Monday, November 23, 2009

By Jacob M. Jordan

Some have remarked that, although Barack Obama’s campaign officially ended, he still behaves as though he is campaigning.  There is truth to that statement, but I would submit that this is not limited merely to Obama himself.  The entire populace seems worked into a frenzy that typically accompanies a frenzied election.  There is something boiling underneath the surface of the American political discourse.  Yes, there are the obvious examples of town hall meetings, tea-party protests, etc.  Videos float around of Americans screaming in the faces of their representatives, and MSNBC is dutifully living up to its obligation to marginalize the majority.  Apart from the standard displays of political vitriol, however, is something more subtle.  It is demonstrated in the frequency that words like “traitor” and “treason” are bandied about on talk radio.  A type of polarization has taken place in America, and it seems to me that the main is ready to burst at just the right moment (or the wrong one).  The only thing I can equate this charged atmosphere to is the mid sixties, before the counter-culture and Vietnam protests peaked.

What are the sides that have been taken?  Obviously, the conservatives are aligned against the liberals.  The anger over spending, healthcare reform, and czars is palpable.  Fox News has demonstrated itself to be available as a mouthpiece for such discontent. 

If Barack Obama is not even a year into his presidency, and his policies entail this much opposition, how can he expect to take full advantage of the fleeting Democratic majority within the federal government?  The resignation of Van Jones, the healthcare hurdles, and the government’s near-severance with an organization like ACORN are just a handful of the jack-in-the-boxes Obama has had to manage thus far.  Now, ask yourself this: Would these things have been as likely to have hit the administration in the face without the use of the Internet as an organizational tool for conservatives?  At the risk of being redundant, I ask you once more to consider that Obama has not even reached the end of his first term and he has been forced to face resignations and policy-obstacles at a grass-roots level.  Most people did not become aware of the healthcare bill’s terms through a phonebook-size pamphlet in their mailbox, they became aware through the Internet. 

Imagine the beauty of the arrangement: A Montana lawyer who is an expert in legislative language can dissect the relevant parts of the bill, coordinate with a lawyer in Florida, and post the broken-down analysis on a website.  This enables the non-lawyers like me to grasp the bill’s significance, motivating me to engage in the debate.  I can e-mail the link to my friend, who is a healthcare worker, who e-mails his friends.  Eventually, groups of these people form a decently funded organization, dedicated to fighting the draconian legislation.

Forget ACORN.  This is a type of virtual community organizing that fragmented conservatives—without a centralized figurehead—demonstrated themselves to be quite capable of coordinating.  Again, would Obamacare still be an unsigned piece of legislation had the Internet not been factored into the equation?  What about Van Jones, Anita Dunn, and Cass Sunstein?  Even if such executive appointments go through, consider the heightened scrutiny these officials will be subjected to.  While Obama does momentarily benefit from Democratic majorities, net-savvy and opinionated Americans have demonstrated that they are willing to roadblock—starting at the grass-roots level—anything that raises Lady Liberty’s eyebrow. 

So here is the million dollar question:  With the end of his first year approaching (and potentially the loss of Democratic control), is it not in President Obama’s best interests to quickly silence or “turn down” the vox populi on the Internet?  Is there something in the works, a cyber-crisis of some kind, to make it more difficult for me to post this or for you to read this?  Hopefully not.  Then again, if the Democrats ever wanted to push the most extreme aspects of their agenda, that moment is fading fast.