The Democrats, who were sent to office with a clear mandate last year, seem to forget who they should be representing – the majority that voted for them. Listening to talk radio I am starting to hear a lot of disgruntled Democratic constituents call in and voice their concern over the turn the health care debate has taken. Their message is simple – if they don’t get what they were promised on the campaign trail then they won’t vote again. That means all the work the Obama campaign did last year to get younger people involved in politics could be lost after only one election.
And this sentiment is limited to only the individuals. We are now seeing stronger pillars of the base air the same thing. Here’s the incoming president of the AFL-CIO saying that no public option would mean no support from the Democratic powerhouse that is the union.
I believe President Obama is making a grave error, one that George Bush made. He is putting to much faith in his political operatives. These people are the most powerful in Washington. They can get their own agenda pushed through by misguiding the President on public sentiment.
This same thing also happens in Congress. When we saw 2/3 of the public opposing the Iraq war, Republicans continued to say that the “people want us there”. They ignore public opinion, and I believe a lot of that comes from staffers pushing what they want.
Its time for our elected officials to be reminded that they serve the people that elect them, not the staffer down the hall. If Democrats are going to waiver to health care industry pressure and right wing extremists, then the Democrats will quickly be reminded what its like to be the minority party. Sadly a minority Democratic party has much less power than a minority Republican party – something that becomes more evident every day.