Am
I the only one frustrated that now that we finally have a President who
looks out for the greater good of average Americans, his own party
won't join the fight to take the country back from special interests? Yesterday,
Indiana centrist Democrat Evan Bayh announced that he and 14 other
self-titled "Blue Dog" Democrats have been secretly scheming how to dig
a hole around President Obama's agenda.[1] For
instance, neglecting to mention that all their hot air is further
threatening the climate and making us all sick, the Blue Dogs want to
bury healthcare reform and clean energy policies.
Hasn't anyone told them that dogs are supposed to be loyal? Or that, as of November 2008, purple is the new blue?
But
what really drives me mad is the Democratic party constantly bending
over backwards to placate this fringe minority that is more wedded to
Wall Street ideology than common sense and the common good. Democrats in Congress rush to prove their tax cutting and deficit watching bona fides to
please the Blue Dogs, regurgitating Right wing attack lines on
government and insisting that their policies aren't really that
progressive or bold. At a time when the American public
handed a strikingly decisive victory to a Democratic president and now
holding him aloft with dizzying popularity numbers---including support
for a strong government hand in fixing the economy and support for
Obama's multi-pronged agenda[2]-shouldn't the majority of Democrats feel courageous enough to stiffen their spines and say and do what's right?
Polls show that the American people think a bigger budget deficit is worth it for spending that jumpstarts our economy.[3] AndChristopher Hayes from The Nation has written[4] that
the Blue Dog's signature issue of fiscal responsibility doesn't even
matter to their own constituents-it's simply code for "centrist". But
at a time when the code itself is being codified into policy, when we
need discretionary spending and deficit spending to jump start an
economy that is plainly getting worse by the minute, shouldn't the Blue
Dogs be big enough to put petty politics aside for the good of the
people? And shouldn't the rest of the Democrats be bold
enough to stand up for strong principles and a strong economy instead
of wavering and equivocating each time the Blue Dogs tug at their
tether?
Instead of constantly deferring to a small fringe group of ideologues as alpha dogs, it's time for a new political caucus. I propose the Purple Cats. Anyone
from any party should be able to join-unlike the Blue Dogs who
masquerade party infighting as pragmatism, there are actually a number
of decent and dedicated politicians who want to do what's best for
America, not just their party or re-election. And as
popular resentment rightfully swells against Wall Street and the
bloated executive class, Congresspeople with a conscience have new wind
at their back to reject the wishes of their donors and re-commit to the
will of the people. As Barack Obama famously reminded us,
we are not a red America or blue America but the United States of
America-all in the same boat in this growing crisis and all desperate
for political leaders who will prioritize our shared interest and our
shared sacrifice.
Another quality must define the Purple Cats: Claws. No more political leaders cowering in the corner when the Blue Dogs bark. It's
time to come out scratching, fiercely defending the principles and
policies we all know are good for the economy, good for America, good
for humanity.
We
are facing extraordinary challenges as a national community that drive
us to learn from our history as much as we can, a history that teaches
that public spending buffers the inequalities and shortcomings of the
private sector. In the 1930s, public spending was just
under 20 percent as a share of the total economy and unemployment
hovered around 17 percent for the decade. By 1944, expanded New Deal programs fully kicked in and public spending was, at its peak, 70 percent of the total economy. And unemployment for the same period was one percent.[5] Knowing
that cuts to government programs and reckless deregulation of the
private sector got us in this mess in the first place and bold and big
public spending is the only thing that ever has and ever will rescue
us, how could any politician look in the mirror let alone the faces of
suffering constituents and do anything but champion the vital role of
government going forward?
They have a saying in the South: The cat is mighty dignified until the dog comes by. The Democrats seem mighty principled until the Blue Dogs foam at the mouth. But, especially at a time like this, it's essential that principles beat out politics. Speaking
yesterday at a town hall meeting in California about his re-election,
President Obama said, "I would rather be a good president---to take on
the tough issues for four years---than a mediocre president for eight
years."[6] The Purple Cats should learn from his courage.