Radical left "progressives" are angry, frustrated and lashing out at President Obama for what they perceive as his many "sell outs" of the radical transformation of America that "change" was supposed to bring.
The Huffington Post still gamely tries to defend the president against his leftist critics, but read Daily Kos, Democratic Underground, Firedoglake or the recent Matt Taibbi article in Rolling Stone to get the passionate frustration that, despite the Democrats' takeover of the House, Senate and White House, the opportunity is being squandered.
"Stop the war"? Nope. Both "Bush" wars continue. The surge Sen. Obama opposed in Iraq, President Obama has now ordered to Afghanistan.
Single-payer, government-provided health care for all? Nope. "Obamacare" now looks like a windfall for the very health insurance companies denounced by candidate Obama.
Climate-change law to stop killing the planet? Nope. It passed the House and died in the Senate. The EPA's threat to impose CO2 limits without Congress approval is causing backlash even among Democrats. Obama's Copenhagen speech has been seen as toothless.
Amnesty for "undocumented workers"? Nope. Sen. Schumer promised a bill by September
– it hasn't even been introduced yet. Groups who view illegals as "undocumented Democrats" are livid at Obama's silence.As appalled as conservatives are by the president's successful, unconstitutional takeover of Wall Street, the auto industry, the mortgage industry and the completion of a political merger of the Fed and the Treasury, the radical left wanted much more. Disillusionment with Obama is growing among his hard-core, radical base.
I feel the liberals' pain. I believe I can help with some perspective.
As a conservative, I felt similar anguish during the Bush years. I understand being sold out.
Elected as a "compassionate" conservative, the Bush domestic agenda became the opposite of conservative principles of small government, low taxes and an "opportunity" society.
President Bush enjoyed Republican control of the House and Senate, too
– at least from 2000 to 2006. With the exception of the Jim Jeffords flip/bribe incident.During that time, while conservatives cheered the Bush Supreme Court nominees, Bush failed to advance a single conservative domestic legislative objective.
To the contrary, Bush teamed with Ted Kennedy on "No Child Left Behind" to enlarge the power and size of the federal education bureaucracy that ought to have been dismantled, with the money and the power returned to local communities.
Bush championed and signed a farm bill that made all farmers
– corporate and family – sharecroppers on Uncle Sam's plantation.Bush advocated and signed into law the largest entitlement expansion since the Great Society: the Medicare drug benefit.
Tragically, it was Bush, a Republican, who (channeling President Ford) sent out checks
– free money! – to stimulate the economy. Only to have Tom Daschle diss the small amount of the check as "not enough to buy a muffler."In his final months, President Bush opened the door (that Obama has marched his socialist armies through) to TARP, the bailout of the fat cats and the federal government takeover of the "too big to fail" companies.
"Frustrated"? "Angry"? I can tell you about frustration and anger when you realize that all your efforts to elect a president to champion your views are turning to dust.
I've been there.
Roger Hedgecock is the longtime top-rated radio talk host in San Diego, Calif., on KOGO and, more recently, a nationally syndicated daily radio host heard already in 75+ markets and on XM Satellite.
