Don't Do It Obama

[Tom Rinaldo]

Don't push the Left's back against the wall and point at us with your finger, no matter how frustrated you may feel. We feel at least as frustrated, and we are more likely to bolt for the wilderness than fall into line in response to that type of treatment.

We can see the direction in which your ire is focused as you struggle to put together a health care package you can pass through Congress. You could have exhorted us to speak up louder for real reform but it seems you would prefer that we piped it down instead.

Preceding the 2004 Presidential elections a remarkable crop of Democratic candidates including, Howard Dean, John Kerry, Wes Clark, John Edwards and Denis Kucinich managed to harness our frustration and eagerness for change and hitch that energy to the Democratic Party wagon. And starting in 2004, after a disastrous 2002 mid term elections, Democrats began to turn around their fortunes. New grassroots based Democratic fund raising opportunities began emerging, and a then still popular war time President almost was unseated. Bet none of us despaired at falling short, and Democrats followed up with huge gains in 2006 and 2008, putting Democrats firmly in power today.

We did that together, the full spectrum of the Democratic Party, but what was new in the formula was a determined and sustained commitment from the Left. You became the leading Democratic candidate for President in 2008 Sir after you inherited the progressive mantle from most of the supporters of the 2004 Democratic candidates that I listed above. We had your back then, and we believed you would have our back later.

There can always be honest differences between allies about what is best moving forward, but only good faith efforts can hold a coalition together under times of stress. We came to the table when we were first called and we contributed there greatly, but now there is a new table set at the White House and it is starting to look like a smaller table with less room reserved for us.

Call us part of the problem rather than the solution and we inevitably will become more of a problem to you and less a party to helping you attain solutions. That simply is how it usually works. Back us off of common ground and eventually you will force us underground. The Republican Party marginalized their activist base back in the 90's and it went underground as a result. When it emerged again it was no longer a helpful partner, it had become a demanding task master that refuses to take any hostages.

You don't want that to happen to the Democratic Party, and we on the left who stood shoulder to shoulder with you these last several years don't want that to happen either. But it might still happen anyway, depending on your choices.