(MB’s Note: Thanks, La-T-Da, for this suggestion!)

It’s not quite New Year’s yet, but may I suggest a resolution for all of us? Despite the recent progressive-sounding advancements made by the lame duck Congress, we all know how bad the next couple of years are going to be. Watching “Burnt Orange” Boehner, “Permasmile” Bachmann and “Snake Lips” McConnell hold forth on the evils of non-white, non-Christian, non-male Murkins is bound to induce nausea in the strongest of constitutions. Can we try to just know that and accept it? Can we try to move through our five stages of grief regarding the suckitude of both Parties, so we can get to Acceptance, and then to action?

I don’t know about you, but I think most people on the Left are still in the phases of Denial, Anger, Bargaining or Depression. They cannot accept that it is the Democratic Party that needs them, not the other way around. They refuse to embrace their power – the power of a huge voting bloc to get what they want out of their “representatives.” (The conservative base, as we saw in 2010, has no such problem.) These lefties have become so addicted to the idea that the Dems are the guys in the white hats and the Repubs are the guys in the black hats, that they can’t see the truth about Obama when it’s not just staring them in the face, it’s flashing like an overdecorated Christmas light extravaganza. Below are some examples of prominent “liberal” pundits who have recently demonstrated one of these four phases, either in writing or on The TeeVee.

Denial: Paul Krugman. Really, Paul, GET A CLUE ALREADY. How many times does Obama have to demonstrate his willingness to destroy the New Deal before you believe it?!

Bob Kuttner must have some source for this story, about Obama planning to propose Social Security cuts in the State of the Union. Let’s hope it’s just a trial balloon.

(facepalm)

I must wonder aloud here – why does Krugman think Obama created his Catfood Commission, then appointed Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, who then came out with the Chairman’s Report on Deficit Reduction, which recommended – wait for it – Social Security cuts?! Did George W. Bush use mind control to force Obama to make this happen?

For Krugman to be this myopic about Obama, this late in the game, is truly mindboggling. The Denial is strong with this one. As you can see, Denial leaves you stuck on the sidelines, shaking your head like The Krug, muttering “There must be some mistake! This cannot be happening!”, hoping that a clear statement of intent is just a “trial balloon.” It’s not a good place for an activist to be. Deal with it, Mr. Nobel-Prize-Winning-Economist: the era of “fauxpe” is over.

Anger: Keith Obamaman – er, Olbermann. Keith’s furiously magnificent “Special Comment” about Obama’s tax deal gave voice to the anger and disgust we are all feeling. I do think that anger can be a spur to action in some cases, but when we get stuck in this stage, we can be manipulated and drawn in directions we really do not want to go. Case in point: the bizarre embrace of Sarah Palin, the antithesis of Hillary Clinton, by avowed Hillary Clinton supporters.

Bargaining: The New Republic’s William Galston. In this article, Democratic strategist William Galston writes an entire legislative agenda for Dear Leader; then, he plays TelePrompter for the State of the Union address. Finally, he explains how his guidance would help Obama in the next two years.

This is just one option for the State of the Union address; there are many others. But all the good ones have some things in common: They speak directly to our economic circumstances and to our fears; they are equal in scope and ambition to the magnitude of the challenges we face; and they embed specific policies that make sense in a broader success story—a narrative that points the way to a brighter future. At the beginning of the next Congress, we will find out if Obama is able to seize his historic opportunity.

Galston is so deep into bargaining that he seems to think Obama is sitting there reading his essay, wrinkling his august brow, and deciding which of his admirable suggestion to follow first. This is remarkably similar to the way we will pray to the deity of our choice, hoping against hope that he/she/it will change an unchangeable situation. And, sadly for Galston, the desired outcome – that Obama will take any of his suggestions – is just as impossible. Obama is not a policy wonk or a strategist. He has no interest in a coherent narrative – he never had one in the first place except “I’m Not Bush and I Didn’t Vote for the War.” He’s just going to continue on with Bush’s third term, then fuck off to Davos, or wherever the real decisions are made, and demand his due for finishing the destruction of the American Middle Class.

Which leads us to…Depression.

Ahhhhh, who am I kidding? I’m depressed, you’re depressed, we’re all depressed at one time or another. We’re in a Depression, for heaven’s sake! In fact, the Kubler-Ross model suggests that we move through all of these stages in no particular order, and more than once, as we continue the healing process. I really don’t want to link to the whiners at Daily Kos, so I’ll just move on to the final stage.

Acceptance: Ian Welsh. Here is a guy who has seen a horribly depressing future (one which many of us might not agree is coming, but I think his vision has the ring of truth), and yet, he still suggests actions we can take to deal with it. These are good suggestions regardless of your feelings on the coming Opocalypse.

I have said it before, and I will say it again.  If you can get out, get out.  If you can’t get out, but you have children, get them overseas—send them on exchanges, send them to overseas relatives for a year, send them to a foreign university (they’re better and cheaper).  Get them out, even if you can’t get out.

(snip)

In the meantime, if you have to stay, make sure you’re on good terms with your neighbors, your spouse, your friends and your family.  Figure out how to grow food wherever you are and how to reduce your dependence on anything but people you trust.  (Don’t trust any corporation.)  And, if you can, organize.  Organize locally, organize at the State level, organize nationally. 

One thing I know for sure: When it comes to the future, the Left must move it, or lose it.

This is an open thread.