In the 90’s, in the eyes of Republicans, Bill Clinton was Left-Wing Enemy Numero Uno.
Fast forward to the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama, and to some on the Right by comparison, Bill seemed pretty okay.
Has the Democratic Party now gone so far into communism, socialism, and fascism that Obama’s sensibilities are unacceptably — dare I say, even ridicule-worthily — unwoke?
In a move some probably thought they’d never see, members of the Left are giving POTUS 44 a bit of What For over his comments Friday evening.
Speaking at a fundraising event, Barack offered some advice:
“Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality. The average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it.”
And:
“Voters, including Democrats, are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain left-leaning Twitter feeds, or the activist wing of our party. … [T]he candidate’s job, whoever that ends up being, is to get elected.”
This wasn’t good enough for former Hillary aide Peter Daou. He took to Twitter Saturday morning to sound off (By the way, you’re all racists and into Pluto):
Here's the problem: The GOP is all about white supremacists and plutocrats, while the Democratic Party leadership is all about "let's all get along and make sure Chuck Todd and David Brooks like us."
So where does that leave the rest of America?
Screwed.
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) November 16, 2019
Saying "Americans are moderate than these wild leftists" is basically conceding that the far right propaganda machine has prevailed.
Because what the Too Far Left™ movement wants is fairness and equality. Health care, education, dignity for ALL people, not just oligarchs…
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) November 16, 2019
“[W]hat the Too Far Left™ movement wants is fairness and equality. Health care, education, dignity for ALL people, not just oligarchs…”
That’s a mouthful.
And what’s “dignity for ALL” mean?
Though he appears to have intended the hashtag as sarcasm, perhaps the most interesting thing about Peter’s tweet is that the ideas he itemizes are all indeed (and, some might say, euphemistically) really far Left.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar took the hashtag and ran with it, again making an impotent point because her list of policy positions are as described.
If being #TooFarLeft means believing:
- Healthcare is a human right
- Future generations should live on a healthy planet
- All student debt should be cancelled
- The minimum wage should be $15
- Lives depend on gun reform
- Families don’t belong in cages
Count me in!
If being #TooFarLeft means believing:
✅ Healthcare is a human right
✅ Future generations should live on a healthy planet
✅ All student debt should be cancelled
✅ The minimum wage should be $15
✅ Lives depend on gun reform
✅ Families don’t belong in cagesCount me in! 💪🏽
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 16, 2019
It’s remarkable that such comments serve, in part, as clapback to left-wing hero/former President Barack Obama.
Meteorologist and activist Eric Holthaus was ready to slap his hands together:
I'm #toofarleft because I trust scientists when they say we need "transformative change" in "all aspects of society."https://t.co/9zfoe4KFVT https://t.co/zjHWgJ5U4k pic.twitter.com/WO4A2jRL15
— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) November 16, 2019
The article to which he linked is titled “U.N. Climate Report Shows Civilization is at Stake if We Don’t Act Now.”
Actor Jon Cryer joined in:
I am #TooFarLeft because I believe that we cannot let greed cause the collapse of the ecosystem that supports all human life on earth.
— Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) November 16, 2019
So did the wonderful Kristen Johnston (Third Rock from the Sun, anyone?):
I’m #TooFarLeft because I’m revolted by the GOPs rampant misogyny & racism.
— kristen johnston (@thekjohnston) November 16, 2019
Even comedian Bill Burr got in on the action, but with a joke:
I’m #toofarleft because I believe if a running back or a wide receiver lowers his head there should be no helmet to helmet penalty. #ImAnAmazingPerson
— Bill Burr (@billburr) November 16, 2019
OAN’s Liz Wheeler served up a Bet0-worthy response to the chatter:
– Free healthcare for illegal aliens
– Decriminalize border crossings
– Open borders
– Eliminate all fossils fuels
– Tax red meat, cow farts, per the Green New Deal
– Late term abortion
– Eliminate billionaires
– Raise middle class taxes
– Ban gunsHell yeah Dems are #TooFarLeft
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) November 16, 2019
As noted by The Daily Caller, this isn’t the first time Obama’s appeared to be losing a bit of his prestige:
This is not the first time Obama received push-back for warning against going too far left on some issues. Journalist Ernest Owens took exception when the former president criticized “woke” social justice warriors Nov. 1 during a speech at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago.
“But the former president’s disdain for the kind of criticism that has become popular to dismiss as ‘cancel culture’ … is misguided,” Owens said in The New York Times on Nov. 1. Other writers expressed similar positions.“The former president took black and progressive movements to task, without understanding his own failure to deliver change,” Malaika Jabali, an activist and writer, noted in a Nov. 1 Guardian editorial.
If the current iteration of the Democratic Party is already less starboard and more port than the most liberal president in American history, what will the landscape look like on the other side of a Trump 2-term run?
We’re moving quickly. How’d we veer so far from those right-wing Obama days?
-ALEX
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