MoveOn, the group that heavily influenced the 2008 election of President Obama, wants its progressive president back. "I miss that guy," says MoveOn organizer Nita Chaudhary in a widely distributed E-mail.Shane! Shane! Come back!
Her worry: Obama is going all moderate on his supporters, especially on the Bush tax cuts. "In the wake of the election, it's more crucial than ever that President Obama stand up for progressive change. But instead he's considering giving in to GOP demands for a tax bailout for the rich. We need the bold, progressive Obama we elected in 2008 back--and we've got to send him that message," she writes in a sidebar to her E-mail:
But wait, Nita. A tax cut implies someone actually earned that money that is being taxed. So you are saying you are against letting people keep the money they earned so that it can be redistributed inefficiently through the federal Bureaucracy? Yes, that's what I thought.
Dear MoveOn member,
Remember Barack Obama in 2008? The guy who refused to go along with a "dumb war" and said, "In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
Unless, Nita, it was false hope.
I miss that guy. Imagine if someone told you in 2008 that Barack Obama was actually thinking about signing legislation to extend the Bush tax giveaways for the rich. I wouldn't have believed it.
Dear Nita. I know that the concept of redistribution of wealth is near and dear to your socialist/Marxist heart. But consider this: Why don't you. Yes you, Nita...take the first step and offer yourself as the role model by giving everything you earn to the federal bureaucracy in the form of a voluntary tax.
Now more than ever, we need the Barack Obama we elected in 2008--the smart, tough, hopeful progressive champion who inspired millions of us--to stand up and say "no" to a millionaire bailout.
Dear Nita: They are millionaires for a reason. By and large they have more ambition than you. They have more drive than you. They work harder than you. And they are willing to sacrifice more than you. They also...unlike the Left...tend to donate more money to charities than you. And oh, by the way, the "rich" buy and use products and services, and stimulate growth...growth that does not come from an earmark or government handout.
Right now, with the change we all fought for hanging in the balance, President Obama needs to hear from those of us who supported him the most.
So we're asking MoveOn members nationwide to record a video message from the heart to tell President Obama to go to the mat to stop any extension of the millionaire tax giveaways--and to bring back the progressive fighter we all knew and supported in 2008.
A personal appeal from so many of us who worked hard to elect President Obama will send a strong message. And to make sure the White House and millions of Americans hear it, we'll take the best videos and turn them into an ad that we'll air on national television.
Thanks for all you do.
--Nita, Marika, Duncan, Steven, and the rest of the team
And this is best and brightest of the Obama-nistas.