Game Changer?

You’re probably not in the mood for another wonkish post, but I’m still a little taken aback by the scope and ambition of Obama’s recently proposed budget. It sets forth a genuinely progressive agenda the likes of which we haven’t seen in over three decades. it puts real dollars behind policies that, up until now, have only existed as white papers stuffed away in the file cabinets of think tanks. It’s kind of surreal. We as a citizenry have grown so accustomed to a political culture that reward the perpetuation of the status quo, which makes Obama’s aggressive focus on priorities like health care, education, and energy so bracing. I remember the early days of the Clinton administration, when lots of people were just stoked to have a Democrat back in the White House, but Clinton would never have dared to propose anything so daring as this budget. As George Packer notes, Obama is looking to make history in redefining our priorities.

The knives are already being sharpened in preparation for the fight ahead to enact this budget. The status quo has worked very well for the wealthy and corporations; they aren’t about to meekly accept a future where they pay more taxes and have less influence. Obama seems to recognize that he’s going to need a longer knife than everyone else’s and he’s already talking tough. And after years in the political wilderness, the left has a whole ecosystem of advocacy organizations to do the heavy lifting of mobilizing support for these initiatives.

The Republicans have taught us well.