Obama, Clooney, Disillusionment
“I’m disillusioned by the people who are disillusioned by Obama, quite honestly, I am,” says George Clooney on TV, but perhaps more importantly on one of those viral Facebook postcards, ”Democrats eat their own. Democrats find singular issues and go, ‘Well, I didn’t get everything I wanted.’ I’m a firm believer in sticking by and sticking up for the people whom you’ve elected.”
You know, I get this, to a point. I understand that, as it exists today, politics is all about compromise. I understand that Obama has accomplished a great deal, and that much of it is hidden under the piles of issues that are close to all of our hearts that he had to surrender to accomplish as much as he has.
And on the face of it, Clooney is at least partially correct: giving up on Obama just because we didn’t get everything we wanted is silly. That’s not how politics works. Not even Dumbledore could walk in and wave his wand and fix everything right away. True change takes time, and presidents don’t actually have time. Considering the political dealmaking process, and all that it entails, four years is virtually nothing, and eight not much more. But liberals are a very impatient group of people. We want change, and we want it now, and if we don’t get it now, then it’s another failure. Liberals do not believe in baby steps, but politics is baby steps. Regardless of what we want, and regardless of what this world needs (and believe me, I know that there are plenty of issues, some of which directly affect me, that are so urgent that we can’t actually afford to take baby steps), that’s just how this works. At least for now. Nobody seems to want to admit that.
On the other hand, supporting our politicians when they make truly awful decisions is ridiculous, and just because we voted Obama in doesn’t mean that we should just be satisfied with what he does. Politicians still need to be held to a standard.
Well, here’s my standard, fundamentally: the Constitution. I really prefer the POTUS not to trample all over the Bill of Rights with muddy shoes and sticky fingers. With the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, any disillusionment I may have felt about Obama prior to this pales in comparison to how I feel about the fact that he plans to sign it into law.
Perhaps disillusionment has become a two-edged sword. Regardless of whether we have given up on Obama, one thing is clear to me: when he signs the NDAA into law, Obama has officially given up on us.
We liberals and Democrats might be a bunch of nitpicky little bitches, but the NDAA isn’t just a tiny compromise. In many ways it compromises everything. And people can “share” that Clooney card all over Facebook if they want, but it doesn’t change the fact that Obama plans to sign awayhas signed away our civil rights. Why we should just accept that because we voted the guy in is beyond me.
This entry was posted on December 18, 2011 by whiskeypants. It was filed under Legal, Observations, Politics and was tagged with barack obama, bill of rights, civil rights, clooney, constitution, george clooney, national defense authorization act, ndaa, obama, potus, president.
I’m yes-ing this as hard as I fucking can.
December 18, 2011 at 3:48 pm
We’re not being nit-picky, we’re tired of thinking Obama has a set of values similar to ours and finding out that either he doesn’t really or that they’re not actually that important to him.
December 18, 2011 at 4:09 pm
We are, as a group, nitpicky. Unwilling to give up or lose ground on any of our ideals, and I love that about us, even as I deplore it wrt getting anything accomplished. We have to give up on what we think Obama is and take a hard look at what he’s done and what he’s doing. Clooney may still have faith, but I think he can take his scolding for our obvious disappointing and shove it up his ass.
December 18, 2011 at 4:11 pm
If *not* voting for Obama led to a better situation, I’d do it. However, I just don’t think that’s the case.
December 18, 2011 at 11:16 pm
So painfully true.
December 18, 2011 at 11:18 pm
I don’t get why we don’t just get really hard behind, say, the Green Party and get it over with. I believe Obama still has majority support in this country. If every single one of those Obama voters voted for whoever the Greens put up there instead, we’d get someone who actually represented progressive ideals and it’d plant a boot up the ass of the Democratic Party.
But instead all those voters are going “If I don’t vote for Obama I will get a douchebag President instead.” Cognitive dissonance. There are more than two parties in this country.
December 28, 2011 at 9:05 am
Because we would all have to do it. And every time somebody brings up a third party, it’s like we are daring each other to break the mold, but know that not enough people will take up the dare and go with it, and that if not enough people take the dare, everybody will get hurt.
December 28, 2011 at 9:10 am
My pain point, currently, is whether I’m going to do as much as I did last time. I spent a WEEK away from home for the man. I donated enough that my name is permanently engraved in the OpenSecrets database, and I helped the Peninsula Young Dems raise a six-figure sum.
I think he’s done some incredibly good things. Like this: Health law keeps 2.5 million young adults insured (Note that this is more than double the original estimate, b/c the young are much more likely to be unemployed, or uncovered by employer-sponsored insurance even if employed, than was projected in 2009.)
But still, he’s been a terrible negotiator in general, and on some issues I care a lot about it seems like he’s actively pursuing a terrible agenda, and validating right-wing frames.
I suppose in the end I probably will work for him again, because the alternative is so mind-blowingly horrible. “Let’s not turn into Hungary,” is certainly a motivator, but it’s not exactly inspiring. (PS: Had you heard that a member of the European Union has turned into real, honest-to-g*d fascist dictatorship in the last six months? Complete with anti-Semitism and everything.)
December 19, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Pingback: Third Party Voting « The Adventures of the Terminally Snarky
You aren’t smarter than Obama. If you think you could have crafted an argument or negotiated better with Republicans, sorry but you need to check your ego. Obama’s pragmatic approach has saved lives and jobs. Go ask the people who have insurance or a job because of Obama if they are disappointed with him. Try thinking about someone other than yourself, try to think about the people who will lose their health insurance if Republicans are elected and they repeal Obamacare.
By the way, the author is wrong on NDAA. The bill doesn’t sign away our rights. http://www.lawfareblog.com/2011/12/the-ndaa-the-good-the-bad-and-the-laws-of-war-part-ii/
If you only listen to Glenn Greenwald, Cenk Uygar, Keith Olbermann, jane hamsher and other emoprog pundits who make their living bashing Obama you are being duped. Their job is to piss you off because that’s what gets people to watch/read them. There are other progressive pundits and bloggers out there who do a much better job of informing rather than trying to illicit an emotional response.
December 31, 2011 at 9:21 pm
Guess we will have to agree to disagree, but thanks for the insults, friend.
December 31, 2011 at 9:24 pm
I haven’t insulted anyone. That is the same over sensitivity that prevents you from knowing a good thing when you see it. You seem to think that an insult is anything other than me to bowing down to you and calling you a political god, while I trash the President and call him stupid.
January 1, 2012 at 8:43 am
Not really, no. Please go troll somebody else’s blog.
January 1, 2012 at 9:19 am