"Hearing Both Sides" In The Obama Era

Just as President Obama dismissed single-payer health-care advocates before the health-care debate started, Obama is convening Congressional leaders in a bi-partisan White House summit without including progressive anti-escalation leaders.

Out of the 31 Congressmen invited there are hawks like, John McCain and full-time obstructionists Eric Cantor, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. Noticeably absent, however, are the leading opponents of the war, like Russ Feingold, Alan Grayson, Barbara Lee, and Jim McGovern. Given that McGovern has a bill before Congress with over 100 co-sponsors calling for an exit strategy, he would have been a valuable voice in the discussion.

Should Obama's roundtable gesture surprise anyone? On issue after issue, Obama seeks to "build consensus." In doing so he takes the ideas from those on the right, and those on the moderate to centrist elements of the Democratic Party. Progressives are not even on his radar. The "liberals" represented at this summit will be John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi, both of whom 'caution against rushing to judgment.' We've heard that position before- it was the posture of the moderate Democrats who eventually caved, rushing to vote for Bush's War in Iraq. This might be news to Obama, but there are many, many people in this country tired of the war and opposed to escalation right now. There are even people in Congress who think like them. It's too bad Obama won't hear them out, even as McCain and Cantor prattle in his ear.