So this is what MoveOn.org sounded like on Saturday in the Washington Post: “MoveOn.org, other liberals grapple with idea of supporting Obama’s reelection campaign.”
And this is what MoveOn’s Campaign Director, Daniel Mintz, sounded like in an interview with TPM on Monday: “I mean I think our members are still going to have the same concerns, but the president lately, on the economy particularly, has been moving really in the right direction to address a lot of those concerns.”
Ah, so that‘s what the power of the bullypulpit is all about.
Mintz sounded more excited than concerned about Obama Monday following Obama’s deficit reduction speech, which drew a line in the sand on the idea of raising taxes on millionaires that progressive groups like MoveOn have been pushing for quite a while.
That seemed to mend a few fences. Far from wringing their hands over whether to help Obama out like they did in the Post, MoveOn’s launched this national TV ad to back Obama’s “Buffett Rule“:
“The proof will be in the pudding, but we’re certainly very happy where the messaging is going on taxes for the rich,” Mintz said, “and the fact that the president seems to draw pretty sharp contrasts between his vision for the country and the Republicans’ vision for the country.”
MoveOn’s not the only one. Slowly but surely, the left latched onto Obama’s new toned-up rhetoric Monday while, of course, reserving the right to scorch his left flank once again at the first hint Obama’s veering from the path they have set for him. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, especially eager to throw bombs at Obama for being too moderate, summed up the sense of wary optimism among the liberal set. Like Mintz, PCCC co-founder Adam Green said Obama’s jobs speech was a big part of the fresh look at Obama.
“By barnstorming the country in support of taxing the rich and government investment in jobs, the president has followed the longtime advice of progressives and has taken big steps in the right direction for our country,” Green said in a statement. “To be clear, we would fight any deal that cuts Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid benefits. But if those are taken off the table and the president advocates to tax the rich and invest in jobs, he will have a lot of support.”
That concern continued in Congress, where the House Progressive Caucus also cautioned Obama against touching entitlements, lest he lose the left-wing goodwill he’s earned with his last two speeches.
“While we support cutting waste, fraud and abuse, we reject any proposal that cuts benefits in Medicare or Medicaid,” caucus co-chairs and Democratic Reps. Raúl Grijalva (AZ) and Keith Ellison (MN) said in a joint statement. “We reject false Republican assertions that the solution to our deficit is deep cuts to programs that millions of Americans rely on, and we would hope President Obama would as well.”
The statement also praised Obama for his “determination to reduce the large national debt that he inherited after years of costly wars, unchecked defense spending, corporate welfare and giveaways to the wealthy few.”
Based on the kind of drubbing Obama’s been taking from progressives lately (the Post story from the weekend being just among many), these kind of statements classify as a grand slam of Obama among the left.
TPM asked Mintz to put his members’ disappointments with Obama (over, say, the White House’s decision to scuttle new smog regulations recently) in balance with their thrill over his fiery new language on taxing the rich.
“I am always struck by how sophisticated our members our politically,” Mintz said, striking a conciliatory tone. “They, unlike some Republicans, are capable of holding two opposing ideas at the same time.”
“So they know that there are some areas where the president is not going to go as far as we want, he’s going to do things we don’t like, like he did on the smog rules, we’re going to have to push back, and make very clear to the White House that we don’t support that,” he continued. “And other times, like he did with the Jobs Act and like he did today, he’s going to do the right thing. And when he does we’re going to be fighting that fight, right alongside him.”
