Legal Commentary

Attacking From The Center

By Big Tent Democrat

I never understand persons who proclaim their desire for "principled progressives" attacking those on the Left who actually, argue for, um, principled progressive positions. From No More Mister Nice Guy Blog:

[W]hile I'd like a president (and subordinates and appointees of that president) to be principled progressives rather than eager-to-please seekers of common ground, I prefer eager-to-please semi-progressive seekers of common ground to the sociopaths of the GOP, who'd happily burn this country to the ground if it meant they'd be the lords of what smoking embers remained. So I'll continue to voice objections to what displeases me about the Obama administration, but I'm not forgetting who the real enemy is.

Part of my frustration with Firebagging in general is that progressives simply lack the muscle to drag not just the administration but Congress and the country all that far to the left by sheer force of will, and Firebaggers don't seem to understand that. [. . .] We've got a lot of work to do to get our message across. We're not going to get there by regularly joining right-wingers in Obama pile-ons.

(Emphasis supplied.) Of course "joining right wingers in Obama pile-ons" is not a winning strategy. But NOT joining progressive criticisms (if you agree with them, as it happens I disagree with a lot of them- see me on Afghanistan, preventive detention, Kagan, free trade, etc.), or worse yet, excoriating progressives for criticizing Democrats from the Left sounds like a losing strategy for promoting progressivism too. More . . .

Here's my philosophy - if I agree with a Dem policy or action, I say so. If I disagree with a Dem policy or action, I say so. If I agree with a criticism of Dems, I join it. If I disagree with a criticism of Dems, I say why I disagree. But then again, I have no pretensions of being an activist who is going to persuade anybody.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 12, 2010 (boomark / email).