Mr. Press Secretary, speaking liberally, who do you think you are?

According to an article published in The Hill this morning, the White House press secretary has this to say about Liberals,

“They will be satisfied when we have Canadian healthcare and we’ve eliminated the Pentagon. That’s not reality.” And this, “They wouldn’t be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president.”

I don’t know about other self professed liberals, but I feel like I have been fucked and didn’t even get a decent meal for my troubles.

Now when the Obama administration puts this dirty laundry on the spin cycle, they are going to say Robert Gibbs’ (not to be confused with Sean Hannity’s) statements are targeted at the “professional” left.   I would assume that means the likes of Rachel Maddow, Thom Hartmann, David Sirota, etc.  I agree these are some of the few, the proud, high-profile, media faces of the left.  However, I have to let the President and his staff know that I am not an employee of any network; I am not paid in any way by any one.  I am representative of the Progressives who organized, campaigned, raised money, and ultimately voted for Obama, yet I, too, have questions about the course of our government and the people at the helm.

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Barack Obama look me in the eye and say, “I want you to hold our government accountable.  I want you to hold me accountable.”  And I am.  Though I believe the healthcare reform package is a good start, I have questions about the absence of a public option.  Without a robust public option and its inherent cost-lowering impetus toward competition, doesn’t this at times appear to be writing a blank check to many of the already incredibly profitable insurance companies?  It’s just a question, but one I feel is one worth asking, and I have.

We were promised many things in the Obama-Biden campaign of 2008, and I believe we have received many things in return.  Sixty percent of what I would like to see done in an Obama administration is an adamantly better payoff than a five percent dividend from a McCain-Palin investment.  There are issues, however, that provoke impatient passion from the left.  For example, I consistently hear that it’s “one day at a time” on the progress of gay rights…the administration will give me inclusion in hate crimes legislation, but I have to give them time on “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”; the administration will give same-sex federal workers at the State Department full spousal benefits limited under the Defense of Marriage Act, but the White House response on the overturn of California’s Proposition 8 was a bit tepid at best.  I am no Pollyanna when it comes to politics, and I am well aware that compromise is at times a necessity.  But I am also aware that I am not the only supporter frustrated over issues of personal investment, and that the candidate of “hope” at times seems like the candidate of “I hope so.”  Now, I realize not all the disgruntlement can be laid at Obama’s feet.  The obstruction in the US Senate, on both sides of the aisle, is truly loathsome.  I think it’s past time to put shock collars on those Blue Dog Democrats, that answer to entrenched corporate interests as masters, and kick them the hell off the political porch.  Bill after bill is sent over from the House to die a watered down death by pseudo blue-state DINO-saurs voting from a selfish perspective that I wrongly assumed was extinct.

The President needs to spend some political capital.  In a world of symbolism over substance, I would like to see more glimpses of strength.  It may not in itself bring about the change we can believe in, but it can’t hurt to give the impression of a President in which we can believe.  Having lived and prospered through the Clinton administration, I will never say that Hillary would be any less of a corporate centrist as President, but there is something deep down inside me that feels, had she won, she would have metaphorically bitch slapped John Boehner by now.

So, Mr. Gibbs, here is the deal.  Yes, I am a Liberal, and as such, I question my government.  I feel it is a responsibility of my citizenship.  I don’t walk in lock-step with any politician, talking head, or pundit.  I tend to be a little more analytical than your average voter, and “because I said so” has never been an expression I have accepted easily.  My father often admonished me, in a similar fashion as you have, for requesting explanations in regard to his peculiar decision making processes on issues that inherently concerned me.  He was a man of very little patience, a sharp, stinging tongue, and a proponent of corporal punishment.  Yet, with hesitation, as I knew what was coming to me, I still asked “why” time and time again.  This is in my nature, Mr. Gibbs, to question.  So, just as I continued to press my father for transparency all those years ago, I will continue to seek answers from your administration, but with little regard or hesitation to your spanking.  Because after all, you are not my daddy.