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Obama, FISA, and Parties
by Jason Rosenbaum
The Seminal The FISA debacle finally came crashing down while I was on a plane heading towards San Francisco for a short vacation. I'm still out on the West coast, enjoying taking my mind off politics for a little bit, but I do have a few, interrelated thoughts on the situation and what it means for progressive politics: * This is not entirely unexpected. Obama has always had strong centrist tendencies. FISA is, unfortunately, an issue that doesn't rile a lot of Americans. This was an easy issue to play as a centrist.
* Elections matter. There are some that say the progressive movement's focus on elections, especially the primary of the presidential election, was counterproductive. They say we should be focusing on movement goals instead. I disagree. There are differences between Obama and McCain. Having Obama in the White House will make it much more likely progressive policies will be enacted.
* Elections aren't everything. Those movement folks have a point, though. We need progressive institutions as much as we need progressive electoral victories. Strong progressive institutions mean we can criticize candidates that do the wrong thing without losing out power. Groups like MoveOn are doing just that. We need more of them.
* Obama is a step forward. You have to walk before you can run. Rome wasn't built in a day. You get the idea - this is a process. After 30 years of Reagan and Bush, we can't expect a progressive to be elected immediately. Obama is a major step forward, but he's not the candidate we've been dreaming of.
* Obama can be moved. He has been pushed towards progressive positions in the past, and it can happen again. His grassroots backing is a blessing and a curse. If there is enough popular support for progressive policies, he will move. We need to figure out how to most effectively move Obama. I have a feeling this will be the main work of lots of progressives during an Obama administration. I'll probably have something more coherent once I get back in town, but for now, what are your thoughts? Can we turn Obama into a true progressive, both in the election and as President? Or should we be thinking beyond an Obama administration to 2016 and beyond? Jason Rosenbaum is a writer and musician currently residing in Washington D.C. He is interested in the intersection of politics and culture, media consolidation issues, and making sense out of our foreign policy disasters. He is also the webmaster for The Seminal and he can be reached at seminal[at]theseminal.com.
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