Reply #1: These "Primary" threads are, with all due respect, a huge waste of time... [View All]

First, let's be realistic: there is no serious candidate willing to undertake a Primary campaign. If there was, it would be prohibitively late in the season to get organized and secure the necessary financial support to mount a serious campaign that would push the issues that the "Primary Obama" contingent thinks need to be raised.

Second, assuming this was possible, what would it accomplish? The argument is that it will "pull Obama to the left". Why do you assume that? Either he believes in his moderate policies, or he believes they're necessary to accomplish what he wants to get done in a partisan atmosphere, or he has no principles at all other than getting re-elected. Only in the later case will a Primary challenge have a hope of changing his positions, and if he did, why wouldn't he be seen as another "flip-flopper" who can't be trusted to stand for anything?

While there's no problem with intellectual discourse on this subject, you're likely to be fare more productive working through advocacy groups or your own writing to candidates, election committees and the President himself about why his positions are problematic, both on policy b]and political grounds. And to those who will, at this point, chime in with "but they only listen to the corporations", let me suggest that, if that's seriously your position, then you should also believe there's no point in trying anything.