I may as well be waiting for Godot.
Back during the campaign, I enjoyed a wonderful fantasy that when Obama was elected, I’d get to see former Bush administration officials taking the proverbial “perp walk” like celebrity (and our favorite) accused criminals, broadcast on the internets, cable and local television.
I had a lot vested in that campaign: time, money, talent; I hoped that with my affection for the candidate, my abysmal disillusionment with all things politics was going to be cured by a progressive administration that would, with a substantial majority in both House and Senate, change the direction of the nation.
But, as the song goes, “I was wrong, again. I was wrong.”
Right after the election, I was asked by the Obama campaign to sit on a committee to draft health care reform. I had a little expertise on health insurance, having made a living selling it and well versed on Medicare (which is the model for single-payer plans), and I participated with my usual enthusiasm, including submitting a testimonial based on my personal and professional experience that was included in the draft of our plan.
However, as I observed the new administration’s actions regarding protecting the former leadership from prosecution, despite reams of evidence of lawbreaking, and Obama’s justice department adhering to ”state secret” dogma, my newfound faith began to wane. As the timetable for withdrawal from Iraq began to extend indefinitely, and as the ”new” administration continued its obfuscation on the CIA’s torture regime, my previously simmering enthusiasm diluted to tepid dishwater. When Obama continued to capitulate to the fear-mongering mob of tea-bag-mailing morons, I decided that I would no longer donate my valuable time (or diminishing treasure, thanks to the economy) to the cause.
A fellow community organizer called to ask me why I had recently dropped out of the committee and I told her I was no longer participating in any Obama administration (free slave labor) committees until he gave the green light to prosecute war criminals. That was met with shocked silence.
I sent several well-researched (and passionate) emails to Obama’s White House staff who were only too eager during the campaign and shortly afterward to email me requests for donations or to help pay off Clinton’s debt (as if), or to help the DNC. I responded by demanding investigations into war crimes and to bring the troops home as they promised.
Then, recently, I received an email from the Democratic group soliciting contributions to Al Franken’s legal fund in order to encourage Norm Coleman to give it up if he realizes Al has more money to fight the endless court battles. I promptly responded: Tell Al’s lawyer to do it pro bono! Nobody wrote me back. I don’t get any more phone calls, but I wish I did.
