A Short Note On The Democratic Party And The Progressive Left....

[ProSense]

102. This

"But taking argument by hyperbole for one's principal means is like serving a dinner composed of mounds of spice and little else; it will not be palatable and will not fulfill the purpose of a meal."

...tactic is the attempt to own the progressive title via hyperbole and rhetoric. If you start from a position of idealism, you can ignore reality and declare yourself more progressive than everyone else. Those who do so refuse to see that compromise (not the same as selling out) is part of reality. It was demonstrated clearly in the health care debate. Single payer is the best. Obama didn't pursue single payer (never promised to) so therefore, he's a sellout and a weak negotiator.

The best way to reject Obama's position is to "kill the bill." Why? Well, single payer will prevent people from dying. Doesn't matter if the health care law also prevents people from dying. More death as a result of the status quo is preferable to fewer deaths under the health care law because...Obama.

When you're arguing from the the most ideal position, you can call everyone else a sellout in prose. I remember some single payer advocates (not DUers) viciously attacking Bernie Sanders for stating that single payer never had the votes. It was at the point where he and many Democrats decided to fight to ensure passage of the strongest law possible.

Another example: How many people here would cut even a $1 from food stamps? Is the entire Senate Democratic caucus depraved for cutting $4 billion from the program?

What's the excuse?

If I were in the Senate, I'd have voted against it. In fact, I would have advocated increasing aid to the poor. I'd push to raise the federal minimum wage to $16 per hour. I'd push for free higher education, universal preK, subsidized after-school care for working parents, paid vacation and sick leave, single payer with dental and vision, social security benefits increase and lift the cap to increase the size of the trust fund.

I'm not in the Senate. I can sign petitions to support progressive legislation, but I don't believe that it's my way or the highway given the reality of Congress. Sure you can get a coalition to agree on the NSA and war, but where was the coalition on the public option? Where is the coalition on food stamps and a jobs bill? Without a coalition, you keep advocating, making the case in the strongest terms, but there's no reason to stand in the way of any progress at the end of the day.

If Bernie Sanders can say single payer never had the votes, why is it not OK to accept that reality? Accepting it doesn't mean it will never have the votes. It's a snapshot in time.