Are Tax Cuts for Millionaires and Billionaires Change You Can Believe In?

 I have never been more disappointed in a political figure than I am with Barack Obama.  Even Bill Clinton's dalliances which cost him his best governing years and cynical votes from Democratic senators on the Iraq War authorization do not equal the perplexing disappointment that is Barack Obama's tax policy and his complete lack of gumption to fight to do the right and moral thing.  I say Barack Obama's tax policy because he now owns it.  He did not extend the Bush tax breaks; they die this Jan 1.  These tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires are now his to own.  

Whatever Happened to "Yes We Can"?

Like so many Americans, I was caught up in the promise and hope that Barack Obama represented.  As the first African American with a real shot at the Presidency, he already had a good deal of good will and the hope of a people on his side.   His soaring oratory and apparent strength of conviction added to the allure of a President who would usher in a new era. After 8 years of a historically bad and unjust Presidency, Americans were hungry for significant change.  

I was on the fence through much of the early primary season.  I like John Edwards was the only Democrat talking about poverty.  If Democrats don't talk about poverty, who will?   Then caucus night in Iowa, Obama eked out a win.  His speech to Iowa and the nation that night was amazing.  I can remember listening to his speech and then turning to my wife and saying, "He must be our next President."  We ran up to New Hampshire to see him the following weekend and lent our support throughout the campaign.  His speech in Philadelphia on race solidified my thinking and that of so many other Americans that he was someone who bring idealism, purpose and civility back to our politics and potentially overcome some long-lasting racial divisions in the process.  As the returns rolled in on election night, it became clear that the practical idealism of Yes, We Can was going to triumph over the cynicism and downright stupidity of a McCain-Palin ticket.  

The Obama Presidency Playing to Mixed Reviews

The Presidency of Barack Obama has been a mixed bag.   He can point to huge accomplishments of moving quickly against economic calamity and passing health care reform, yet for someone with such great oratorical skills he has largely been unable to connect his accomplishments to the daily struggles of the American people.   The virtue of patience and planning  more often feels like unresponsiveness, or worse yet a lacking of conviction to make a gut decision.  This is true whether it was the 6-month surge decision in Afghanistan, letting the Tea Party fester without an answer, or letting the communications on health care debate go so far askew, that even his supporters have a tough time with talking points of the plan.   The whopping losses of the mid-terms election demonstrate that Obama's inability to effectively communicate has cost him dearly in the erosion of support of the new voters he brought into the system and across the Democratic political spectrum.  Presidential elections are about attracting independents, mid-term elections are about energizing your base.  

You have to wonder why such legislative accomplishments are not translating into support.  The traditional explanations are largely centered on a down economy that makes people angry with the party in power.  I think that's only a small part of the problems.  During the only comparable economic situation to the Great Recession, FDR's Democrats picked up 12 seats from the GOP and progressive parties picked up 3 more.  Why? FDR was a master communicator who let the average working or unemployed American know what he was doing each step of the way.   He connected deeply with people in a way that Obama has not done, with the exception of a few weeks campaigning for the passage of health care reform, since the night he was elected.   As a result, Democrats got hammered in the rust belt, Reagan Democrat types, whose economic situation largely brought them around to Obama in '08, but whose policies lacked connection because the communication lacked conviction.

What Could Have a "Yes We Can" Moment Looked Like?

If I were Obama and I was concerned about not only winning, but building lasting change among working people, I would camp out in the next two years in places in the upper Midwest from Western Pennsylvania across Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin.  I would make sure that I was learning or re-learning how to connect with the very real fears of folks in the industrial heartland who were already left out of the economic changes before the Great Recession.  Obama could have started this effort with the debate about tax cuts for rich people.   He could have barnstormed the Midwest mixing rallies with small groups explaining his economic policies, connecting them with the needs of real people, and explaining why we need unemployment insurance, but don't need tax cuts for rich people.  

Obama could have used Bill Clinton's language in raising taxes in 1993, that the rich need to do their fair share. Even if he wanted to avoid the confrontational tones of Sen. Bernie Sander's speech he still could have thoughtfully explained the tremendous growth of income of the top 1% over the last 30 years and the general decline of middle class America.  He could have harkened back to his campaign promised of ending tax cuts for wealthy people by saying "Not this time.  This time will be different.  This time we will say enough." 

From a policy perspective he could have even got creative and said we're going to use the revenue gained from millionaires for further tax decreases or holidays for working people.   Call the bluff of the Republicans, let them filibuster in the Senate.  Put them on TV for a week or two defending tax cuts for wealth people.  Let them take the political risk of having all tax cuts expire and unemployment insurance end for millions of Americans.  A showdown like shutting down government would ultimately have backfired on overzealous Republicans.   

But man, if he would have at least fought, he could have made the defining case for the next 2 years: what will our restructured economy look like?  How will this nation choose to deal with the wide and growing disparities of wealth and income which currently make our nation look like a Banana Republic.  He could have made the case that resources will be needed for education and infrastructure, and yes the deficit if we ever hope to compete with a China or India or even Brazil in the next century.  He could have said clearly to the wealthy of the nation, you have gained astronomically from the last 30 years of economic upheaval.  In the next 30 years, you will be expected to do a great deal more so that a rising tide lifts all ships.   

And even if Obama blinked and eventually compromised with what would look similar to what he announced today, he would at the very least re-energized his demoralized base.  He would have shown not only his ability to be practical, but the strength of his conviction communicated powerfully.  He would have set the terms of the debate and let working people know, that the Democrats are their party.

What's Next after No, We Can't? 

But alas, Obama missed a golden opportunity to connect with working people through the tax fight.  Like many progressives, I signed petitions, posted to Facebook, etc. encouraging the President to stay true to his word about letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans.  He chose a different path, another lost opportunity in a growing list for this President.  

If there is a progressive primary challenger (and I hope there is), she or he will have my support.  Unless something dramatic changes, Barack Obama will not have my support in the Democrat primary.  I believe he lost a lot of his support today.  We didn't elect a New Democrat (although in fairness, the New Democrat Bill Clinton raised taxes on the wealthy).  We didn't elect someone who would maintain the same-old, same-old when it comes to our economic and tax policies.  We elected someone who combined conviction and practicality with soaring and moving oratory.  What we received instead was a pragmatist who gave into the cynicism of Washington and threats from Mitch McConnell, rather than pursuing with heart, conviction and yes practical politicking a more decent outcome.