Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

Mitch Stewart, the Executive Director of Organizing for America, the bunch that send out fundraising emails over the signature of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, sent what to me is a really lame email today, after the Dems lost the race in Massachusetts.

Reading it, I think they just don’t get it. They don’t understand that their actions are catching up to their rhetoric. They don’t get that they’ve lied and failed to deliver, so bad things might happen to them.

Yesterday's disappointing election results show deep discontent with the pace of change. I know the OFA community and the President share that frustration.

We also saw what we knew to be true all along: Any change worth making is hard and will be fought at every turn. While it doesn't take away the sting of this loss, there is no road to real change without setbacks along the way.

We could have simply sought to do things that were easy, that wouldn't stir up controversy. But changes that aren't controversial rarely solve the problem.

Our country continues to face the same fundamental challenges it faced yesterday. Our health care system still needs reform. Wall Street still needs to be held accountable. We still need to create good jobs. And we still need to continue building a clean energy economy.

The President isn't walking away from these challenges. In fact, his determination and resolve are only stronger. We must match that commitment with our own.

But it won't be easy. Real change never is. For that reason, I am grateful you're part of this fight with us.

Thank you,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Notice he talks about “real change.” Obama has made some change, of course, and it’s better to have him in the White House than McCain if its change we want.

But basically, he has reneged on campaign promises and failed to deliver key changes like health care reform, closing Guantanamo, and so forth, that in many respects he is indistinguishable from Bush. With regard to the wars and killing innocent civilians, he may prove worse than Bush. His foreign policy stinks. He is allowing Israel to proceed with genocide, and supported the illegal overthrow of the elected president of Honduras.

We’re witnessing how he militarizes Haiti instead of offering the rapid relief they so desperately need. Who runs this country? The Pentagon? The Republicans?

No, Mitch, we are frustrated, but not only by yesterday’s election, which will indeed make healthcare reform less likely unless Democrats are willing to dig in and wait out an unpopular filibuster.

You bear some responsibility for our frustration by demanding support and contributions and then failing to deliver.

Our country continues to face the same fundamental challenges it faced yesterday.

Yes. You’re beginning to understand. We were promised change and didn’t get it.

Our health care system still needs reform.

Yes, and Obama caved easily on the public option, didn’t even push for single-payer, which is favored by the majority of Americans.

Wall Street still needs to be held accountable.

No, they need to be stopped. Usury has increased. Foreclosures have accelerated, not diminished. The “solutions” have not benefitted anyone but a tiny, almost negligible, percentage.

Banks are more profitable than ever. And although they can borrow money at essentially no cost, they are not investing in the economy or saving homes. This goes beyond accountability. And we know that they pay off both Congress and the President to have their way.

We still need to create good jobs.

This is Obama’s and the Democrat’s biggest failure, IMHO. You’re demonstrating that you don’t care at all about us, except that you want our contributions.

General Motors investors (banks, etc.) were bailed out, but workers lost their jobs. Those jobs won’t come back as production moves to Mexico or even to China. Obama’s “rescue” of GM likely cost jobs permanently.

Don’t be surprised if some of the voters are fed up enough to try something else. Massachusetts may be just the beginning. Not having a job is a great incentive to make change happen in the voting booth.

And we still need to continue building a clean energy economy.

So please get busy, and stop enriching your banker friends with this carbon credit scheme. Stop trying to fool the world using 2005 as the basis for carbon reduction goals (of course, Obama fooled no one in Copenhagen).

“Change” will continue to be the theme in future elections, I think—but that would be mostly at Democrats’ expense.

Permalink posted by Larry @ 1/20/2010 07:57:00 PM