Netroots Nation learns about “Free Milk and a Cow” the hard way

{{snort!}}

It appears that Netroots Nation is dissatisfied with Obama:

The message to those in the room for “What to Do When the President is Just Not that Into You,” a Netroots Nation panel, was be more demanding, don’t take no for an answer and compromises aren’t good enough.

Lt. Dan Choi, who was discharged from the military for running afoul of its anti-gay Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, provided a visual when an Organizing for America volunteer stood up and asked him to support Obama in 2012. The man said he did not support gay marriage — “civil unions?” he offered weakly — and Choi promptly ripped up an Organizing for America flyer he had been given and threw it back in the man’s face.

The four panelists — Choi, immigration reform supporter Felipe Matos, America Blog writer John Aravosis and Fire Dog Lake Founder Jane Hamsher — said they are planning to hold the White House’s collective feet to the fire for its decisions on civil rights, whether it would hurt Obama’s reelection chances or not.

Yes!  Ok, you’re 3 years too late.  Some of you knew that he wasn’t the Azor Ahai and Prince who was Promised back in 2008.  Remember the sad little letter that Jane Hamsher and friends published in The Nation back in the summer of 2008 when they pleaded with Obama to take the left seriously?  And how did that work out?

What’s really funny is that it wasn’t too long ago when Jane Hamsher was characterizing us bitter holdouts as “a certain kind of woman” and now she *are* one.  I’m willing to forgive, Jane, and I certainly don’t want to single anyone out, but it’s time you guys acknowledged that we’re not the trailer trash knuckle draggers you thought we were.  We’re just a whole lot quicker on the uptake.

But it seems like the newly minted bitter knitters don’t quite understand how to implement the strategy:

“I would probably vote for the president in the end, but I’d also do everything that I can to shame him,” said Aravosis, who writes about gay rights issues. “But I don’t think they realize how damaging that is.”

{{cue the Streisand}}

Oh, my man I love him so, he’ll never know

All my life is just despair, but I don’t care

When he takes me in his arms, the world is bright, alright

What’s the difference if I say, I’ll go away

When I know I’ll come back on my knees someday

For whatever my man is, I am his forever more!

No, John, that is not how you do it.  If you signal 16 months out that you are going to give Obama your vote no matter what he does, then he doesn’t have to do anything for you.  Oh, sure, I understand you’re scared.  We’re all scared shitless about Republicans getting the upper hand.  But if their policies are going to get implemented anyway under Obama, you can’t lose by opposing him.  Strenuously.

There are a couple of ways to do this:

1.) Direct your political contributions to an escrow account to be given to a politician that wants to run next year, either as a primary candidate to Obama or as a third party candidate.   Do the same with incumbent Congressional Democrats who keep drifting right.

2.) Find that third party candidate or primary opponent.  If you can’t find one, promise to vote as a bloc for the Green Party or Socialist or America’s Renewal (I made that one up).  You have to gird your loins and tell the Democratic Party that they are finished if they don’t start toeing the line. Then, you have to do it or they will never take you seriously.  This is how Republicans do it.  You will never get your mojo back until you learn to say “No!” and mean it.

3.) You’re not going to like this last one, John, but here goes: Start talking up Hillary Clinton.  Yep, there’s no one Obama fears as much as Hillary.  She’s the only legitimate candidate who could challenge him in a primary and then scoop up all the working class people the Democrats left on the table last time.  I have no idea if she would run but a Hillary threat is your best bet.  Not only would she get Democrats’ attention, the Republicans will start to worry too.  Plus, you owe us for being such an egregious misogynist twit in 2008 when she was hands down the most ready to lead.  (Wow, that was really embarrassing.)  Her candidacy would be equally historic. And I never say never.

You guys are going to have to get over the number the anti-Hillary people did to your heads in 2008.  She is a politician, one of the best we have, who really knows her stuff and isn’t afraid to take on her enemies (Ooo, she told him.  Still gives me chills).  Being a political person is not a bad thing- when you are trying to elect a politician to work for you.  That’s where you guys made your mistake in 2008.  You wanted a political virgin.  And you got one.  Not only was he inexperienced, he sold his maidenhood to a bunch of bankers.

They used places like DailyKos and FireDogLake as big focus groups to figure out what makes lefties tick and then they used those things against you in 2008 so you would turn to the person they picked for you.  Obama never did run on Democratic principles.  His whole shtick was to run as an aspirational candidate.  He was whatever you wanted him to be, like Belle de Jour.  And you guys ate it up and doomed the rest of us.

I warned you in 2007 at YearlyKos2.0.  I told you that the appeal to the emotion and the response to it would be dangerous to us and that it was very important focus on what we value and not how someone makes us feel.  You are very slow learners but you are finally where we were in 2008.  Better late than never.

Welcome to the light.  Now, don’t fuck it up.

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THIS is the song you want to sing to Obama: