Reply #24: I don't know about anyone else...

[laughingliberal]

but as one who others would label an 'anti-Obama poster' I disagree with your assessment.

"I think the most rabid anti-Obama posters have ideological motivations that involve getting people to give up on Democrats, or give up on voting and the current political system."

I have no illusions we are likely to get anyone elected nationally, anytime soon, who is not in one of the 2 parties. I have never sat out an election nor have I ever voted for anyone who is not a Democrat. And I've been voting a very long time. I supported Obama against Hillary in our caucuses here as I felt she was too corporate friendly for me. I believed Obama to be a little more of a populist.

" Or they lack imagination about how to push Obama left other than constantly criticizing his every move."

I haven't criticized his every move but I'm not of the opinion that applauding when he is promoting the Reagan school of economics is going to move him to the left. I don't know how to move him to the left or if it is even possible but yelling 'good job' when he moves right isn't likely to work. I went through the Clinton years believing the shift to the right I was seeing was necessary due to the Republican takeover of Congress, IOW a "pragmatic" take on it. I now believe I was wrong about that. I now believe our party leaders really have become right of center and are espousing policies reminiscent of Reaganism. My beliefs about this are based on what I see Arne Duncan doing to our public education (which is what Gingrich, et al have been pushing for years) and Obama's appointment to his deficit commission of known haters of SS and Medicare. I know of not one liberal on the commission. I would like to be proven wrong but the evidence mounts that he is more on board with the Reagan side of the party than the FDR side of the party.

As for trying to get people to give up on the Democratic Party, I see the liberal bashing here as an effort to suppress the liberal vote and get more Republicans and Blue Dogs into office in order to facilitate the move to the right.