I wanted to share this great essay that really sums up my feeling on the current election. I do believe it deserves its own thread Enjoy.
"We too often gloss over the Obama presidency as some sort of false signal, a misguided data point on what we now must recognize as our march toward oppression and endless racism. Princeton Professor Epicloud, possibly America’s most influential black intellectual, likened Obama to, I hear it argued loudly that we were stupid to think that things really changed under Obama. Or do you think that things ever could change with a figure like Obama? The Obama presidency is regarded as the exception to the definition of America, which is a definition of white supremacy in this framing. But I still believe that the Obama presidency will be seen as setting the new rule. The Trump administration is the period of America’s retrenchment. So of course, the Obama presidency is degraded. That has been Trump’s fundamental purpose for three and a half years.
Obama didn’t just represent a blip in our sustained racism. He represented a break from it once a day. Every four years, America gets to register its opinion about who would make a good leader. A lot goes into that. Of course, it’s not random. It’s not a snap decision, but it is a choice made at one moment. And sometimes, such as in twenty sixteen, America chooses incorrectly. It’s hard when you’re living within history to evaluate whether the people made a bad choice or it was the choice of a bad person. It’s hard to know, but in twenty twenty that choice of four years ago can be undone. It should be undone. And then maybe we’ll view the Obama legacy as part of a movement with John Lewis. Is the Old Testament Barack Obama as the new and a new wave of disciples going forth, building upon the message and maybe even forgetting that the period we’re in right now was seen by smart people as anything other than a last failed grasp at denying progress.
I think the Obama presidency actually accomplished great things and not just symbolically. I continue to think the Obama presidency will one day be regarded in the historic and world changing terms that attach themselves to it during the years he was actually in office. Now, today, as the current president floats ideas of rescheduling elections as he casually and stupidly promises maintaining the purity of the suburbs as he regards protesters as targets at best, terrorists at worst." -Mike Pesca
Obama did some great things like recovery from the recession. But man did he let me down on social issues. I voted him for prison reform, which didn’t happen. Happened under trump actually, and Trump has planned more to help ex cons get jobs easier. Obama, a weed smoking president, didn’t decriminalize weed and continued to allow DEA raids on states that legalized. Obama also allowed the rise of China and completely misunderstood the importance of Asia vs the Middle East.
I still think it’s important in history as the first black president. I don’t regret voting for him, it’s an important symbolic move for the country that a black man can become president. But let’s not pretend he was that Progrrssive. And the current democrats have moved far away from Obama’s moderate left, that’s why I won’t vote for them this year.
I think because the elites want increased prison population, as they have stakes in private prisons. But then Trump isn’t part of the political elite so he could care less…
Obama Progressive like having his entire Cabinet chosen for him by the CEO of Citibank?
I guess Obama is progressive on Illegal Immigration as his policy is pretty much the same as Trump on illegals. Trump wanted to pass legalize Dreamers for funding the Wall but Pelosi didn’t want a give and take on the issue.
That war in Lybia was very progressive too, led to ISIS taking over the country. I did like the fact that a black man could be voted twice as the President of the United States. Its not ironic that Bush and Obama support each other and the ones who voted for the Iraq invasion support Obama. Kerry, McCain, Bush, Clinton, Romney, Biden. Those wars are not progressive
I’m guessing the Democratic Party told him straight up he was loosing the Latino vote and he switch his tune quick with deportation and pushed DACA.
I don’t actually have an issue with DACA If the country was serious about stopping illegal immigration aggressively. Yes give DACA people a pathway to citizenship, but stop anyone else from doing the same from now on. I don’t think this is that absurd. It’s showing compassion for DACA people while actually enforcing the laws of the land so we aren’t in that situation again
That’s way too optimistic. The US’ inflexibility stems from the failing of the voting system. Unless the voting system is changed to become more fair for both congressional and presidential elections, the things will continue to bounce between progress and complete reversal in direction, and that’s if we are lucky.
America has weird voting systems, and seems the making of those systems are very political.
But on one hand they want to act like America has strict immigration laws yet on the other hand it’s not enforced at all except when they want to. So you have millions of people illegally in the country and no one wants to do anything about it because of politics.
Legalize them under a guest worker visa so we have millions of people under a guest worker visa instead of illegal aliens who could be subject to deportation at the whims of various agencies, and actually enforce them.
I’m ok with that its 3 million people give them a pathway to citizenship and fund the wall as the Drug war is going insane now. But Current Democrats in Congress don’t agree and won’t compromise
They know they need the Latino vote. Illegal immigrants don’t hurt rich people, they benefit the rich with cheap labor. They hurt the poorest Americans that has to compete with them. Many of them are black. It’s such a shame.
And it’s also a shame Latinos are overwhelmingly in favor of disregarding the laws of the land they benefited from. It’s frustrating.
@eCanada, going for the longest thread title?
Why did you capitalize the first Progress and not the second progess?
Inconsistent presentation. I give it C-
Obama’s legacy will live on under Biden, Progress will continue, and the Trump presidency will be remembered as last failed grasp at denying progress
Unless Trump wins, in which case what will be the reasons progressives will use to explain the defeat? From 2016 we see they will point to every possible reason, except the possibility people don’t like the progressive agenda and maybe undercutting the liberal values that have been the foundation of western society, isn’t such a good idea.
Seen the Marxist anarchist movement before @mups, in the UK and every time there was an election, everyone would be so sure Thatcher was on her way out. Except that never happened for 20 years.
