Where's the Left?

The Teabagger Express runs through Washington today. The demonstration begins later this morning, going from Freedom Plaza down Pennsylvania toward the Capitol. I'll definitely be there with a camera to chronicle these boorish bunch of old, white cranks.

But this demonstration reminds me of what seems to have been a complete communication breakdown in left-wing activism over this health-care fight. Where's the support from the Left, from the youth, from the machine that pulled quite the effort to put Barack Obama in office? A few things:

1. The Democrats in Congress, as well as Obama, botched the effort from the start, not outlining what the goals are.

2. Without a clear definition of what to fight for, activists had really no idea on how to defend it. One can't defend legislation if it doesn't really exist and remains ambiguous.

3. This confusion, made possible by Democratic wafflers like Pelosi and Reid, contributed to the rise of teabagging loons, who were able to shape the debate, with the help of the media, into whatever they wanted. They could say anything (Death panels! Nazis! Socialism! Tyranny!) without clear pushback from the Left.

So here we are. Harold Pollack wants those forces of the Left to rise up and fight, because despite the complexity and ambiguity of the health-care issue (and debate), this is highly important for everyone. The ramifications of legislation will affect all of us. Pollack calls for action, especially among the youth that were so enthusiastic during the presidential campaign:

Where are these same young people today? Polls indicate that 18-29-year-olds strongly support the President. Yet young people seem fickle and strangely passive, watching from the sidelines as others wage the political knife fight required to get this done.

We can all offer some reasons why: It's hard for 20-somethings to get excited about free colonoscopies or co-ops and the public plan option. Some of this stuff is mind-numbing in its complexity--particularly if you feel decades away from needing most of the medical care we are now discussing. Maybe my own move from HuffPo to tnr.com has soured the younger demographic. Maybe it's summer vacation.

Whatever the cause, young activists need to get past it and step up. It has been embarrassing to see loutish Tea Party types dominate public debate. It was more embarrassing that our wonderful movement that elected America's first African-American president couldn't make a better showing. The absence of energetic young people is palpable. I have been to several town halls. Almost everyone there was over 50. Most were markedly older.

Seniors are doing exactly what they should be doing: getting involved. What about you, young people? Will your voices be heard?

The Left has an opportunity, beginning today with these teabagggers, to answer the lunacy.



(Photo: Starting Saturday morning right, with a scrambled egg/turkey sausage/rice/onion/tomato burrito ... fuel to withstand teabaggers' inanity.)