> Still, his failure (or was it that of those on
> his staff advocating a bailout to the
> center/right?) to anticipate and/or take into
> consideration the effect of these moves on his
> more liberal supporters, and make his more
> nuanced position statements PRIOR to the
> following furor, tells me that he is tossing
> them "under the bus" as the contemporary phrase
> goes. He (and his staff) must have know what
> the reaction would be, don't you think? If the
> answer is no, isn't that an indication that he
> doesn't care any longer for their support? And
> if you say yes, then he is doubly damned.
Obama has cleared the primary and entered the general election in a two-party state. Those of us who won't vote McCain*, don't matter anymore. If we had the extra-party organization to pressure him, it could be different. But we don't, and the "netroots" aren't cutting it. The lack of such organization is exactly why Adolph Reed and others called it before the primary season was over. As Reed said, an election year is for consolidating the organizing work in the off-years.
The anti-war movement--as Rotwang argued**, FISA is an anti-war issue--has faltered. Many have been acting as if the Republicans are the problem and the Democrats are the solution. When the Democrats disappoint, we are told to elect still more of them.
This magical thinking is part of what distinguishes the Iraq war from the Vietnam war. Then, the Democrats had Congress and the White House. Those who could not vote against the war, marched against the war. Marches may not work today as they did then, but it remains true, as Doug regularly notes, that Democrats in power highlight the limits of the two-party state.
The reason for organizing outside the Democrats is to raise the cost for acting as Obama is now acting. And as despised as Congress is today, organizing against them should be plausible--at least for those who can live and think outside of the sick center of the imperium.
Without extra-party organization, it will be ask not what the Democrats can do for you, ask what you can do for the Democrats.
Shane
* - McCain is a violent crank; the implosion of the Republican party would be a blessing
** - <http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/06/23/impeach_obama/>