Why The President Will Never Listen To Progressives
The Democrats lost the budget fight last week. Actually, it was more like a knockout than a loss. The budget that will be passed and implemented in the coming weeks, promises to set back setback recent economic growth as well as long term social policies Democrats have fought for over the past 30 years. And now that the GOP is in a stronger position going into the next budget debate (which starts in a month or so), you can assume progressive policies will continue to take a backseat.
After the budget deal was reached, the President took credit for the aversion of a government shutdown and praised the agreement as the biggest one-time spending cut in America’s history. As more details about what is contained within the budget is revealed, liberals will see just how badly this all went for them. You’d assume this would spur liberals to mobilize and begin to push the President to stop regressive policies. But it won’t.
President Obama has been keenly successful at turning the progressive base into an extension of his campaign rather than giving them the influence they expected to gain when he was elected. This is a major victory for the President and one that promises to keep progressives marginalized for the remainder of his Presidency. But how does a politician accomplish such a thing?
I think much of the blame points back to the proliferation of cable news. Cable news helped turn all kinds of political news coverage into a game of winners and losers focusing on political strategy rather than substantive discussions about benefits and consequences. Now, everyone from bus drivers to accountants are confident in their ability to provide strategic political guidance. Nowadays every-day conversations are doused with emphasis on what a politician or political party should do to position themselves to best an opponent. Those were the kinds of conversations you rarely heard outside of K Street or Capitol Hill in years past.
Democrats, in particular, habitually support positions that they don’t agree with because they’re convinced it will pay off in the near future when they gain a concession from the other party. But if you look at politics over the past 20 years, from a results standpoint, Democrats have lost a great many more policy fights than they’ve won on the national level.
This administration has been very direct about its intentions to ignore the will of its base. Last year, when former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs got fed up with what he perceived as liberal bashing of the President, he lashed out at what he called the “professional left” for whining. He even used the kind of inflammatory and exaggerated characterizations that are more appropriate for a Fox News host than someone responsible for maintaing a relationship with the media (which, by the way, includes lefties).
What Gibbs wanted from progressives was silence by way of faith. The administration wanted liberals to trust that their best interests were being served from a strategic standpoint and avoid criticizing the President’s policies and decisions. Unfortunately, liberals bought into this drivel and have remained mostly defensive of the Obama as the administration becomes more influenced by corporate interests and less preoccupied about fixing the damage done to the working class by the previous Administration.
One thing that the public should remember is that there are people who are paid handsomely to strategize and influence the media and its publics. As a member of the American Association of Political Consultants I know this to be a fact. Political consultants work on overall campaign strategy, radio and TV ads, read and conduct polls, and advise sitting politicians on what decisions strengthen their position in the short and long term. It is their job to c0njole and convince the American public to side with their clients.
But who needs strategic moves when the American public willingly plays along? What Gibbs referred to as “whining” I refer to as exercising the only power you have politically as an individual citizen of the United States. All you can do in a representative Democracy is complain about what you don’t like. Whether that means blogging, tweeting, writing members of Congress, commenting on message boards and publication sites, organizing protests, or joining interest groups, whining is all you have.
By asking liberals not to whine, the Administration essentially asks that a segment of the population give up their political power and become unofficial members of their team of political strategists in lieu of holding them accountable for their decisions. By agreeing to be silent in the interest of strategy, you not only give up basic American rights to freedom of speech and political participation, you also willfully participate in the political manipulation of yourself. And as is clear by the current budget fight, there is rarely any compensation for such willful acquiescence.
Rather than pursuing a role in the administration’s outreach plan, liberals should be demanding that the administration’s pursue a political strategy that appeals to them. Otherwise, the left’s relationship to the administration will continue to be akin to a business making consumers pay to view their advertisements.
I hear a lot of liberals argue that conservatives stick together and that’s the reason for their success. I agree. But members of the conservative base are also known to strongly believe in and support policies that have been proven to be detrimental for them time and time again. That’s not the kind of “victory” progressives should seek.
Posted in Cable News, Campaigns and Politics, Media Strategy @ 9:55am 
Government, Political consultants, Politics, Progressives
As usual, I am greatly ambivalent about all of what happened this weekend. It kind of reminds me of what I do at my own job, although admittedly on a minute scale.
I tend to Sit firmly in some muddled middle ground between knowing that POTUS is giving away the store and feeling like he is somehow making Chicken Salad out of Chicken Ish.
My constant frustration is that at the end of the day, for all the complete insanity that takes place, POTUS is operating with his hands tied…Tied by both a Base of support that Roots for him, but doesnt truly Support* him AND by a media culture obsessed with ginning up controversy.
* Support isnt necessarily Blind Acceptance. Support is about actively supporting the end Goal by doing what is necessary. November 2010 has taught us that the Democratic base cannot be counted on to Support the goals that they claim are important by holding EVERYONE accountable. EVERYONE.
I think the idea that POTUS operates with his hands tied speaks to my issue
with citizens becoming part of anyone’s political strategy. A President
whose party controls the Senate’s hands are never tied unless you’re
speaking only to specific procedural issues. But procedure is only a smart
part of politics. That’s why I prefer to see Americans discuss whether or
not they like a particular policy rather than arguing about whether the
President could have done this or that.
History does not remember political machinations, it remembers the
consequences and gains from policies that were implemented. I think people
have to ask themselves, where they part of the machinations or the
substance. I’d say today, most Americans are a part of the former.
When it comes to “support,” I’m in favor of supporting policies not
politicians unless we’re talking about electoral support meaning I can vote
for you now and bash you when you do something I don’t like. From a citizen
standpoint, no politician should expect continued support, in particular
when they haven’t made a case for it. The Democrats did not strategize
appropriately around the November elections (example: I follow politics very
closely and could not tell you what their priorities were/are). They lost as
a consequence. If there weren’t consequences to lack of strategy there’d be
no need for political consultants. It validated my interest area if nothing
else. ha!
Then the question becomes…Does the Average American care enough to REALLY get behind Policies and programs to alter how things are done in this nation.
The people ARE fed up. Thats why The party in Power has caught an asswhooping in the last three elections. I question, though, If the people as a whole are sufficiently engaged to participate in the manner we both believe necessary.
People are conditioned (barely) to Vote every two years…if that. Then they go back tothe game/Reality show.
06 was a repudiation of an unpopular president who wasnt on the ballot.
08 was a repudiation of said president, even though he wasn’t on the ballot. Obama was the anti-Bush and 08 was the Period at the end of the 06 sentence.
10 was a repudiation of who was in power. Everything bad that happened was laid at the feet of who was in power. Those in power didnt Speak to what was done to make things better and the consequences of a different course and didnt distinguish themselves enough in those two years to present enough of a distinction. Thus…the ass whooping.
I DO believe Americans care. But I also believe we’re all confused and feel
helpless. If you had to answer the question, “where does Americans’ power
lie as a group?” what would you say?
We’ve witnessed a slow deterioration of our lives in this country…in order
to fix it we have think long term. But everything we feel EMPOWERED to do is
short sighted–you mentioned kicking a party out every two years. Not only
is that ineffective, it’s counterproductive. Example: Democrats control
Congress, pass a healthcare bill. A few months later, Americans get fed up
with Dems and elect a Republican Congress who gets the Senate to pass and
President to sign off on a budget that all but defunds most of the program.
Another thing about getting fed up and kicking parties out of power,
Americans have boiled their participation in government down to who they
vote for. But voting has to be complemented with other forms of group power,
the biggest modern example being unions. There’s no coincidence that the
demise of unions has accompanied a decrease in respect and regard for labor.
To take that back to political strategy, if the GOP can convince Americans
that we all as average Americans (laborers) are evil drains on society, why
can’t Democrats come up with messages that state otherwise? That’s why I
think you have to make’em work for it. Otherwise, you continue to eat up
whatever happens while your political party says “we HAD to, there was
NOTHING we could do to stop them.” Well if YOU can’t stop anything and you
have no power, then why should I vote for you?
That doesn’t answer your question about whether Americans will get behind
policies and programs that alter things…this country is very bogged down
with people wanting to ensure others are held back. (Did you see the twitter
convo I had where college graduates told me that they should be guaranteed a
better lifestyle than someone who didn’t attend. HOW DISGUSTING!) I don’t
see any “good” happening in this country until Americans realize that a win
for someone else isn’t a loss for them. This labor guy in the NY Times said
there was a time in this country when an American would see that someone’s
company gave them an added benefit, and they would say, “hey I’m going to
ask my job for that.” But now, they say “hey, if I don’t have that NEITHER
SHOULD HE!” if that doesn’t show a change in consciousness I don’t know what
does!
This country’s ignorance of History is Kicking its ass on the DAILY.
I have always been rather Bothered by the insistence on Politicians to focus on advances of Math and Sciences (both worthy pursuits, mind you) but no one EVER talks about how important it is to TEACH children about how this country came to be great (flaws and all) and allow them to see what has truly worked.
People have NO sense of what to do next. What happens in regard to long term Budget issues is pivotal to the future of this country. It is clear to me that 95% of Americans have no sense of how we REALLY got here…what is necessary to turn the tide…and What happens if we dont fix it.
The media is completely complicit in this dumbing down and shows no interest in Fixing it.
I totally agree.
Two things: Remember, there is a vested interest (by SOME) in keeping
Americans ignorant about how we got here. So as you know, that’s
intentional. Growing up in Virginia textbooks made slavery sound like a fun
day down at the farm. Funny, cause that same subset of folks HATES that
authoritarian countries teach their citizens altered versions of history
because it intereferes with their foreign policy agenda.
Other thing: your point about the media is well taken. I noted to a friend
last year that the media is COMPLETELY dominated by Congress. Why? Because
there are 535 different folks the media can contact to coon on camera i.e.
entertain viewers. And none of the 535 have allegiance to anything but
themselves so the commentary can be as sensational as they’d like.
How should liberals demand that Obama support more progressive policies? Conservatives have gained the allegiance of the GOP by showing that they will vote out moderate (and not moderate) GOP Representatives & Senators if they are not sufficiently conservative. I’m thinking of the ousting of Bob Bennett in UT, the sacrifice of the DE senate seat by nominating Christine O’Donnell, etc. I can’t think of comparable examples on the left where someone was pushed out for being insufficiently liberal.
There are different factions of the Republican base but they all generally agree on the core principles of the Republican platform: lower taxes, strong national defense, smaller government. I can’t articulate the core principles of the Democrats’ platform as easily and so what is there that binds us together as one party. The diversity within the Democratic party is beneficial when you can attract a big tent, ie- the Congressional Democrats after the 2006/08 elections but it also hampers the party if it isn’t clear what they are all collectively for.
I think Americans care enough to acknowledge that they are mad but not enough to understand the roots of their anger and frustrations. The GOP and its corporate backers have skillfully channeled that anger toward the Tea Party and to be against Obama’s policies. But those policies are not dramatically different from how GW Bush ended his term, especially among the fiscal issues that the Tea Party purports to care about. There is a big step from being pissed off to informing yourself to understand what you are mad about and why and then taking steps to correct the problem that you see. Most people aren’t going to do all of that. It requires work. They’d rather someone tell them what to think about their problem and then be outraged at whoever that person suggests. Increasing your civic engagement is hardwork and we barely vote every 4 years let alone every 2 years for congressional elections and in odd years for local/municipal elections. Actually organizing around an issue is a bridge to far for most people.