huntsman's politics, but he did strike me as the most desirable of any of the candidates running for the Republican nomination. He was the only one who seemed even remotely rational, and I admired his refusal to go along with the anti-intellectualism and opposition to science that plagues much of his party. He brought a certain level of dignity to what has resembled Celebrity Apprentice far too closely. Now that Huntsman is out of the race, the only hope that the Republican candidate might be something other than genuinely crazy (or whatever Mittens is) has passed.

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Is Rick Perry Still in the Race?

2012-01-15T08:19:00.001-06:00

Just when I thought things couldn't possibly get any worse for Rick Perry's presidential campaign, the Christian extremist cabal has decided to endorse Rick Santorum. I guess that massive prayer rally Perry held didn't even manage to impress its target audience. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Rick.

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Republicans Highlight Downside of Capitalism

2012-01-13T13:11:00.001-06:00

It appears that Gingrich supporters have crafted what will be an effective anti-Romney ad for the Obama campaign to use in the general election.

Not surprisingly, both Gingrich and Perry have been taking criticism for having the nerve to point out the downside of capitalism. Here's hoping they keep doing so.

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The Best Obama Can Do For Progressives?

2012-01-11T15:42:00.001-06:00

If the points highlighted in this video are the best the pro-Obama crowd can find to persuade progressives that he's on our side, his re-election campaign is in far more trouble than I realized.

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How Progressives in Red States Can Help

2012-01-09T05:59:00.001-06:00

To progressives living in red states, it often seems as if there is little we can do to influence the political landscape. No matter how we vote, our states go Republican in every presidential election and continue to elect conservative Republicans to state office. As hopeless as it may seem at times, I'm not ready to give up. There are other ways we can influence the process.

Because we live in red states where Democratic presidential candidates have no real chance of winning, we can vote our conscience. For me, that means I can vote for a third party candidate without worrying that I'm somehow electing a Republican.
As long as the electoral college continues to be used, our votes in presidential elections really do not count. Progressives in red states can support efforts to abolish the electoral college and replace it with direct democracy.
We can donate money and volunteer time to support progressive candidates in swing states.
We can participate in grassroots efforts to educate and inform voters about important issues. This could mean starting our own progressive blog or writing letters to the editor of our local newspaper.
We can vote with our wallets, moving our money out of big banks that support Republicans and being more deliberate which companies we support.
We can join national organizations that work for progressive values (e.g., the ACLU, People for the American Way, etc.)
We can join a local occupy protest.
We can support independent media as a necessary alternative to corporate-owned media.

What else? What did I miss? How else can progressives in red states work to advance the progressive agenda?

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A Lesson the GOP Should Have Learned in 2011

2012-01-06T05:28:00.001-06:00

Many Americans want to vote for people who remind them of themselves, people they would feel comfortable around. I've never been able to relate to this because I want someone in the Oval Office who is much more competent than I am in every way I can imagine. But I've heard enough people talk about wanting to vote for the person they'd like to have a beer with that I take their word for it.

One of the easiest ways obscenely wealthy politicians can appeal to "the average person" is by publicly eating the types of food enjoyed by the average person.

But there really should be an exception for corn dogs. GOP candidates really shouldn't eat them in public.

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Romney Wins Iowa…Barely

2012-01-04T05:46:00.001-06:00

According to CNN, Willard "Mittens" Romney won the Iowa caucuses by just 8 votes over Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum. Everybody knew this was going to be a close contest, but I'm not sure anybody expected it to be that close. It will be interesting to see how the picture changes as we move into New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Of course, I believe that the real story is going to be whether the socially conservative voters will warm to Romney as the primary season progresses or coalesce around one of the non-Romney candidates.

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One of the Most Important and Most Botched Stories of 2011: #OWS

2011-12-31T11:52:00.001-06:00

Occupy Wall Street and the larger Occupy movement it spawned is one of the most important stories in 2011. However, it is also one of the most poorly covered stories, probably because the corporations that control our media found it threatening. Setting Fox "News" and their blatant propaganda aside, the rest of the news media really seemed to struggle to understand OWS. I suppose they will have more time to figure it out since I do not think OWS is going away any time soon.

I am going to be interested to see what the relationship between OWS and the Democratic Party is like in 2012. Embracing OWS may be politically risky, but I suspect that trying to ignore it or worse - alienating it further - could be politically suicidal.

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The Case for Re-Electing Obama

2011-12-28T04:58:00.001-06:00

I have made no secret of my disappointment with President Obama. I voted for him in 2008, but realized I had made a mistake as soon as he decided to allow Dick Cheney to escape punishment for war crimes. I wrote at the time that this decision cost Obama his moral authority, and I continue to believe that today. Still, a case can be made for giving President Obama a second term. Not only that, but it is a case so compelling that it is tough to oppose.

While President Obama has indeed been a disappointment in many important ways, there are at least two solid reasons why we progressives might consider supporting him in 2012. I am not particularly impressed with one of these reasons, but I find the other to be tough to refute.

Obama is the Lesser of Two Evils

The first reason, and the one with which I am less impressed, is the classic "lesser of two evils" argument. Even though President Obama governs like a Republican, he is likely to be at least somewhat better than the Republican alternative. If the Republican nominee ends up being Willard "Mittens" Romney, as I believe it will, this argument becomes a bit weaker. Still, I think most progressives would be correct to prefer Obama to Romney.

My main objection to supporting Obama as the lesser evil is that it reduces the likelihood that we'll ever get a truly progressive candidate in office by making it clear that we will support any Democrat no matter how conservative they are. I certainly understand the impulse, but it seems short-sighted and virtually guarantees that the status quo will be maintained. The Democratic Party continues its march to the right, and we end up with thoroughly inadequate representation. Wouldn't it be nice to have a candidate we could enthusiastically support?

It is All About the Court

The second and far more compelling reason to support Obama's reelection boils down to the Supreme Court. Given the opportunity, Obama would almost certainly pick another moderate-to-conservative justice, but he's far less likely to pick an far-right extremist than would a Republican president.

Again and again, we have seen how important the composition of the Supreme Court is in terms of the direction the country takes. Consider Citizens United if you need an example. Appointing justices is one of the most vital things a president does. Putting this in the hands of a Republican president is a scary prospect. For some progressives, this alone is a sufficient reason to support Obama's re-election.

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The Republican View of Government

2011-12-25T09:29:00.001-06:00

When we elect Republicans, we cannot be surprised by the outcome. This is a party that insists that government is the problem and behaves in such a manner as to lend credibility to this position.

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Corporate Media Has Decided Ron Paul Not Viable

2011-12-22T07:55:00.001-06:00

I'm no Ron Paul supporter, but I can certainly understand why those who support him would be upset that the corporate media appears to have decided that he is not a viable candidate. It does not seem to matter how well he polls, they refuse to treat him as a serious candidate. They've already been saying that if he wins in Iowa, all that really does is discredit the relevance of Iowa.

Ron Paul supporters should be furious about how their candidate is being treated. But so should the rest of us. Even those of us who would never support Paul should be outraged that the corporate media is again influencing election outcomes. This was never supposed to be the role of the media, and Americans should no longer be content to put up with it.

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Is Obama Daring Us to Desert Him?

2011-12-21T07:18:00.001-06:00

Every president is going to do some things that will disappoint the base who worked so hard to elect him or her. That is one of the inevitable realities of modern politics. I certainly have not expected President Obama to keep every single promise he's made, nor have I expected to agree with every decision he's made. But I did not expect him to end up on the wrong side of such so many core democratic values either. The "indefinite detention" provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) runs as counter to what the Democratic Party claims to stand for as just about anything I've yet seen, and growing numbers of progressives are taking notice.

Rationally, I suspect that President Obama is willing to gamble with the support of his base because his advisors tell him that we have nowhere else to go. He's after the independent vote, and he thinks being right-of-center on many issues is the way to appeal to them. I suspect that this will prove to be a costly miscalculation. Even if he somehow wins the election, what kind of legacy can he possibly have?

On an emotional level, I am extremely disappointed with President Obama. Indefinite detention without due process is not just unconstitutional; it represents a despicable betrayal of a particularly core American value. It almost seems as if he's daring his base to desert him.

Gaius Publius (AmericaBlog) is absolutely correct to say:

At some point, there simply won't be enough Dems who can, in conscience, vote for him, no matter what drek the other side spits up. A huge opportunity to cement party gains, thoroughly wasted.

I am rapidly reaching this point and not just when it comes to the president.

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America: Not So Different After All

2011-12-19T10:39:00.001-06:00

As far as I'm concerned, Occupy Wall Street was the story of 2011. This movement was successful in changing the nature of the conversation about wealth in America and cast a bright light on how our nation has gradually become a police state. In 2012, we will find out whether this conversation begins to lead to real change or whether the protests need to get even bigger.

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President Mittens?

2011-12-18T07:29:00.001-06:00

The Republican Party remains split over Willard "Mittens" Romney. The establishment wing of the party supports him because they realize that he has by far the best chance of any of the current contenders of defeating President Obama in a general election. The Tea Party faction despises him because he's not an evangelical Christian and because they doubt his conservative credentials. These factions of the GOP are both correct, but I'm betting that the establishment folks will win and that Mittens will get the nomination.

I have heard many on the left say that a President Mittens wouldn't be nearly as bad as most of the alternatives. They may be right about that. Still, that does not mean that it wouldn't be fairly bad. Take a look at Spanish Inquisitor's recent post about Mittens' stance on school prayer. It could certainly be worse, but it is still appalling to think that a serious candidate for the presidency could be this misinformed about American history or could think it appropriate for an American president to push religion.

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December 27 Could Be Important Day in American Political History

2011-12-13T05:23:00.001-06:00

Here's a prediction: Assuming nobody else backs out, December 27, 2011, will go down in history as a date of monumental importance to the future of American politics. It will end up rivaling the first televised presidential debate in the sense that nothing will ever be the same again after it passes. Think I'm making too much of Newsmax's decision to allow Donald Trump to host the GOP debate scheduled for that date? Think again.

International observers have pointed out that this year's Republican primary contest already reminds them of reality TV. But once Trump gets his hands on a debate, this will be impossible to deny. We will have finally crossed the line from political debate as informative to political debate as pure spectacle. We will have shown the world that we are no longer serious about selecting qualified individuals to lead our great nation.

Trump is not merely a buffoon; he's a living symbol of much of what is wrong with American politics and culture. Watching C-list celebrities humble themselves before him on Celebrity Apprentice is bad enough, but at least we know we're watching televised garbage when we do so. Setting up a situation where candidates for the American presidency must feign respect for Trump is so absurd that it just might be the point of no return.

It will be interesting to see which candidates are smart enough to refuse to be part of Trump's debate. So far, it seems that most of them have decided to skip it. They have at least two good reasons they can use to do so: Trump's recent threats to get back in the race and his "birtherism." Either would give candidates a way out, and I sincerely hope that most will take it.

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Romney Too Out of Touch to Be President

2011-12-12T05:47:00.001-06:00

Since the beginning of the Republican primary process, I've been suggesting that Willard "Mittens" Romney will inevitably be the nominee. Of those remaining in the race, he's the only one with a real chance to defeat President Obama in the general election. However, I think his chances in the general election just took a major hit due to how out of touch he appears in the exchange shown in this short video from the last GOP debate. It is clear that he regards $10,000 as a trivial sum, and I cannot imagine most American voters will be thrilled with this.

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Compassionate Conservatism is Dead

2011-12-10T11:40:00.001-06:00

I don't know exactly how or why compassionate conservatism died, but it appears to have done so. Even though George W. Bush could hardly be considered compassionate after his response (or lack thereof) to Hurricane Katrina, he did at least try to talk the talk. There was some recognition on his part that conservative economic policies needed some measure of sugar-coating in order to be palatable to the poor and middle-class. Today's conservatives do not seem to agree.

I'd always suspected that the compassionate thing was a scam because a compassionate individual simply does not implement the sort of economic policies for which Republicans are infamous. But I was a bit surprised that they decided to stop pretending.

Remember when Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court and Republicans came out against empathy? And now we've got Gingrich telling Occupy Wall Street demonstrators to "take a bath and get a job" while Bachmann insists that LGBT persons should marry individuals of the opposite sex (like she herself presumably did). The message is clear: do not expect even the pretense of empathy, compassion, or kindness from today's Republican Party.

Newt Gingrich seems to want to become the poster boy for this lack of compassion. When he is not telling people to "get a job," he's campaigning to roll back child labor protections.

It is too early to know if this strategy will appeal to voters or if they will be willing to overlook the many skeleton's in Gingrich's closet. I cannot imagine that it would have 10 years ago, but we are living in the age of Fox "News." It seems at least possible that they have been successful enough in demonizing everyone who disagrees with the conservative point of view that they've made inroads toward helping people overcome their discomfort with unbridled contempt for the less fortunate.

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Concerned About Cost of College? Stop Electing Republicans

2011-12-05T05:18:00.001-06:00

I certainly remember the challenges of paying for college. Tuition seemed outrageously expensive, but it was not the only expense. There were books, room and board, and a host of other living expenses. The financial aid was never enough, and I realized that I was going to have to repay the loans eventually. As they added up, that prospect became intimidating to say the least. With the job market in the sorry state it is currently in, I feel for the students who are facing massive debt without the prospect of meaningful employment. It makes sense to me that these students would be protesting as part of the Occupy movement. However, I worry that there might be something many are overlooking.

Now that I am sort of on the other side of things, working in higher education, I have learned something I failed to appreciate as a student. Simply put, there is an important relationship between how we vote and how much difficulty we are likely to have paying for college.

As an employee of a state university, I have seen countless Republican administrations cut funding for higher education. The result of these cuts is that the institutions have no choice but cut budgets and raise tuition and fees. They have to cover their operating expenses, and cuts can only go so far before entire programs are eliminated. As a result, tuition and fees increase. At the same time, these Republican administrations tend to cut financial aid programs. Not only do students and their families experience rising costs; assistance in paying these costs dries up.

College students and their families need to realize that the costs associated with higher education are going to continue to increase as long as they keep electing Republicans at the state and federal level. Affordable public education is simply not among their priorities. When money becomes tight, education is one of the first things they cut.

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#OWS is Not the Nuisance

2011-11-30T05:43:00.001-06:00

The Occupy Movement is routinely called a public nuisance by those who want to shut it down. Learn about the real public nuisance from economist Robert Reich.

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