Dear Progressive Democrat,
I just got an email from Adam Green of the Bold Progressives.
I don't really think he just sent it to me, but he is asking me to sign the following petition:
President Obama: If you cut Medicare and Medicaid benefits for me, my parents, my grandparents, or families like mine, don't ask for a penny of my money or an hour of my time in 2012. I'm going to focus on electing bold progressive candidates -- not Democrats who help Republicans make harmful cuts to key programs.
I like some of what this group does; like in Wisconson, but not all of it.
Especially NOT this.
Here is a big reason why we have people like Paul Ryan dictating to the rest of us:
The Progressives proudly sat on their hands last November
and
Would not vote for their local Blue Dog Congresspeople.
And when the votes were counted we had John Boehner with the gavel and an assorted rouges gallery of flat earthers in charge.
If the Progressives worked and voted last election and the Democrats had the votes to keep Nancy Pelosi in charge, do you seriously think that any Democrat would be a vote that would allow John Boehner to take the gavel? Of course not!
The BOLD Progressives can campaign for whoever they want. The problem is there aren't enough of them to win. Yes, many of their positions make sense, but they aren't smart enough to work as members of a team to win.
I consider myself a Blue Dog - A Yellow Dog Democrat that has been strangled from the far left. This is probably why I didn't get selected to Netroots Nation. I just ain't liberal enough to lose intentionally.
Here's a news-flash to the Progressives.
We still have a President that might listen to you at this point, but if you are filing petitions like that, why should he?
Seriously, if the Progressives want to insult the President like he is some sort of Tea Partier, why should he pick the phone up and speak to you?
I admit, I don't get what is driving or motivating this White House. Did we (all of us) lose last year because the President's message isn't getting through, or maybe the forces he is fighting are bigger than he thought? Do you really think those who were in charge before were just going to roll over and say, "Here, do whatever you want President Obama"?
Of course not, there is too much money on the line for this. They are going to fight tooth and nail for their positions.
Politics is a team game. You have to compromise to win. Do you agree with everything your spouse says? Then why should a larger population in the general public have to agree with you all the way down the line?
So, I am sorry if you broke a nail last year and had to sit on your hands to make it feel better, but these things (being done in Congress) are the result of YOU stepping out of the process. Yelling that you are taking your ball and going home is exactly what the GOP wants you to do. It weakens the rest of us.
The first presidential ballot I cast was for John Anderson (wrote him in for my Democratic Primary). Remember him? In 1980, the far left did such a great job of chasing Jimmy Carter from the stage with the Ted Kennedy campaign, all the Democrats looked like a bunch of jokers. Remember who won narrowly in 1980? It wasn't Carter or Kennedy or John Anderson. Was it a Republican?
When the Progressives pick their darling (Dennis Kucinich, Russ Feingold, Lady Gaga), keep in mind there is a really good chance that we will have a GOP President as a result.
Signing a petition like the one the Bold Progressives is touting is giving help to the GOP.
Grow up, start acting like decent team members and fix the damage you have done.
Sincerely,
A Blue Dog Nerd
