Bill Moyers says Obama Must Fight, Not Finesse

Bill Moyers says Obama Must Fight, Not Finesse
Award-Winning Journalist Disses Dems as 'Spineless'
by Patrick Gavin
PBS's Bill Moyers issued a tough critique of the Democratic Party on Friday night on HBO's "Real Time With Bill Maher."
Bill Moyers has been a frequent critic of the Republican Party over the years, making his critique of the Democratic Party on 'Real Time' more exceptional. (Photo: AP)Moyers, whose comments focused on the recent health care debate, said that "too many Democrats have had their spines surgically removed."
Moyers, a White House press secretary during the Johnson administration who went on to win over 30 Emmys and countless other awards during his subsequent journalism career, has been a frequent critic of the Republican Party over the years, making his critique of the Democratic Party on "Real Time" more exceptional.
"The problem is the Democratic Party," said Moyers. "This is a party that has told its progressives — who are the most outspoken champions of health care reform — to sit down and shut up. That's what Rahm Emanuel, in effect, the chief of staff of the White House, told progressives when they stood up as a unit in Congress and said, no public insurance option, no health care reforms."
Moyers said that, over the years, the Democratic Party "has become like the Republican party — deeply influenced by corporate money."
"I think Rahm Emanuel, who is a clever politician, understands that the money for Obama's reelection would come primarily from the health industry, the drug industry and Wall Street, and so he is a corporate Democrat who is destined, determined that there would be something in this legislation — if we get it — that will turn off those powerful interests."
Moyers had some advice for President Barack Obama, as well.
"There's a fear that Barack Obama will become the Grover Cleveland of this era," said Moyers. Grover Cleveland was a good man, but he became a conservative Democratic president because he didn't fight the interests. ... I would much rather see Barack Obama be Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt loved to fight. He came into office and railed against the malefactors of great wealth, and he was glad to take them on. ...
"I think if Obama fought, instead of finessed so much, he stood up and declared for what is really the right thing to do and what is really needed instead of negotiating the corners away, instead of talking about bending the curve, and talking about actuarial rates, if he were to stand up and say, 'We need this because we're a decent country', I think it would change the atmosphere."
Moyers said that conservatives have dominated the debate over health care lately. "In the last few weeks, the right wing has been winning the debate. How [Obama] lost control of the narrative, I don't understand. Well, yes, I do. He didn't find the right metaphors, as you were just saying, and he didn't speak in simple powerful moral language. He was speaking like a policy wonk to the world of Washington, not a country of people who are hurting. ...
"Here's the party that lost and the conservative movement that was discredited over the last eight years .... They're setting the agenda for a Democratic Party that controls the White House, the Senate and the House. Something's wrong in that."
© 2009 Politico.com

Jurist Fury Sounds Hollow Already...

Obama hasn't made a pick for the Supreme Court yet, but many on the Right are indicating their fury that Obama make pick someone more liberal than they would pick.
Bush got to pick his guys, and they have been pretty damn conservative. So why shouldn't Obama get to pick a more liberal candidate?
There is too much "Your candidate is an activist hack, my candidate is fair and balanced" going on here already. As far Right as the court has moved lately, any centrist move will be a move to the Left. But regardless of Left, Right or Center, it is a good bet that any Supreme Court Nominee will be a certified Corporatist and will make sure that business continues as usual.

Obama on Interbeing

Heard Prez Obama talk about Education the other night. He said:

"And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country -- and this country needs and values the talents of every American."

It is good to hear the president talking about how we are all dependant on each other, about how we can't make decisions without thinking about how we will impact others.

But what he said could be applied to the economy as well:

It’s not just laying off your workers; it’ laying off your country.

It’s not just denying working capital to your creditors; it’s denying working capital to your country.

It’s not just ripping off your investors and customers; it’s ripping off your country.

It’s not just avoiding paying your taxes; it’s failing to invest in your country.

Right and Left Ready to Declare Obama a Failure

Almost a month and nothing has changed?!?!?

Americans are addicted to the 5-minute fix. You know, that fictional wave of the magic wand that happens at the end of television shows where no matter what kind of trouble our heroes got into, it is all magically made better in the last 5 minutes of the show. This is great for episodic television producers who need everything reset for the beginning of next week’s episode. But in real life it doesn’t work that way. Catastrophe can strike in an instant, but healing takes time.

Almost everyone seems to have had 5-minute fix fantasies about our new President. Liberals believed he could undo decades of corporate cancer and economic addictions with the wave of a hand and few speeches. But even more surprising is the extent to which conservatives must have secretly believed Obama could magically change Washington and the world. Yes there have been some fairly incoherent arguments against the Stimulus Bill from the Right, but when tempers really flair most of my Republican friends end up saying something like, “Obama has been president for nearly a month and nothing has changed!”

I was expecting lots of liberals to be disappointed when the whole world could not be remade in 100 days, but now it looks like the conservatives may have secretly believed Obama was magic after all.

Here’s my advice:
Lefties, you still have a lot of work to do. Obama made it clear during the election that he was not going to change everything himself. He is expecting people (that’s you and me) to push him and to push Congress to make progressive changes. Quit feeling betrayed and keep advocating and educating to change the things that need changing. You don’t get a vacation just because one guy got elected to one job. It was easy to blame Bush/Cheney for obstructing all your best ideas—maybe too easy. Keep the heat on and Obama will respond better than the last group, but he was never the great liberal messiah—he’s just an intelligent and reasonable guy who is willing to wade in and try his best. Help him out.

Righties, chill out. Take a deep breath. It sucks when your team doesn’t win. But you let that last group mismanage your team to the point where it is not recognizable any more. Quit acting like you didn’t approve of actions that resulted in a huge loss of dignity, honor, cash and lives over the last 8 years. Bring some real ideas to the table and don’t reward Republican politicians for just saying NO every time Obama says anything. Enough with the fake outrage. You can admit that you are angry, confused and sickened and not lose your identity. Conservative used to be a good brand with some solid truths behind it—rediscover that and make a contribution.

Everybody, Admit we have long term systemic problems. Our political and economic systems did not get like this overnight and there is no overnight solution. Our culture did not get to be like this overnight. Obama cannot provide us with a 5 minute fix. All the anger and denial and negotiating makes perfect sense. They are all symptoms of mourning. We thought we had our addictions under control. We thought they wouldn’t cause problems in your professional and political lives. But we are not in control. It has taken us decades to screw our system up this bad. It is going to take decades of work to reshape our systems and rebalance our lives and our culture. First we have to admit we have a problem. Then we need to be honest about what caused them and what we can do to avoid them. But most importantly, we need to rediscover our basic humanity and take small steps everyday toward the culture that we want to live in. There are no sidelines here. There is nowhere to hide. The sooner we get to acceptance, the sooner we can begin to heal. We need to be the change we want to see in the world or else our show might not get picked up for another season.

A DC Story

The people wanted change.

So George had to go home.

And now Obama Runs DC.

He just needs a Jammaster Jay...

Inaugural Day

It is Inaugural Day

A new day

A new beginning

Every day is

A new chance to say "Yum" instead of "Yuck"

A new chance to open our hands instead of making a fist

A new chance to express our best intentions

A new chance to act on behalf of others

Every day is inaugural day

Every day we get this chance

To ask, What Now?

But some days it is easier to remember

That today is inaugural day

A new day

--------------------------

Congratulations to the Obamas and America!

Love and Peace

-- Jay

Deja Movie

"Suffering ritual-humiliation for the sake of loved ones, these men pawn their dignity for economic survival. Surprisingly bittersweet moments and well-intentioned social commentary imbue this raucous, feel-good comedy "

Oooops. That was the description for the Full Monty, not a description of Obama's latest press conference. But for some reason that line-up and that pose just seemed familiar. What do you think?

Glad I’m Not a Pundit

I’m glad I’m not getting paid to give my opinion about the election. I’m not sure what it all means. I’m not even entirely sure what I am feeling right now. I keep swinging round and round from one thing to another:
I’m afraid it’s all a dream and I am going to wake up to President McCain.
I’m so happy, I want to skip and jump.
I’m really impressed with Obama and his family.
I’m so afraid he will be just another politician after all this.
I feel lots of sympathy for the conservatives that got hosed by Bush & Co. then got disappointed by McCain and Palin.
I’m also afraid that the rightwing media (especially talk radio) will whip up a bunch of hate and anger right when the world could use some cooperation.
I’m so disappointed that all those Anti-Gay-Marriage propositions passed.
We make two steps forward and one step back, but always forward again.
I wish I could see Martin Luther King Jr’s reaction to all this.
I’m so happy my daughters could see this and that I got to see their reactions of delight.
I’m so looking forward to January 20th.
This is what a peaceful revolution looks like.

------------------------------------------------

Picture from: http://www.patrickmoberg.com/november-4-2008.jpg

The Polls are Closed, America is Open for Business Again

Excuse me for a second:

WHOOOOO HOOOOOO !!!!

Wow! Talk about a home run.

Congratulations to President Elect Barack Obama.

I am truly moved.

I watched the returns come in with my girls.
And I feel like we have just helped write a new chapter in the history books.

Did I say Wow?

Now the real work begins for all America and all Americans.

So you want to save the Republican Party?

I have a lot of conservative friends and relatives. I have lots of liberal friends as well, but this is for my conservative friends.

I don’t have a huge audience on this blog, and I probably won’t say this as well as the concept deserves, but I’m going to give it try because I think it is important. I wondered after 2000 and 2004 if I could have done more, if there were people I could have reached out to but didn’t. So this election season I have been trying to talk to everybody I can. So here goes.

Real conservatives should not be very happy with the Republican Party and its leadership right now. The Republican leadership is decidedly pro-corporate and pro-Wall Street. They use traditional conservative language to carry conservative voters but their actions are all about big finance and big business. They are only socially conservative at election time. Just look at the recent Wall Street “bailout” to see how real this split is.

Democrats have the same problem. The Democratic leadership is very pro-corporate and pro-Wall Street. And they only are socially liberal during elections. The “bailout” reveals this split as well.

So how can traditional conservatives save the Republican Party? Vote for Barack Obama!

This is where I need you to stifle your knee-jerk reactions and actually think about this a little. The Republican leadership does not respect traditional conservatives. They have abused their power, let Wall Street and the huge corporations run wild. And then they offer up John McCain as their new party leader? Conservatives have never trusted McCain. He has only started to “talk” conservative after he lost the 2000 election and bowed to the Rove-Cheney pro-corporate machine that put George W. Bush into office. McCain has done everything he can to become the heir apparent of a pretty questionable group of big business interests. He doesn’t represent traditional conservatives. Yes, he brought on Sarah Palin to try and bring in the conservative voters at the last minute. But the administration John McCain will put into place will be the same pro-corporate administration that we have had for the last eight years. It will not be a conservative administration. And most importantly, the leadership of the Republican Party will have be reassured by a McCain victory that traditional conservative voters will keep on checking any name with an “R” next to it as long as they pretend to speak conservatively at election time.

“I don’t like John McCain, but how can I bring myself to vote for a Democrat?” Good question. Remember, the Democrats have the same split as the Republicans: pro-corporate leadership versus true ideological voters. The Democratic leadership did not want Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate. They wanted Hillary Clinton, an inside member of the pro-corporate Democratic leadership which has been ruining the Democratic Party for decades. But Obama got enough new voters involved that he was able to squeak out a victory over the Democratic establishment. Obama is a Constitutional law expert who knows how to build an old fashioned political campaign based on voter support instead of corporate support.

Is Obama the perfect candidate? No. But he is the best one we have in the race right now. And I am sure that his administration will not look like the same old Bush era or Clinton era pro-corporate administrations we have been suffering under for the last twenty years because his campaign has not been a typical campaign. He is more likely to put a team in place that will respect the Constitution and clean up some of the mess. Those are the reasons I am voting for Obama. And I genuinely believe that the best thing that could happen to the Republican Party would be for them to lose the White House this time. This would give traditional conservatives a chance to reassert themselves and throw out the current leadership. I believe a healthier and more conservative Republican Party will emerge after an Obama victory. But if McCain wins, the same failed leadership will stay in charge behind the scenes and in every administration appointment. McCain owes the current leadership too much to really get in and make the changes America needs right now.

Obama on the other hand will not have won the White House because of big business or the traditional party leadership. A lot has been said about the unusual amounts of money Obama has raised in his campaign. Keep in mind that he raised that money from lots of ordinary people not lobbyists for big companies. So while Obama is putting Washington agencies back on a constitutional footing, Republicans can clean their house as well.

I believe this will result in two stronger parties that are more responsive and representative of the actual ideologies of more voters, conservative and progressive. And that is more democratic and more American than what we have now, where a few rich corporations and their owners have too much influence over the leadership of both parties.

So think about it. And I encourage anyone who wants the values of actual voters to be better represented in Washington to vote for Barack Obama. It might just save the Republican and the Democratic Parties.

---Your friend, Jay Larsen

Conventional Thinking

I don’t consider myself to be a Democrat or a Republican.
The two party system has hijacked the Constitution and sold it to Corporations in ways never anticipated by the Founding Fathers. And typically the choice for president is usually a choice between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
So I have usually cast my presidential vote against the Tweedle Dumbest of the two choices. That is sad and frustrating.

These last two weeks I have watched the conventions.
I didn’t watch all of them. But it appears I watched more than most people I have talked to.
Now I know that the real purpose of the conventions is to solidify the base, meaning to get those people who habitually vote for your party to vote for your party and not do something unspeakable like vote for the other candidate. So I know that I am not the primary audience for political conventions. I’m not supposed to be impressed. And most of the time I am just frustrated by the dangerous voodoo group thinking that goes on at these things. And yet still I watch like a 5th grade boy watching a train wreck.

But this year was a little bit different. This year it is very clear to me that there can be a lot of difference between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. The last 8 years have made that very clear to me. And when the Tweedle Dumb Party is willing to purge voter rolls, cage voters, flip electronic voting machines, physically stop vote counting, and get the Supreme Court to call the election, then the Tweedle Dee party needs to bring twice as many people to the party to overcome the foul play.

Last week I was camping with my family the night Barak Obama gave his big speech. So I did not see the stadium crowd or the fake pillars. But I did listen to what he said. And once again I found myself wanting to believe that this particular candidate actually means most of what he says. I found myself crossing my fingers and hoping and praying that Obama gets a chance to be the next president. There were topics I wish he had talked about. There are some things he wants to do that I disagree with. But I do think that if he can survive the Republican dirty tricks (you know the ones they pull every September and October during elections) that Obama just might be the most genuine and charming person to run for president in my life time. And with all the crap Bush and Company has done, I think we could use a Constitutional Law Expert in the White House. Call me a radical, but I think that is extremely relevant experience for the job.

This week I watched John McCain give his big speech. After several days of Republican Voodoo Economics reruns and faith-based praise for free and unfettered businesses with few facts, I was ready to hear what the candidate had to say. I could see that the base was jazzed about their VP. I don’t get it, but they think she is great. And I sat through the complete lies they told about their competition. And McCain finally got up and told us what he wanted to do. And I found myself hoping and praying that if McCain wins the election that he only means half of what he says. Oh, and John, the “P” in “POW” does not stand for President. And by the way America does not need another War President.

I think it is astounding that neither party wanted or expected either of these two people to be their candidates for president. Somehow the people snuck into the primary process and surprised the pundits, the experts, the talking heads, the lobbyists, and the parties’ favorites. So maybe things will be different no matter who gets elected. I hope so. But I also hope it is Obama. I hope enough new voters have registered in enough states that it overwhelms the usual attempts to monkey with the results. If the Republicans steal 5 million votes, I hope Obama has 10 million more than they expect.

Either way. Whoever wins. It will still be the job of the American people to stand up and be heard. To make it very clear to our representatives that they work for the people, not for corporations. I don’t think Republican voters want to vote against their own interests. I just think they don’t follow up and pay attention. They believe the advertising slogans and don’t read the ingredients. And Democrats have the same problem to a slightly lesser degree. (Would that be a Tweedle Degree?)

Either way, I still believe that it is inherent in human nature to be social beings. To reach out and care for those around us. To gather people in and welcome them at our hearth. To feed the hungry. To care for the sick. That is the way most people act and want to act. We need to remember that, to encourage our natural humanity and not let it be twisted by the artificial isolation created by our corporate/consumer world of cubicles and cars and TV sets in every room. This is still a human world. And I still have hope. Even if that is not the Convention-al thinking.

I Want To Believe...

Alrighty then, Obama is most likely the Democratic Candidate for President.

I want to believe that he and we can change this country.

I want to believe that he is different from other politicians.

I want to believe.

But I am prepared by experience to be disappointed.

But I am pretty damn sure that Hilary and McCain will disappoint.

They have sold out to the corporate oligarchs quite publicly in the past.

Barack might sell out.

He might have sold out already and just be putting on a good show.

But I want to believe.

But if voting were all it took to make real changes, it would be illegal.

We will have to do more than just vote to change this country.

But I will vote.

And I will vote for the Constitutional Law Professor, Barack Obama.

Because I want to believe.

------------------------------

Also, read this speech by Chris Hedges: http://www.alternet.org/democracy/86973/?page=entire

It is long and dense and depressing, but well worth the effort. Here is a quote:

Read Antigone, when the king imposes his will without listening to those he rules or Thucydides' history. Read how Athens' expanding empire saw it become a tyrant abroad and then a tyrant at home. How the tyranny the Athenian leadership imposed on others it finally imposed on itself. This, Thucydides wrote, is what doomed Athenian democracy; Athens destroyed itself. For the primary instrument of tyranny and empire is war and war is a poison, a poison which at times we must ingest just as a cancer patient must ingest a poison to survive. But if we do not understand the poison of war -- if we do not understand how deadly that poison is -- it can kill us just as surely as the disease.
Hope, St. Augustine wrote, has two beautiful daughters. They are anger and courage. Anger at the way things are and the courage to see they do not remain the way they are.

Edwards Endorses Obama

Edwards Endorses Obama

I was originally a John Edwards supporter before he dropped out of the race.
Obama was my second choice. I had hoped that Edwards would endorse Obama, but Edwards said when he dropped out that he would not endorse anyone until the voters had decided.
I guess John Edwards has looked at the math and decided that the voters have decided and that the Democratic race is finished and Barak Obama has won.
Now someone with a basic understanding of math should explain it to Hillary Clinton.
Unless she feels that listening to math experts would be too elitist.

Obama Speaks About Race in America

Read the Full Text Here: My favorite part is reprinted below.

"In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

The Family That Caucuses Together…

Saturday we held the Democratic Caucuses in Washington. Turn out was double what the party officers expected. The depressing thing there is that last time we had 2% participation, so this record turnout means we got 5% participation. Not very democratic.

In the Larsens’ neck of the woods, they had consolidated all the precincts from Marysville, Arlington, Granit Falls and the surrounding areas (at least 40 precincts) into one place. We arrived an hour early and there was already a line out into the parking lot. They stopped letting people get in line at 45 minutes after start time.

It was crowded. It was noisy. It was confusing. The people at the sign up desks were giving people false information. I heard people being told that they could only caucus for Hillary or Obama, not any of the other candidates. The site coordinator kept telling people that they should feel free to sign in, pick a candidate and leave. He promised them that their votes would count even if they left. Even thought there were many small precincts that didn’t end up with delegates because nobody stayed.

Evelyn and I found ourselves being consulted as experts, because we had attended a single training session and printed out the rules from the party web site.

Evelyn ended up being the Huckleberry Precinct Chairperson, I ended up being the Precinct Secretary, and Siona was the Precinct Tally Clerk. We were also the only three people from our precinct to stay. The other tree participants signed in an left. Precinct official results: 5 votes for Obama, 1 vote for Kucinich, 0 votes for Hillary. Delegates from our precinct: 2 for Obama. Evelyn and I are now Precinct Delegates and must go to the next caucuses on April 5th or we will lose our representation at the next level. Siona is an Alternate Delegate.

So there you have it. Democracy in action. Messy, sloppy and loaded with confusion and peer pressure. But when you watch CNN they make it sound so simple and clean.

State wide in Washington Obama got the most delegates by a 2 to 1 margin.

More later if I have the time.

Old Elvis or Young Elvis?

Well, Super Tuesday gave us a tie. So I guess we go into overtime. First Democrat to fumble loses. In his cartoon above, Mr. Fish says it is a choice "between the lesser of two Elvises." I don't know about you, but I always liked young Elvis better.

I watched all 5 of the candidate speaches last night and Obama has a presence and energy that is very different from the other politicians. "We are the ones we have been waiting for." Any fan of Ghandi has to love that line. Will Obama deliver on his promises of change if he is elected? That is the 12 Trillion Dollar Question (this years Federal Budget X 4 years). But he was the only candidate I heard who said he was sure not everything would go as planned and that we would make mistakes, but that we would not give up.

I was also encouraged by the record numbers of young people participating this year and by the higher number of Democratic voters, as compared to Republican voters, in most states.

On to the next events: Democratic Caucuses in Washington State on Saturday.

Yes We Can Video

Check it out. Dig it if you can. Ignore it if you can't.


Rachel Sklar at Huffington Post writes this about the video:
There are a few behind-the-scenes things about the video that are important to note. The first is that it really does seem to have been done independently from the campaign. Democrats have a much, much deeper bench of creative talent on all sides (music, film, advertising) and it's always freely offered, but the campaigns are typically very cautious about encouraging such efforts (cautionary tale: Kerry '04). I heard from a source inside the Obama campaign that they've had many offers for explicit celebrity support that have been gently discouraged (see the wisdom of George Clooney here). Who knows what might have happened if the campaign had been asked, but numerous sources from inside the campaign say that, nope, they learned about it when they saw it online (literally, from one staffer: "Supporters of ours independently produced it. Have to say, though, that it was pretty cool when we saw it online."). Another campaign insider not on staff learned of it via email forward. "The whole campaign has encouraged volunteers to take the initiative and make a difference — host a fundraiser, debate party, post policy ideas," he said. "Here's an example of that extended to the celebrity realm."That's the official campaign position, in any case: A link to the video was included in a campaign email this afternoon from John Kerry, who said the video "came from the bottom up, not the top down, created by people who have been touched by this campaign."