But I am trying to find some light here. The assumption that Obama is more liberal than he pretends, might be delusional, but that delusion also offers political support for House and Senate members who are more liberal than either Obama or the leadership under Reid and Pelosi. And in turn their public support is enhanced by Obama's election. Which can then be turned into political pressure on the House and Senate members from the so-called Left---as their concerned constituents, i.e. grassroots groups.
So, that's how I can see (dreaming again) how to move a mania to an ism and then into some concrete policy changes in a vaguely left direction...
..............
That sounds as plausible as anything else we've discussed re: Sen. Obama's candidacy and the possible (or probable) outcomes.
But right now, I think it's best to be patient and see where the wheel stops. I recommend a vacation from our hope and counter-hope debates. We've reached the point where things are very predictable: someone posts something -- usually from BAR's Glen Ford or UPenn's Adolph Reed -- dissecting the idea that there's a progressive movement around Sen. Obama.
Charles B (and maybe a few others) respond that these criticisms are off-base or miss the point or don't take the importance of enthusiasm into account and so on.
Like the hornets in my yard who wasted their stingers on the Lego Mindstorms robot I sent to observe them, we're working ourselves in a lather but getting little done.
And hey, about the Adolph Reed piece...
I'm a little amused that so many people are now responding to this. I'm amused because Doug first posted it to the list on July 16th:
<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20080714/011861.html>
It spawned a long and raucous thread. Some of the same people praising it now praised (or criticized) it then only...they seem to have forgotten they read it -- unless many of the spirited replies were comments on comments and not the essay itself. Which would be a typical, RTFM event.
.d.