Reader E writes:
Thanks for your post on "where are the liberal groups on Health Care"? I know you guys hit this theme regularly on lefty issue groups and it needs to be hit even more. It is not simply that these groups are complacent because Obama won, they were close to invisible before. They need their folks fighting to go on the talk shows.
BTW: it is related to my feelings on the Prop 8 thing. I think Prop 8 is an abomination and should not have won. Full stop.
And as lefty straight guy who 15 years ago did not think gay marriage was a big issue (and most of my gay friends had real philosophical issues with buying into what they perceived as a hetero structure--perhaps my friends were more extreme than most, but I really doubt it), I now view it as essential that more people are trying (it always takes work) to bond together in love for the long term in the context of the community.
Why do I bring this up? It cannot be said enough that the No on 8 forces screwed up royally. As a California voter I remember reading blog posts in August that said we need not worry, so I didn't and focused on Obama and non-california races. The landscape of the gay marriage issue has evolved very fast on the left, right, and ESPECIALLY the center but the No on 8 were clueless. They didn't rally their base--people like me, they didn't attack the right for what they were (that Mormon ad would have been good), and they didn't treat the center with respect--ie we know this different than what you are used to, but if we have a conversation I think you will see that it is the right thing to do and that the reasons you are uncomfortable (if you are) don't really add up anymore.
So I am as disgusted by Prop 8 as the next person, but I try to look in the mirror and remember my own complacency. Being angry and lashing out is not really all that interesting to me, learning about oneself and ones tactics and running a good campaign is interesting to me.
Health care is going to be the same. Global warming. All these. So I think you do a service to call out these weaknesses.
I also think that it is up to blog READERS to insist their groups advertise on the blogs. It may be unfair, but you guys come across as self-serving when you complain (just being honest--even though I agree with the basic point). But as readers and members of these groups we can speak from a different perspective. We the readers (and members of Sierra Club, ACLU, etc and donors to whomever) need to insist on it. I think the ads will pay off BTW, because membership will increase.
