On the Primary Season [View All]

In the past, I have generally avoided the OP/threads about the topic of a potential challenger to President Barack Obama in the Democratic Primary season. I have predicted that there would not be any meaningful challenge to Obama's path to renomination, and pretty much left it at that. What discussions I have read on General Discussion on this topic seem to be a source of hostility between two groups of of forum members. I am going to talk about my thoughts on this now, and do so in hopes of finding some common ground between what I think is a growing divide, and not only on this forum, but within the Democratic Party.

At this time, it appears that the republican party has less potential to produce a meaningful challenger for the 2012 general election, than the liberal-progressive wing of the Democratic Party has of identifying a meaningful primary challenger. But appearances are often deceiving. For example, it appeared to many that the phenomenon known as the Tea Party would divide the republican party. This was true even in the final weeks of the “debt ceiling crisis.” Yet, the apparent resolution to this crisis is the Tea Party's wet dream.

President Obama began the process by making it clear he was willing to compromise. For many Democrats, it appears that Obama was as willing to compromise our party's strongest values, as he was to compromise on details of the proposed agreement. Hence, we are seeing our President advocating that we accept what is nothing but the compromise between the establishment and Tea Party wings of the republican party.

A few of the Democratic members of both houses of Congress who spoke on television last night made clear that there is nothing in this proposed agreement that could be mistaken for the President standing firm for our democratic values. When you compromise the truth with lies, you merely come out with a variation of those lies. And to attempt to sell those lies to the democratic base as a “good thing” requires more lies, a process that can only dilute the truth and make it weaker.

The result is that the republican party becomes stronger, and the Democratic Party grows weaker. Now, some people – and I include a significant number of my friends, both on this forum, and in real life – believe that the best option that we have is to simply work harder to support President Obama and those Democrats in Congress – and also democratic candidates looking to unseat republicans in the House and Senate. I believe that there is some merit to this approach. I definitely would not ever advocate any position that undercuts a democratic politician who advocates for our party's principles. Nor would I seek to advance any action that would benefit the republican party.

But there is a split in our party. Ignoring it cannot help. Nor can attacking either those who support President Obama or those who are experiencing a deep disappointment in him. In fact, it is foolish to engage in much of the nonsense that we too often see here, on an internet forum that is supposed to be a meeting ground for liberal and progressive Democrats, and which openly encourages the participation of those to the left of the party, as well as those who are moderate and conservative democrats. We can ill afford, at this time in our nation's history, to have people literally despising one another as people, thus crushing any potential for seeing the value of each others' point of view. For, while our current individual circumstances may be different, we are not sitting on some fence, where some will be not only safe, but prosper, while others we dislike pay the price for the low level of being on display in Washington, DC.

I hope that there will be an individual from within our party who will challenge Barack Obama on the national level in the Democratic Primaries. Further, I hope that individuals from within various states will enter and contest those individual primaries. I believe that only this can help to increase the interest in the 2012 presidential election. Only this can allow for varying viewpoints to be expressed, examined, and evaluated by not only the citizens who vote, but the democratic politicians from each state, including those who serve in Washington.

Without that level of interest during the primary season, there is a very real risk of the loss of both interest and participation by a significant number of party members. This may not be significant in those states that we know will be safely for President Obama. But presidential elections are won state-by-state, and there are plenty of “key battleground” states which could go to a republican next November.

Primaries encourage people to not simply sit at the sidelines, but to become active advocates for a candidate who represents their values, hopes, and dreams. Certainly, primaries can create strong disagreement – I remember some from 2008 even here on the Democratic Underground. One or two of these pitted the supporters of Barack Obama against the supporters of Hilary Clinton. Yet, after the general election, those two politicians ironed out their differences, and agreed to work on the same team.

I do not think that a challenge in the democratic primaries would result in President Obama losing either the party's nomination, nor his re-election. But it could provide him with some insight on the level of disappointment there is among democrats for him. And who knows – maybe, just maybe, he would consider even compromising with us for once.

It is beyond debate that President Obama cannot run on the “Hope and Change” platform he did in 2008. Without a primary challenge, I fear he will approach the upcoming general election as the Candidate of Compromise. I say that fully aware of the polls indicating people want compromise. And that liberals support Obama. And I remember well when Gene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy challenged President Johnson in the 1968 primaries, and Ted Kennedy challenged President Carter twelve years later.

Yet somewhere, somehow, our party and our nation needs to hear the inner-Democratic voices that advocate for our values.

Peace,
H2O Man