From reading the political tweets in my Progressive, Democratic Twitter stream over the last few months, I’ve seen a shift in mood. As health care reform began to take center stage in the government and media, there was an excitement, a sense of the people’s power regained after 8 years of many of us having to opt out of political knowledge of any sort because of the corrupt dictatorial regime run by George W. Bush. People felt empowered, as though they’d been listened to. The internet and social media had created a new way for politically unconnected, average Americans concerned about their nation and future, an easy, accessible way to make their thoughts and feelings heard. Platforms such as Twitter presented a way for like-minded people to come together and help fight for a future they knew was possible. President Barack Obama was elected through the help of this new form of instant communication. My Twitter friends and followers happily shared important information and signed petitions. We incessantly wrote and called Congress in support of Health Care Reform legislation to make sure that the voice of the majority was being heard. We were a majority! Our new sense of purpose had been acquired through the election of our new President. Now, we could finally work together to get important things accomplished that would save us and our nation from economic ruin. We could help the President, the Administration and our individual Representatives and Senators through support we could make instantly clear with our computers. We would help bring the nation back from the brink of destruction and protect the American people once again from corporate pillagers and individualist agendas through information technology. Our voices were being heard and they represented the will of the American people.
As Health Care Legislation was voted upon in the House of Representatives, Twitter’s Liberal Progressives, Moderate Dems and Obama supporters watched C-SPAN together. We paid rapt attention to all speaking. We commented, hoped, crossed our fingers, and there was victory. The bill made it through. The Stupak Amendment was incredibly problematic, but I believe most of us thought we could find a way to undo it. We emerged a little scraped up, but, we also understood that a fight is a fight and we were winning. No one comes out unscathed. Since that moment, things have changed. People argue, factions have emerged, people feel they have been silenced and many are afraid to say what they think about what’s going on in government in the Twitter forum for fear that the mere act of disagreeing and challenging the President or his Administration could be deemed traitorous by those staunchly in support of the man Barack Obama. There are a lot of feelings brewing within our community. Why? Because no one has any real information. No one knows what is going on. What we all know is that it’s not what we thought would be going on. The real problem, it seems to me, is that no one really knows what any and all of what is going on actually means. We are confused. The sheer lack of understanding of the aims and goals of the Administration has created a vacuum. It’s turned the world into black and white (no pun truly intended).
In this netherworld, it has created a situation where one is either for or against the man named Barack Obama. I suspect because people have nothing to work with. We have no knowledge as to why certain decisions have been made, or why certain things that were spoken of as absolutely essential no longer are. Fundamentally, we have been asked to work on blind faith. After the deeds of the Bush Administration, the bailouts and calamities which have affected us all, one would think that those on top would realize that the American people are a bit too skittish for that. Everything is so uncertain that people need something firm and solid to look to, to work with because we have nothing to hold on to in the present. We need information and deeds you can believe in. If the good deeds can’t be performed, we need to know why.
When I voted for the person to fill the office of President of the United States, I voted for a platform, an agenda, not a man. That the man with the message I wanted to hear was of color was a nice twist perhaps, a visual bonus for me of sorts, but, I also knew that a person of color holding that position in our nation, visually representing the United States of America, might very well usher in an era of newfangled racist backlash for all the rest of us people of color within this nation. I knew that it might strike a chord of fear in those who control all the power, and in some irrational way (racism is irrational), come back to bite us all. The U.S. power elite never disappoint any of its perceived enemies. From Gov. Rick Perry, Tea Parties, the Senate confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, Pat Buchannan, Rep. Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, to obstructionist behavior by the Senate, the self-stated goal of these self-appointed “real Americans” is to stop this President. The position they have taken is intractable. It should be acknowledged that they are very good at what they do.
Maintaining the base, as well as holding on to Independent voters is essential for us. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to do those two things. There is a fundamental lack of confidence. Why? Seems to me that part of it revolves around the lack of communication by the Administration and/or the Party that many see as dismissive, forcing them to wonder about the aims and goals of the President. The American people are in a bad way. We’ve lost and are losing jobs, homes and all future security. My and many other generations are afraid. We are afraid because the President, various economists and others have told us that our nation will go bankrupt without a Public Option. We were told on many occasions that we needed to control the cost of health care to ensure the economic future of the nation. We were told that American businesses could not compete globally, in a global economy, without relieving the burden of health care expenditures that many other nations companies, do not have to contend with. Finally, and perhaps, most important to many in a bad way these days, we were told that in order for American individuals to not be continuously raped and pillaged by pirates looking to increase their corporate and personal wealth, a Public Option would provide the capitalist competition that would drive down prices to normal, not pillaging, levels. Perhaps we would not be denied services we pay for monthly and potentially go bankrupt because of illness anymore. But, the President has backed down from this stance. Herein lies the problem. Many are left here wondering if and when the nation will meet its demise through this one problem alone. What I’d like to know is where the bridge is? Where is the bridge between what you say must be and what you say is acceptable now? Where is the bridge between financial reform for Wall Street and little to no financial reform for Wall Street? Where is the bridge between end the war and send more troops? Where is the bridge between gay marriage and the lack of gay marriage? I could go on, but you get my point. No one can say something is totally essential and then say it’s not. There might be reasons why you can’t pull off what you said you believed in, and most importantly, what you said would save the nation, but what are they? And, why don’t we know what they are? Why are we so bereft of answers? Should we blindly believe what is being told us? I don’t think that this particular audience works that way. Wouldn’t that make us the GOP? There is palpable frustration. If we were smart enough to help the President get elected, why aren’t we smart enough to be acknowledged? This inconsistency…particularly in light of the word “transparency” makes the populace nervous because its optics mirror how the American people were treated before. We were dismissed. We began this journey as a majority with a clear path. I hope we all know that roads can bifurcate, have a circuitous route, or dead end so that you have to turn around to go forth. None of that is necessarily problematic; it’s part of the journey. But, what can’t happen is people saying one thing and doing another without any clear explanation as to why. If one is governing for, of, and by the people, you can’t not include the people. I am one of the people, and I need to know why all legislation is being watered down. I need to know why this is happening. I need some communication from the Obama Administration. I want to know why this will work if you said it wouldn’t. And, by the way, I want to see others in the Administration explaining to the American public the significance of each and every piece of important legislation during these difficult times. If it revolves around health, let’s see the person in charge of health explaining various aspects. If this is about international relations, I want to see that person explaining the deal. To the extent that the government is not run by one person, I’d like to see those appointed to important positions take hold of the reigns of their office and speak to us about the issues under their purview. Finally, I’d like to see some consistency of thought. And, that consistency of thought must be communicated. If obstructionist GOP politics are what is really holding up or distorting the things we need, say that. Explain your position; explain why it has changed, and/or how you are getting around those folks. If you can’t explain for whatever reason, they give us a signal of some sort that this is part of a larger plan that will, in fact, make this situation work out somehow. The election has been won; it is now time to govern.
The issues and obstructionism that this President faces are unlike those of any of his predecessors. New situations require flexibility of thought. Can the nation be governed the same way every other Democratic President has governed thus far? The patent racism of the GOP requires that the Democratic machine function better than it has before and incorporate into its strategic planning the type of battle that is going on. The fight is a different fight, the war a different war because of whom/what he is. From top to bottom, communication and strategic planning in the face of this problem seems to be two of the elements lacking. The GOP stated from the beginning that they wanted this President to fail; they wanted to bring on his Waterloo. The use of the word bipartisan in this climate they’ve created befuddles me. While many media types seem to love the use of sports analogies, this is no game. Fact of the matter is, we are talking about the lives and quality of life of the American people. We are talking about the economic future of a nation and we can’t afford to lose much. Hence, we must stick together come what may. This is about us. We can’t fragment. We must work with the cards we have been dealt. We must have open conversations about what we feel is problematic and seek solutions. We are all on the same side…but we don’t have to see everything the same way. We must though act in concert to fight a larger foe. Whatever is going on here is not our fault. But, if we continue to behave the way we do, we will be part of the problem.
The GOP is unconscionably greedy, racist and vile. But, not so stupid as to not walk in lockstep. They seem unfazed by the perilous position of our nation and the world during this post-Bush apocalypse. They know what they don’t want even with the stakes as high as they are. Let this shed light on the power of power and the power of racism. Guess they’re hoping we’ll flinch. And, we seem to be flinching. Let it serve to prove to the Democratic machine that they need to do much better, that what they are doing does not work for many and that it’s their job to hold us together. And, let recognition of the GOP’s ability to stay together, signal that in order to avoid total, utter complete control by them of our nation, we, the people, need to do better. We need to listen to each other and not blindly dismiss those that we don’t agree with on any particular issue. We all want the same basic things. And, while many of us see different paths to the acquisition of these things, we need to collectively pick a methodology to get us there and work hard at it. It would be a tragedy now and forever to get this all wrong.
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commentary, Democratic Party, Obama, Politics, Social Media, Twitter, United States of America
No Bridge over Troubled Water: Twitter Stream Observations
In commentary, Democratic Party, Politics, Social Media, Twitter, United States of America on February 16, 2010 at 8:30 pmFrom reading the political tweets in my Progressive, Democratic Twitter stream over the last few months, I’ve seen a shift in mood. As health care reform began to take center stage in the government and media, there was an excitement, a sense of the people’s power regained after 8 years of many of us having to opt out of political knowledge of any sort because of the corrupt dictatorial regime run by George W. Bush. People felt empowered, as though they’d been listened to. The internet and social media had created a new way for politically unconnected, average Americans concerned about their nation and future, an easy, accessible way to make their thoughts and feelings heard. Platforms such as Twitter presented a way for like-minded people to come together and help fight for a future they knew was possible. President Barack Obama was elected through the help of this new form of instant communication. My Twitter friends and followers happily shared important information and signed petitions. We incessantly wrote and called Congress in support of Health Care Reform legislation to make sure that the voice of the majority was being heard. We were a majority! Our new sense of purpose had been acquired through the election of our new President. Now, we could finally work together to get important things accomplished that would save us and our nation from economic ruin. We could help the President, the Administration and our individual Representatives and Senators through support we could make instantly clear with our computers. We would help bring the nation back from the brink of destruction and protect the American people once again from corporate pillagers and individualist agendas through information technology. Our voices were being heard and they represented the will of the American people.
As Health Care Legislation was voted upon in the House of Representatives, Twitter’s Liberal Progressives, Moderate Dems and Obama supporters watched C-SPAN together. We paid rapt attention to all speaking. We commented, hoped, crossed our fingers, and there was victory. The bill made it through. The Stupak Amendment was incredibly problematic, but I believe most of us thought we could find a way to undo it. We emerged a little scraped up, but, we also understood that a fight is a fight and we were winning. No one comes out unscathed. Since that moment, things have changed. People argue, factions have emerged, people feel they have been silenced and many are afraid to say what they think about what’s going on in government in the Twitter forum for fear that the mere act of disagreeing and challenging the President or his Administration could be deemed traitorous by those staunchly in support of the man Barack Obama. There are a lot of feelings brewing within our community. Why? Because no one has any real information. No one knows what is going on. What we all know is that it’s not what we thought would be going on. The real problem, it seems to me, is that no one really knows what any and all of what is going on actually means. We are confused. The sheer lack of understanding of the aims and goals of the Administration has created a vacuum. It’s turned the world into black and white (no pun truly intended).
In this netherworld, it has created a situation where one is either for or against the man named Barack Obama. I suspect because people have nothing to work with. We have no knowledge as to why certain decisions have been made, or why certain things that were spoken of as absolutely essential no longer are. Fundamentally, we have been asked to work on blind faith. After the deeds of the Bush Administration, the bailouts and calamities which have affected us all, one would think that those on top would realize that the American people are a bit too skittish for that. Everything is so uncertain that people need something firm and solid to look to, to work with because we have nothing to hold on to in the present. We need information and deeds you can believe in. If the good deeds can’t be performed, we need to know why.
When I voted for the person to fill the office of President of the United States, I voted for a platform, an agenda, not a man. That the man with the message I wanted to hear was of color was a nice twist perhaps, a visual bonus for me of sorts, but, I also knew that a person of color holding that position in our nation, visually representing the United States of America, might very well usher in an era of newfangled racist backlash for all the rest of us people of color within this nation. I knew that it might strike a chord of fear in those who control all the power, and in some irrational way (racism is irrational), come back to bite us all. The U.S. power elite never disappoint any of its perceived enemies. From Gov. Rick Perry, Tea Parties, the Senate confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, Pat Buchannan, Rep. Michelle Bachmann, Sarah Palin, to obstructionist behavior by the Senate, the self-stated goal of these self-appointed “real Americans” is to stop this President. The position they have taken is intractable. It should be acknowledged that they are very good at what they do.
Maintaining the base, as well as holding on to Independent voters is essential for us. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to do those two things. There is a fundamental lack of confidence. Why? Seems to me that part of it revolves around the lack of communication by the Administration and/or the Party that many see as dismissive, forcing them to wonder about the aims and goals of the President. The American people are in a bad way. We’ve lost and are losing jobs, homes and all future security. My and many other generations are afraid. We are afraid because the President, various economists and others have told us that our nation will go bankrupt without a Public Option. We were told on many occasions that we needed to control the cost of health care to ensure the economic future of the nation. We were told that American businesses could not compete globally, in a global economy, without relieving the burden of health care expenditures that many other nations companies, do not have to contend with. Finally, and perhaps, most important to many in a bad way these days, we were told that in order for American individuals to not be continuously raped and pillaged by pirates looking to increase their corporate and personal wealth, a Public Option would provide the capitalist competition that would drive down prices to normal, not pillaging, levels. Perhaps we would not be denied services we pay for monthly and potentially go bankrupt because of illness anymore. But, the President has backed down from this stance. Herein lies the problem. Many are left here wondering if and when the nation will meet its demise through this one problem alone. What I’d like to know is where the bridge is? Where is the bridge between what you say must be and what you say is acceptable now? Where is the bridge between financial reform for Wall Street and little to no financial reform for Wall Street? Where is the bridge between end the war and send more troops? Where is the bridge between gay marriage and the lack of gay marriage? I could go on, but you get my point. No one can say something is totally essential and then say it’s not. There might be reasons why you can’t pull off what you said you believed in, and most importantly, what you said would save the nation, but what are they? And, why don’t we know what they are? Why are we so bereft of answers? Should we blindly believe what is being told us? I don’t think that this particular audience works that way. Wouldn’t that make us the GOP? There is palpable frustration. If we were smart enough to help the President get elected, why aren’t we smart enough to be acknowledged? This inconsistency…particularly in light of the word “transparency” makes the populace nervous because its optics mirror how the American people were treated before. We were dismissed. We began this journey as a majority with a clear path. I hope we all know that roads can bifurcate, have a circuitous route, or dead end so that you have to turn around to go forth. None of that is necessarily problematic; it’s part of the journey. But, what can’t happen is people saying one thing and doing another without any clear explanation as to why. If one is governing for, of, and by the people, you can’t not include the people. I am one of the people, and I need to know why all legislation is being watered down. I need to know why this is happening. I need some communication from the Obama Administration. I want to know why this will work if you said it wouldn’t. And, by the way, I want to see others in the Administration explaining to the American public the significance of each and every piece of important legislation during these difficult times. If it revolves around health, let’s see the person in charge of health explaining various aspects. If this is about international relations, I want to see that person explaining the deal. To the extent that the government is not run by one person, I’d like to see those appointed to important positions take hold of the reigns of their office and speak to us about the issues under their purview. Finally, I’d like to see some consistency of thought. And, that consistency of thought must be communicated. If obstructionist GOP politics are what is really holding up or distorting the things we need, say that. Explain your position; explain why it has changed, and/or how you are getting around those folks. If you can’t explain for whatever reason, they give us a signal of some sort that this is part of a larger plan that will, in fact, make this situation work out somehow. The election has been won; it is now time to govern.
The issues and obstructionism that this President faces are unlike those of any of his predecessors. New situations require flexibility of thought. Can the nation be governed the same way every other Democratic President has governed thus far? The patent racism of the GOP requires that the Democratic machine function better than it has before and incorporate into its strategic planning the type of battle that is going on. The fight is a different fight, the war a different war because of whom/what he is. From top to bottom, communication and strategic planning in the face of this problem seems to be two of the elements lacking. The GOP stated from the beginning that they wanted this President to fail; they wanted to bring on his Waterloo. The use of the word bipartisan in this climate they’ve created befuddles me. While many media types seem to love the use of sports analogies, this is no game. Fact of the matter is, we are talking about the lives and quality of life of the American people. We are talking about the economic future of a nation and we can’t afford to lose much. Hence, we must stick together come what may. This is about us. We can’t fragment. We must work with the cards we have been dealt. We must have open conversations about what we feel is problematic and seek solutions. We are all on the same side…but we don’t have to see everything the same way. We must though act in concert to fight a larger foe. Whatever is going on here is not our fault. But, if we continue to behave the way we do, we will be part of the problem.
The GOP is unconscionably greedy, racist and vile. But, not so stupid as to not walk in lockstep. They seem unfazed by the perilous position of our nation and the world during this post-Bush apocalypse. They know what they don’t want even with the stakes as high as they are. Let this shed light on the power of power and the power of racism. Guess they’re hoping we’ll flinch. And, we seem to be flinching. Let it serve to prove to the Democratic machine that they need to do much better, that what they are doing does not work for many and that it’s their job to hold us together. And, let recognition of the GOP’s ability to stay together, signal that in order to avoid total, utter complete control by them of our nation, we, the people, need to do better. We need to listen to each other and not blindly dismiss those that we don’t agree with on any particular issue. We all want the same basic things. And, while many of us see different paths to the acquisition of these things, we need to collectively pick a methodology to get us there and work hard at it. It would be a tragedy now and forever to get this all wrong.
Like this: