Date: 2010-10-25 09:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pope-guilty.livejournal.com
Okay, fine, let's get empirical. Can you provide me with actual evidence of actual hard leftists- not Democrats, not liberals, not "progressives", but actual leftists- who think Obama is some kind of messiah, demigod, or whatever?

I mean, crap, the linked post uses the phrase "hard-left liberal", which is the stupidest, most self-contradictory nonsense I've seen in days.

Date: 2010-10-25 09:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dcart.livejournal.com
"Hard-left liberal" is problematic. You're right.

I would really love to be able to just put you in touch with some people I know who are truly leftists and let them explain their own support for Obama. You can imagine that "hey, some guy you don't know on the internet wants to talk to you about this" probably isn't going to fly. If any of them made public livejournal posts or blog posts that I can find, I'd be happy to link them. I'm not saying they thought he was the messiah or whatever. I know several people who expressed support for him and definite, overt preference for him over candidates like Kucinich and Edwards (who clearly aren't leftists, but are also clearly to the left of Obama).

In practice, I'm a social democrat. The small "d" there is intentional. You could peg me as only being a few steps to the left of Bernie Sanders. Basically, I'm just left enough that liberals think I'm a nut and just not-left enough that the "hard left" doesn't see enough difference between me and liberals. It wasn't that far of a stretch for me to support someone like Edwards because of his support for real, actual universal health care and his framing of issues in terms of people who work for a living vs people who are primarily investor/owner/capitalists. I'm not naive enough to think there's no difference between Obama and McCain. In the real world, in the lives of everyday people, the difference is huge, even if both support the same fundamental organization of our society. But being able to translate that understanding into any enthusiasm for Obama was just not in my wheelhouse.

Date: 2010-10-25 09:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pope-guilty.livejournal.com
I would really love to be able to just put you in touch with some people I know who are truly leftists and let them explain their own support for Obama.

Woah, woah, if we redefine down to "supporting" Obama, then hell, that's easy- I support Obama simply because I think he's less of a piece of shit than McCain would've been.

I'm not saying they thought he was the messiah or whatever.

That was in fact the point that this argument was about.

Date: 2010-10-25 09:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dcart.livejournal.com
My first comment to you was in response to your statement that you found it hard to believe that anyone on the hard left could be described as having positive feelings for Obama. "Positive feelings". Not "both guys are pieces of shit, but Obama is less of a piece of shit". These people had actual positive feelings for Obama. Some of them, like the author of the linked post above, went to rallies, volunteered, etc. They are both "hard leftists" in their analysis and beliefs and yet had positive feelings for Obama.

My best theory as to why is that some of them got a little too caught up in the spectacle of the US electing a black man as president. But even that, I think, only describes some of them.

Date: 2010-10-25 09:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pope-guilty.livejournal.com
I strongly dislike Obama, but I voted for him and encouraged people to do the same. Unless the Republicans have aneurysms and nominate somebody better, I'll be doing the same in 2012. I think he's the least worst. That doesn't mean I like him.

September 2013

S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
151617 18192021
22232425262728
2930     

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 11th, 2025 02:56 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios
OSZAR »