Re: [Pen-l] Tim Unwise

[raghu <mraghu01@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, Nov 27, 2008 at 2:16 PM, ravi <ravi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> these lines highlights one of the core problems I have with the Obama
> phenomenon. The question that comes to me is: what activists? It is true
> that Obama has (or had) mobilised millions of individuals, but I am not sure
> they are activists nor am I sure that the energy they expended into electing
> Obama is still active... people who are disturbed by the Obama phenomenon
> are not all simply arguing "everything sucks" (and surely the author knows
> that? yet he uses phraseology that is no different than the right's phrases
> like "blame America first").


Ravi,
No one is saying "everything sucks" whatever that even means. Thats
why I said that article on alternet is atrocious and the author did a
really poor job of arguing for the "Obama movement".

But the movement is real, and there is no reason to think the energy
the activists put into the election is all gone. For the first time
since the 60's, there is a broad alliance along economic class lines
crossing racial, ethnic and other boundaries. If progressives don't
recognize the opportunity this represents...

Is Obama himself going to disappoint. Almost certainly yes. Here's the
minimum we can expect from him:
- closing Guantanamo and other prisons
- end of the Iraq war
- health care
- infrastructure spending
- end of Bush tax cuts

He doesn't have to do anything to restrain the financiers; for the
moment they are finished anyway.

Here's what we cannot automatically expect, but can be achieved given
strong popular pressure
- minimum wage
- end of the Afghanistan war
- end of Cuba sanctions and normalization with Venezuela
- network neutrality
- an energy tax
- debt relief for Africa
- elimination of agribusiness subsidies
- reform of factory-farming and meat packing
- reform of intellectual property law


It seems to me these are highly worthwhile things to fight for, even
if they fall short of socialism. And who knows, once people gets
awakened to the possibilities, how much more can get done?
-raghu.


-- 
"I busted a mirror and got seven years bad luck, but my lawyer says he
can get me five."
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