U.S. Rep Shares Progressive Frustration

Politics

As the New York Times reports, Oregon Representative Earl Blumenauer shares the same frustration many progressives do with stalled advocacy and a sense of being taken for granted.

Instead of forging ahead, Mr. Blumenauer, 61, finds himself fighting to retain one of the touchstones for liberals this year, a public insurance option in the health care overhaul, and is watching his hopes of curbing global warming grow cold in the Senate. Mr. Blumenauer, a seven-term congressman, is bracing for a tough vote on sending more troops to Afghanistan while he frets about the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay remaining open.

One caveat, though. If anyone thinks that there has been “an unexpected level of Republican opposition,” well, then they’re really unforgivably naive. Obama’s misstepped in attempting to sincerely partner with people whose self-interest lies in seeing him fail.

6 thoughts on “U.S. Rep Shares Progressive Frustration”

  1. I personally am outraged with how little Obama has taken a stand against the Republicans, caving on the public option in health care and spending far too much time in terror of a potential fillibuster. How about less time taking a hard line against FOX News and more against the people standing in the way of real progress?

  2. I agree. With Fox News, though, I would only say that it’s sweet to have someone call them out on their clear bias in presenting the news. It’s too bad the media won’t police their own.

  3. I’m all for calling out FOX News, but it’s beneath the office of the President and the intellect of Obama to do so. It’s like an Olympic level fencer publicly wrestling with a pig.

  4. Well, if the pig keeps eating your crops, sometimes you have to jump into the mud with it.

    Probably not the best role for Obama. But has Obama directly engaged Fox?

  6. True–I was just marking the distinction between the President and his administration.

    I think the media is misplaying this one, just as they screw up everything. Fox’s commentators are far-right, sure, but their news programming is consistently slanted to undermine the President and progressivism in a way that other networks are not. (They’re just lame kettle-warmers for privilege and status quo.)

    Maybe it’s a political fight he can’t win. But I support engaging Fox, particularly when people still believe the cliche of a “liberal media.”

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