Rahm Emanuel Is the Definition of Unprincipled
I was reading the cover story of the New York Times Sunday Magazinethe other day—the one about Obama’s team taking Capitol Hill—and I came upon the following quote from Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.
“The only nonnegotiable principle here,” he said, “is success. Everything else is negotiable.”
That’s the problem I have with Emanuel—and with Obama.
There’s no principle they’re willing to go to the mat for.
They didn’t fight for universal single-payer health care.
They didn’t fight for giving judges the authority to reduce the mortgages of people in bankruptcy.
They didn’t fight against the bank bailout.
They didn’t fight to keep GM from shutting down plants and laying off 21,000 people, even when they’re taking ownership of GM.
They didn’t fight for marriage equality or against don’t ask, don’t tell.
They didn’t fight against indefinite detention without trial; hell, they’ve embraced it.
They didn’t fight to dismantle Bush’s entire edifice of repression, including the NSA spying and the Military Commissions Act.
And they haven’t fought to bring the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to speedier close.
Emanuel’s comment is the very definition of being unprincipled. From a DLC-er like him, I’m not surprised.
But many expected better from Obama.
Success is not a principle. It’s an outcome.
And the outcome is going to be much less satisfactory if there’s no principle being fought for.
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Comments
Matt... I thank you for this observation. Emanuel has always bothered me as Obama's lead man.
Single payer gone and no fight, rendition - up in the air, Gitmo detainees put on hold, banking elite given the nod to continue what Paulson promoted for Goldman Sachs.... the list goes on.
What do we have in this country if not an oligarchy run by corporations?
Is Obama trying to carve out some territory here, or is he capitulating as Clinton did to avoid confrontation for the next election?
This is getting very old. Do we have to wait for the second term orf any p[residency to get something donE? And................... is there and real hope of that?