Gall Can't Substitute For Lack Of A Backbone

Yesterday I was reminded of a phrase my grandmother used to utter (usually under her breath) when I was just a child. It was "He's (She's) sure got a lot of gall!" It referred to a person who was expecting or asking for a lot more than they had earned or deserved. And that's the way I felt yesterday about President Obama.

I am a progressive (or liberal, leftist, socialist -- pick your term) and I make no apologies for that. When I supported and voted for Barack Obama in 2008 I had thought I was supporting a like-minded candidate, who would turn this country around and save it from the disastrous policies of the Republicans. After all, he promised to cover all Americans with health insurance, rein in Wall Street greed, create jobs, stop the Iraq & Afghan wars, close Guantanamo prisons, eliminate the Bush tax cuts for the rich, and make life better for ordinary citizens.

Those are all things that needed to be done to put this country back on the right path, and at that time it sounded like he was the candidate that was needed. The problem is that none of those things were accomplished -- some were done in a half-hearted and ineffectual way, and others were not done at all. Time after time he and the Democrats (all but a few progressives) knuckled under to the Republicans, and basically wound up continuing the same failed "corporate-first" policies of his predecessor.

After all of that I was already very disappointed with the performance of the president, but then came the debt ceiling "deal". The president and his Democratic cohorts once again caved in to the Republicans, even though they had the position of strength. They agreed to massive cuts (maybe even to Medicare and Social Security) while allowing the rich to keep their tax cuts. What could (should) have been "shared sacrifice" was turned into just toss the elderly, workers, children, and poor under the bus.

So I was already unhappy when I went to my mailbox yesterday and discovered a single piece of mail in it. It was a letter from Barack Obama (or at least his campaign committee). He wanted me to send him some money! Ostensibly it was so he could get elected and finish the job of making this country better for ordinary Americans. Finish the job? How about doing just one thing without caving in to the Republicans!

I must admit that the first words that sprang to mind were "He's got a lot of gall!" -- he may not have a backbone, but he's certainly got far more than his share of gall. And what terrible timing! You would think he (or his campaign committee) would be too embarrassed after his bending over for the Republicans to actually ask progressives for money for quite a while -- at least give them time to cool off.

They just wasted the price of printing and postage on me. I won't be sending any money this time. And I won't be voting for him in the Democratic primary. In fact, I am on the verge of refusing to vote for him in the next general election. He doesn't seem to think he needs us progressives. He thinks we'll have to vote for him (and send him money) just because the Republicans are so "scary". I don't see it that way.

What real difference does it make whether the Republican economic (and military) policies are continued by Obama or a real Republican? Ordinary Americans will still be hurting either way. I am not, and never have been, a person who will vote for any Democrat who happens to get on the ballot (even though I never have and never will vote for a Republican). I vote my conscience. And it's starting to look like my conscience may demand I vote for a Green Party candidate in the next presidential election.