I just got an email from MoveOn for me to call my congressman and urge him to vote against the “fiscal cliff” compromise in tonight’s upcoming House vote. My reply to MoveOn: “If Bernie Sanders supports this bill, so do I.” I am referring to the socialist senator from Vermont, a deserved hero of the left. He voted with 88 of his colleagues to approve the bill last night.
There will be time to judge Obama for being “conceder in chief,” in the words of Nobel laureate, liberal economist Paul Krugman, writing yesterday in the New York Times. The bill sucks in many ways. But the bottom line here is that we are not going to do better than this bill at this time to get some tax increases on some of the wealthy, without draconian cuts to social programs and tax increases on those who can afford it least.
Sometimes MoveOn picks or pursues fights that can’t be won. Doing so may feel good, but it wastes energy and accomplishes nothing. I’m not suggesting that MoveOn not fight for a better bill during the process, but that fight is now over. Once the horse has left the proverbial barn, it’s time to (for want of a better term) move on. If in doubt, just consider the absurdity of MoveOn’s staking out a position in opposition to Bernie Sanders.
©2013 Keith Berner
