Freedom Rider:
Progressives Cave to Obama

by BAR editor and senior columnist Margaret Kimberley

"There is no movement
left to speak up or fight back."

FRobamaSpeeching
The progressive movement is on its death bed, in critical
condition for many reasons. Activists are demoralized after George W. Bush
cheated his way into office, committed crimes against humanity, and subverted
the constitution without punishment or even serious risk of political damage.
Eight years of evil doing have taken their toll on activists' willingness to
take action.

The Democrats are not blameless. The prospect of a Hillary
Clinton nomination was another slap in the face to the most loyal Democratic
voters. The Yale educated lawyer claimed she didn't know the Authorization for
Use of Military Force Against Iraq was just what it said. The sorry excuses
went on forever and the disgust only grew. Her vaunted inevitability silenced
Democrats, who prepared to hold their noses and support the lesser of two
evils.

The prospect of more humiliation from yet another Clinton
put restless Democrats in the mood to look for other options. Barrack Obama
scored points because he expressed opposition to invading Iraq back in 2003
when the crime was first committed. It doesn't seem to matter that as a United
States Senator his votes on Iraq are the same as Hillary Clinton's. It doesn't
matter that he once opposed establishing a deadline for withdrawal. It doesn't
matter that he parrots the words of Republicans when he speaks of "the excesses
of the 60s and 70s." None of what he says matters, because speaking up would
mean fighting back, and there is no movement left to do that.

"MoveOn never bothered
to make demands of Obama."

The end of movement politics has infected nearly everyone,
like a mysterious illness in a science fiction film. If a movement still
existed, MoveOn would not have made an
Obama endorsement via popularity contest. They never bothered to make demands
of him, to ask questions before giving him their support. Their endorsement is
worthless because it gives Obama cover and asks nothing in return.

MoveOn spreads the conventional wisdom that super delegates
are more likely to be pro-Clinton and are willing to subvert the popular will
on her behalf. They have even circulated a petition to prevent super delegates
from choosing the nominee. What MoveOn doesn't say is that both Clinton and
Obama have used their political action committees to make contributions to
super delegate campaign funds. They also fail to mention that Obama leads in
making these contributions.

His PAC has given $698,200 to super delegates. Hillary
Clinton has made $205,500 in contributions to super delegate coffers. In other
words, Obama is more adept at buying votes than Clinton. "Yes we can" indeed.

"Obama is more adept at
buying super delegate votes than Clinton."

MoveOn is not alone. It is incomprehensible that The
Nation magazine endorsed
Obama after making the following statement. "This magazine has been
critical of the senator from Illinois for his closeness to Wall Street; his
unwillingness to lay out an ambitious progressive agenda on healthcare, housing
and other domestic policy issues; and for post-partisan rhetoric that seems to
ignore the manifest failure of conservatism over these past seven years."

If The Nation has so many qualms about Obama, why
endorse him at all? The editors could have simply made a statement of
non-support for Obama or Clinton. The sad plight of progressives is all too
obvious. "While his rhetoric about ‘unity' can be troubling, it also embodies a
savvy strategy to redefine the center of American politics and build a
coalition by reaching out to independent and Republican voters disgruntled and
disgusted with what the Bush era has wrought." The Nation should explain
to readers why Democrats ought to "redefine the center" with independents and
Republicans instead of having their own agenda and fighting to make it a
reality.

If even The Nation bows down in thrall of the over
hyped "center," then all hope for true change is gone. In other words,
capitulation is the order of the day, and Obama makes it more palatable than
Hillary Clinton does.

"Capitulation is the
order of the day."

After eight years of Clintonian triangulation, and another
eight years of Bush lawlessness, the center isn't what is used to be. The
center will accept an occupation of Iraq, as long as there is pretense that it
will end. The center will not undo the Bush attacks on the Constitution. The
center will tell black people that they are "90% of the way" towards equality.
Actually, Obama already declared that "there is no black America" so the fight
for equality will become irrelevant.

Black voters are overwhelmingly pro-Obama. Now supposedly
anti-war and progressive organizations have also thrown in the towel. Race
pride, however misguided in this case, explains Obama's appeal to black
Americans. White progressives have no such excuse. Nevertheless they have
chosen to suspend disbelief and jump on the winning bandwagon.

The stampede to Obama reveals the emptiness of the
Democratic left. They are every bit as cynical as the man they support. They
want a seat at the table. They don't really care what is decided at that table
as long as they are included. Pro-war, anti-war, who cares? Just spell the name
right on the White House invitation and let the triangulation begin.

Margaret Kimberley's
Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York
City, and can be reached via e-Mail at
Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com. Ms. Kimberley maintains an
edifying and frequently updated blog at freedomrider.blogspot.com. More of her
work is also available at her Black Agenda Report archive
page.

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