Liberal frustration with Obama’s politics-as-usual
At a Boston rally for Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in October, protesters who were disappointed with President Barack Obama’s inaction on global AIDS relief funding interrupted his speech, chanting, “We’ll fight for you if you fight AIDS.” Obama had come to Boston to encourage local Democrats to get out the vote. Two years after Obama united the left behind what seemed like the most significant social movement in decades, he is struggling to keep that coalition together. Liberals are frustrated that the changes they expected to come with Obama’s election are still subject to the same corrupted political process that hampered their progress during past administrations. Obama’s supporters-turned-critics still consider Obama an ideological partner, but they wait for shared beliefs to be manifested in official action.
Not a Social Movement
The Obama campaign promised to transform the social fabric of America. As Timothy McCarthy, a lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, explained, the Obama campaign “liked to fashion itself as a social movement [that would] change society, not a presidential campaign.” Obama’s rhetoric suggested that his election would represent a drastic change, not only in the views of the man who would be signing the laws, but in the process by which government and society interacted.
Accordingly, one major source of tension has been Obama’s inability to dislodge social issues from political gridlock. Marco Chan, co-chair of Harvard’s Queer Students and Allies, explained that issues such as employment discrimination against gays “affect people’s lives every single day and shouldn’t be part of the political game. That’s where the frustration is coming from.” For progressives, Obama’s 2008 victory represented widespread American agreement on their core values. But, according to McCarthy, the notion of a broad progressive social movement “was an illusion.” Ultimately, Obama’s election was a political victory, driven by political realities like President Bush’s unpopularity, not a social transformation.
Reluctant Supporters
When the AIDS protesters reprised their chant, Obama shot back, “And if [the Republicans] win in Congress, they will cut AIDS funding, right here in the United States of America.” Abby Schiff, one of the protesters and a member of the Harvard College Global Health and AIDS Coalition, explained that the group chose its chant in order to walk “a fine line between getting Obama’s attention and showing we’re not his enemies.” Chan echoed this sentiment. “We’ll have their back when they do something courageous,” he said.
Progressives, then, still see Obama as an ideological partner, and in particular, as a partner against the conservative leadership of the Republican Party. Schiff separates Obama’s actions from his beliefs. “On many issues,” she said “[I get] the sense that Obama would rather do something else than what he’s doing.” Even if activists are disappointed with Obama’s inaction, they recognize that at least he operates under the same set of fundamental principles as they do. But desertion on the level of principle and belief could be a game-changer. Craig Altemose, executive staffperson at Students for a Just and Stable Future, an environmental advocacy group, told the HPR that he would abandon the Democrats if they “question the integrity of the climate science,” as many Republicans do. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell when exactly action or inaction bleeds into belief or principle.
Hopeless Dreams?
Progressive activists insist that Obama could renew their support with bold moves on the issues they care about. For Chan, that means a strong push to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and employment discrimination against gays; for Schiff, a request for $50 billion in global AIDS funding; for Altemose, engaging moderate Republicans on climate change. But halfway through his first term, Obama may need more than incremental change to win back the enthusiasm of his diverse coalition. Indeed, there may be no single action that Obama could take to reinvigorate the entire left. By, among other things, failing to close Guantánamo after he promised to do so in his first 100 days, Obama has lost the credibility needed to claim that an act made on behalf of one liberal group is also a sign of his support for the others. Now they all want him to do something for them. Speaking for progressives, McCarthy said, “We projected everything onto him and this campaign and this historic moment,” but there is “no way that any one person could embody all the hopes and dreams.”
Jeffrey Kalmus ’12 is the Webmaster.
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