Why Are Progressives Not Primarying Obama?

[Qin_Shi_Huangdi]

Now Obama is making noises about making “adjustments” to Social Security and Medicaid in order to get the budget balanced, and given Obama’s past negotiating strategy – give the Republicans everything they want from the get-go and then ask them what else they would like – that should be sending shivers of fear up everyone’s spine.

At best its going to be a couple of trivial cuts of a few billions after some “investigations” by committies.

Didn’t close Guantanamo, didn’t shut down Homeland Security, though Obama DID get us out of Iraq … on Bush’s timetable. Seems in no hurry to get out of Afghanistan.

One of his stated positions was winning in Afghanistan not running way from it.

@Der_Trihs

Then you haven’t been paying attention; even as early as his inviting that homophobic preacher to speak at his inauguration there was plenty of hate for him right here on the SDMB, much less elsewhere.

Rick Warren is a theological moderate and one of the more progressive Evangelicals he’s hardly someone like Falwell or Robertson. Not to mention just inviting someone to speak doesn’t mean you agree with him. After all I wouldn’t mind an atheist or a socialist or whatnot speak at an event hosted by me.

@Der_Trihs

Ah, the old argument that America is inferior to all the other countries that somehow can afford such benefits. A warped form of American exceptionalism that holds America to be uniquely incompetent.

We aren’t like Sweden or Norway for better or for worse.

Obama isn’t slightly to the right of progressives; he’s slightly to the left of the Republicans. If he was white and this was ten or so years ago, he’d be a Republican.

So George W Bush would have supported repealing DADT, and appointed people like Sotomayor or Kagan to the Supreme Court. I’m glad you think so well of him. On social issues he is a Progressive but one who’s pragmatic enough to see that shoving it down the mouth of the people is not the way you win. On economic issues he is like practically every mainstream politician in the West a neoliberal, if somewhat more skeptical of free trade and a rather statist one.

[Evil_Captor]

@Qin_Shi_Huangdi

At best its going to be a couple of trivial cuts of a few billions after some “investigations” by committies.

I am glad you are so sanguine on the topic, but given the way Obama has REPEATEDLY negotiated FOR everything the Republicans want on budget issues, I find myself unable to share your, um … to put it nicely … confidence.

One of his stated positions was winning in Afghanistan not running way from it.

Yes, he has made it clear he is not a progressive, the progressives need to let the Dems know this does not work for us.

We aren’t like Sweden or Norway for better or for worse.

Yeah, they are first-class Old World democracies, we are rapidly devolving into just another banana republic.

[Qin_Shi_Huangdi]

@Evil_Captor

I am glad you are so sanguine on the topic, but given the way Obama has REPEATEDLY negotiated FOR everything the Republicans want on budget issues, I find myself unable to share your, um … to put it nicely … confidence.

At best he’s made some cuts everyone can agree on, and that’s little penance for the 700 billion of the stimulus bill/.

Yes, he has made it clear he is not a progressive, the progressives need to let the Dems know this does not work for us.

I don’t see how crushing savages stuck in the 7th Century who believe in throwing acid in the face of schoolgirls is not progressive.

Yeah, they are first-class Old World democracies, we are rapidly devolving into just another banana republic.

:rolleyes: Demographics are completely different-they are fairly homogenous while we certainly are not. They don’t worry about defence spending.