Obama’s friends at the Center for Community Change are already gearing up to pressure him to implement the progressive policies that they believe he promised in campaign. Their greatest fear is that he will shift to the center-right as president. Sally Kohn of the Movement Vision Lab writes:
One of the central principles in
community organizing is that there are no permanent friends and no
permanent enemies. Barack Obama won by convincing millions of Americans
that there are no permanent enemies of progressive change. In the same
spirit, Obama?s supporters must not become permanent friends to our new
President.Barack Obama ran on a mission of change ? and not just small change but
big, sweeping, transformative change. Pundits are busy speculating how
Obama will govern ? boldly, with a progressive mandate, or cautiously,
hewing the center-right. But regardless of the aspirations of Obama?s
heart or the political calculations of his mind, it?s clear that the
forces of Washington tilt toward the timid and the status quo is
resilient and domineering. The single greatest thing we can do
to honor the spirit of Obama?s campaign and life work is bring as much
enthusiasm to holding Obama accountable as we did to electing him.
We must remember that this election was about the change we want and
our role as active citizens is to continually define ? and press ? the
definition of change, not simply let it be defined for us.
