It seems Obama has parachuted in to a contested House primary in Georgia to back John Barrow, Blue Dog and keen supporter of Bush's domestic spying program, over a credible, more progressive, challenger. Glenn Greenwald, whose tireless work on warrantless wiretapping and telecom amnesty is sometimes so thorough it makes my eyes glaze over, has more details.
For all of Obama's talk about the wicked ways of Washington, these incumbent protection schemes -- whereby Beltway power factions all help each other stay in power no matter their ideology or positions -- are among the most vital instruments for perpetuating how Washington works. Democratic leaders pretend that they are forced continuously to capitulate to the Bush administration due to their "conservative" members, yet continuously work to keep those same members in power, even when it comes to supporting them against far better Democratic primary challengers.
Obama has made himself a central part of that rancid scheme. Recall that in 2006, Obama -- who now touts his commitment to ending the war -- endorsed Joe Lieberman in his Connecticut primary race over war opponent Ned Lamont, appearing with Lieberman to say: "Joe Lieberman's a man with a good heart, with a keen intellect, who cares about the working families of America . . . . I am absolutely certain that Connecticut's going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the United States Senate."
I think the meaning of "change you can believe in" is really "change you can believe you're seeing because it's not so different from what has always been."
