Already there are liberals arguing with each other about Obama's strategy of working closely with Republicans on the economic stimulus package that is needed to pull the economy out of the dumper.
Of course none of the discussion yet seriously mentions cutting military spending as a way to free up major funds for creative projects like rail, solar, wind power and more. Current projected spending on these environmentally sustainable programs is minimal compared to the tremendous need due to climate change and declining fossil fuels. Obama proposes to spend alot of money on traditional "shovel ready" programs like road building which only reenforce the wasteful car culture.
The video above between MSNBC's Rachel Maddow and liberal activist David Sirota gives a good view of these issues. Some, like Sirota, are saying that Obama should not be compromising with the Republicans to water down his economic plan by agreeing to more tax cuts and the like.
One conservative Republican commented on their meeting with Obama to the New York Times: “This was not a drive-by P.R. stunt, and I actually thought it might be,” said Representative Zach Wamp, of Tennessee. “It was a substantive, in-depth discussion with our conference, and he’s very effective. He [Obama] knows that the debt and the deficit are huge long-term problems as well,” Mr. Wamp said, “and he made a compelling case. He sounded, frankly, a lot like a Republican.”
In the national campaign Obama spoke out strongly against more tax cuts for the rich and has since winning the election begun to back away some from that position.
Expect more of this liberal jostling as those who play the inside Washington ball game try to analyze and influence the Obama team. It is my view that folks are beginning to see that Obama is indeed a centrist - some will be OK with that and others, who "hoped" for more, will be severely disappointed and are beginning to say so.
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