[lbo-talk] revealed: Obama really really is a socialist, really

[Somebody Somebody]

Marvin: But, as we know, Obama chose to listen to the counsel of the "realists" at the DLC and in the White House who are closely tied to Wall Street and who badly misread the mood of the country. We know the effect their wise counsel has had in bringing relief to the country. Now their shrewd realism, from the narrower perspective of the Democratic party's own political fortunes, is about to be put on display in the forthcoming mid term elections. 

Somebody: Yeah, but given the utter absence of left-wing or working class consciousness in this country - one obvious metric is strike activity, or the lack thereof - Obama's been about as progressive as we could hope for. I mean, Marxists can't have it both ways. You can't say, oh, the state is the executive committee of the ruling class and only responds to pressure from below, and then condemn the government for not being more leftist than the average reality TV watching American. 

Actually, I would argue that Obama is more self-consciously leftist than the average U.S. citizen. Sure, you can cherry pick polling data, but in terms of a consistent world-view and policy orientation, this administration has probably been more progressive than a solid majority of this country. Most Americans aren't in favor of government spending right now, and are even retrospectively opposed to the original recovery act.