Barack Obama Vs. the Far Left

Are you a Conservative that thinks that Barack Obama will govern far to the left? Never fear, for some, Barack Obama is already governing not nearly far enough to the left. Here are just some of the ideas that the average person on the far left would like to see for Obama's cabinet.
Dennis Kucinich for Secretary of State, Arlene Holt Baker (currently head of the AFL-CIO) for Secretary of Labor, Russ Feingold for Attorney General, Joseph Stiglitz (author of the far left's new gospel the Three Trillion Dollar War: the True Costs of the Iraq War) for Secretary of Treasury.

Here is how self professed Leftist,college professor, and political pundit Dr. Mark Lamont Hill analyzed the choice of Rahm Emanuel for Chief of Staff.

Based on recent history, Rahm Israel Emmanuel is by far one of the most conservative politicians on his side of the aisle. As a member of the New Democrat Coalition, Emmanuel and his comrades have been major allies to the Right-wing’s efforts to undermine fair trade, disempower unions, and disregard environmental considerations. For example, policies like the Clinton Crime Bill and NAFTA, which was heavily critiqued by Obama, are directly attributed to Emmanuel’s influence. For a president who got elected by distancing himself from Bush, Obama’s selection of a powermongering Lieberman Democrat wreaks of contradiction.

While most Democrats are attempting to responsibly reduce military spending, Emmanuel has repeatedly voted in favor of, and resisted attempts to limit, George W. Bush’s reckless and dangerous military expenditures. Also, Emmanuel was a hardcore supporter of the Iraq war, arguing that he would have supported the invasion regardless of whether or not weapons of mass destruction really existed. Today, Emmanuel continues to instigate military action against Iran by overstating its nuclear capacity.

Perhaps most disturbing about Emmanuel is his stance on Israel. As a fervent Zionist, he is further to the Right than President Bush on all issues related to Israel. From Israel’s assassination policy to well-documented human rights abuses, Emmanuel has failed to offer the slightest critique of America’s most coveted ally. Of course, it is not difficult to find the filial source of Emmanuel’s stances. His father, Benjamin Emmanuel, was a well-known gun-runner for Irgun, a pre-Israel terrorist organization that launched a series of vicious attacks against Palestinians and British civilians. In 1991, Emmanuel himself volunteered for the Israel Defense Forces during the Gulf War.

There is a strain of elite Conservative thought that blames social conservatives for the loss in this past election. If ever there was a base of voters that can be a problem though it is the far left.

The far left has a revolutionary agenda. It includes such social issues as gay marriage, abortion on demand, euthanasia, the re institution of the Fairness Doctrine, gun control and full drug legalization. On foreign policy matters, they can't get out of Iraq soon enough. They want to avoid war with Iran at all costs, and they generally have an anti American view of geopolitics. On economic matters they use words like social justice to mask their quasi Socialistic agenda.

They also wield a lot of power. Their power base is drawn from such groups as Moveon.org, Daily Kos, and the network of George Soros. The far left lead by Moveon and Daily Kos supported Barack Obama early over Hillary Clinton in the primaries. They have had eight years of pent up frustration and anger, and now they feel as though their guy was elected.

Not only do they feel entitled, but they are not so subtley demanding payback. Here is how the President of Move On, which raised $88 million for Obama, described the group's "hopes" for his administration.

President Obama will face daunting challenges from the day he takes office. We look forward, however, to being part of the enormous wave of civic and political engagement that his Presidency has inspired and that will enable him to achieve the things that have been on the top of his agenda and ours. We look forward to the change all of us worked so hard to create

To me, this was a not subtle hint that they expect payback from Senator Obama for their troubles in helping to elect him.

The far left is already restless from the cabinet choices. They view the Clinton administration as far too moderate. They expect the Obama administration to be far more liberal. Just ask both Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman what the far left does to Democrats that they feel have crossed them. In fact, picking Hillary Clinton may be seen as an act of sacrilege.

The problem for President Obama is that appeasing the far left will alienate everyone else. Not appeasing them will cause ire from the very base that lead him into office. In order to be successful as President, I am of the opinion that he will have to take on the far left. I don't know if he has the will to take them on, and I'm not sure that he disagrees with them much. What wil happen when our troops are still in country in Iraq by the end of 2011? What will happen the first time we take an aggressive posture toward Iran? What will happen when card check and the Fairness Doctrine are not delivered? It may spell a mutiny in his base, and two plus months before taking office, we are already seeing signs that we may see Barack Obama versus the far left.