Mr. Axelrod, I'll be blunt... [View all]

[I hate liars]

I'm sure that many of you, like I, receive regular requests for donations from OfA. The latest one to hit my inbox burned my behind because it originated from the desk of David "screw the base" Axelrod, and the insulting "I'll be blunt" subject line instantly reminded me of the moment in last Wednesday's debate that reflected what I like least about the President - his proclivity for giving ground before the negotiation has started.

Since I know the response I typed back to the marketing automation robot at OfA won't be read by human eyes, I wanted to share it here:

Mr Axelrod, I’ll be blunt. When I heard the President say in his first debate with Mitt Romney that they essentially see the Social Security situation the same way, and that he sees a need to “tweak” the system, I vowed on the spot that I would not donate to his campaign again, for two reasons:

1. Policy: Unless the “tweak” is to eliminate the cap on Social Security wages, then we’re talking about cutting benefits (like the Orwellian “chained CPI”), raising the retirement age, or both. At a time when taxes on the rich are near historic lows and “defense” spending has spun out of control, that’s not just bad policy, it’s also immoral.

2. Politics: On what planet does it make sense to minimize perceived differences between you and your opponent, unless your goal is to scare the Democratic base into believing that you also want to privatize Social Security?

The President and his campaign need to figure out whose side they are on, and make that choice clear to voters. Until then, I’ll hold onto my wallet.

If the election were closer and I was convinced that battling the Koch Bros' bottomless wallet made sense, I'd probably donate again. But I can't imagine that a lot of other Obama supporters weren't also put off by the President's statement about Social Security, and by the kind of hamfisted outreach that I received earlier. [/rant off]