| Standing here, the old man said to me
Long before these crowded streets, here stood my dreaming tree
Below it he would sit, for hours at a time
Now progress takes away, what forever took to find...
---"The Dreaming Tree" by the Dave Matthews Band Twenty weeks ago, on February 13, we at Burnt Orange Report endorsed Senator Barack Obama. It's an endorsement I was proud to see us make, as I believe he will make an extraordinary President. But that doesn't mean I still don't have concerns about an Obama Presidency -- concerns that I, and no other Democrat, should sweep under the rug. Specifically, Obama's pathetic statement about the House's passage of the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Like many progressives -- especially those of us who call ourselves "policy progressives" -- I was wholly outraged at Obama's statement on the legislation. The equivocation, pandering, and political cover in his statement was severely disappointing. I can understand wanting to "play to the center" on legislation that wasn't so clear cut. But the FISA legislation the House foolishly let slide through was making Bush's illegal wiretapping program legal -- and it's not like the prior process made it difficult, in any way, for America to counter terrorist efforts through wiretapping. We just, you know, wanted a small modicum of accountability. Instead, the legislation out of the House makes pretty much everything Bush did illegally, legal. There's even immunity for phone companies -- something Obama, to his credit, has pledged to either remove from the bill or vote against. Many others in the Senate are also on board, either with a "no" vote or on removing immunity. But the whole law needs to be killed. The national netroots did a tremendous job stepping up and calling out Obama -- and the House Democrats who passed it -- last week. I didn't write about it because there was no real Texas tie-in, and I try to focus on Texas politics. But as I've thought about this more and more, there is something dramatically important to all of us with what happens today in the U.S. Senate. This election is about change, but Senator Obama will only deliver as much change as we want him to make. We can't stand back and be comfortable with his excellent campaigning -- we need to join in, as Matt Stoller wrote about expertly at Open Left in his post titled, "The Obama Accountability Movement": By marginalizing the policy liberals within his campaign the way he has mowed down the outside groups, Obama is limiting his range of motion going forward and showing key progressive allies that he may not be a good faith operator after all unless he can be forced in that direction. And so they will dedicate more energy going forward into ensuring that they aren't embarrassed again by the person that we are all trusting as our party leader. As we wrote when we endorsed Obama: Trading Republican lobbyists and insiders for Democratic lobbyists and insiders is not change....The change we need must be adaptive. It must be a change that challenges Americans to look at the loyalties in our lives and, more importantly, the loyalties in the lives of those around us....It must be a change in how we define Presidential leadership. Yes, Senator Barack Obama is making waves around the country -- and right here on BOR -- for announcing that he will run a 50-state strategy this November. I'm as excited as anyone about how expertly Obama is running a campaign. But we can challenge our leaders as we support them. Yes, we can. If we don't, progress will take away what forever took to find. Today marks an important moment in this campaign. How will Senator Obama lead in his only official capacity --- not as a candidate, or even presumptive Democratic Party Presidential nominee, but as a Senator, when the Senate takes up the FISA legislation today. Here's hoping he delivers the kind of change we all believe -- and hope -- he can. For more on Obama, FISA, & the netroots, read this excellent article over at Politico. |
