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[I'm glad to say that there's been a segment of AWARE saying this
ever since Obama ran for the Senate. --CGE] <br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/111188-1298864749-notables-on-left-don-2l4o-tshirts-to-express-dissatisfaction-with-president-obama.html">http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/111188-1298864749-notables-on-left-don-2l4o-tshirts-to-express-dissatisfaction-with-president-obama.html</a><br>
<br>
"2L4O" T-shirts<br>
Obama's left/liberal critics make a fashion statement of their
disapproval of his policies<br>
<br>
Online PR News – 01-March-2011 –WASHINGTON, DC — In one sign that
Barack Obama has alienated the left, more than a dozen blogs now
promote union-made "2L4O: Too Liberal for Obama" and "2L4O: Too Left
for Obama" T-shirts.<br>
<br>
Blogs publicizing 2L4O shirts—which were originated by Boston-based
blogger "Vastleft"—include Correntewire, Black Agenda Report, and
Avedon Carol’s The Sideshow.<br>
<br>
The shirts are worn by such notables as peace activist Cindy
Sheehan, black-issues activist/editor Bruce A. Dixon, single payer
health care advocate Dr. Margaret Flowers, and historian Paul
Street.<br>
<br>
Today, 2L4O.com is proud to share statements from each of them about
the timeliness and relevance of the 2L4O message.<br>
<br>
* * *<br>
<br>
<u>Peace activist Cindy Sheehan explains why she's "2L4O":</u><br>
<br>
Barack Obama ran under the banner of "change," and there has been a
change since George W. Bush moved out of the White House and Obama
moved in—there is far less outrage from so-called liberals about the
policies of militarism and corporate exploitation.<br>
<br>
Today, the war in Afghanistan burns ever hotter, as we send more of
our young people to kill and die for no legitimate reason. We kill
still more via drones—unmanned planes that murder civilians by the
dozens. Since Obama's election, the part of America that cares about
such things has grown even smaller.<br>
<br>
If a Nobel Peace Prize winner waging constant war on countless
fronts is not Orwellian enough, he also reclassified America's
occupying troops in Iraq as "advisors."<br>
<br>
Under Obama, we see the same institutionalized lack of
accountability as under Bush, but now with increased abuse of peace
activists and whistleblowers.<br>
<br>
About all this, the silence is more deafening than ever. Sadly, many
who once claimed commitment to peace and justice are content, so
long as their preferred party is in charge.<br>
<br>
Both major parties label anyone who challenges the bipartisan
consensus as fringe extremists. To be humane is now to be an
"extremist." To be "2L4O" (Too Left/Liberal for Obama) is
unthinkable to both parties. Maybe it's time to rethink.<br>
<br>
* * *<br>
<br>
<u>Black-issues activist/editor Bruce A. Dixon, whose website
promotes the shirts, explains why he's "2L4O":</u><br>
<br>
Black Agenda Report, where I am Managing Editor, was among the first
political-commentary outlets to observe something that many
Americans are now belatedly and reluctantly concluding: that Barack
Obama is an attractive repackaging of the status quo.<br>
<br>
Obama puts a reassuring "post-racial" face on policies designed to
further marginalize the marginalized.<br>
<br>
From healthcare "reform" that's a thinly veiled bailout for the
insurance industry to surges in Afghanistan, expansion of the prison
state, and boundless infringement of civil liberties, Obama reliably
does the bidding of the powerful at the expense of the rest of us.<br>
<br>
For the black community, the celebrated symbolism of Obama's
presidency is a Pyrrhic victory. We shouldn't allow commemorative
plates to distract us from the growing number of empty plates.<br>
<br>
Progress in America has been hard-won, and it's been won from the
left, the side that the Obama administration flagrantly dismisses.
If you're not "2L4O" (Too Left/Liberal for Obama), are you on the
left at all?<br>
<br>
* * *<br>
<br>
<u>Single payer health care activist Dr. Margaret Flowers explains
why she's "2L4O":</u><br>
<br>
When President Obama was elected, I expected an open and honest
debate about what the real problems are with health care in this
nation and the most effective ways to solve those problems. The
United States has been in an increasing health care crisis for
decades with a growing number of people who have no health insurance
or who pay high premiums for health insurance that doesn’t cover
them when they need it. Even with health insurance, people are going
bankrupt because of illness and are suffering and dying from
preventable causes.<br>
<br>
I expected that a single payer approach, modeled on our own Medicare
which has improved the health of seniors and has lifted them out of
poverty for 45 years, would be part of the discussion. President
Obama supported a single payer health program when he was a state
senator.<br>
<br>
Instead, the health reform process was closed and scripted so that
the final legislation benefits the corporations that profit from the
health industry more than it helps the people who need care. The
health bill passed by a Democrat majority is based on policy
developed by Republicans. President Obama missed an important
opportunity to address a very real and serious problem in this
nation.<br>
<br>
This is a pattern that we see when it comes to all of the issues
that have a real impact on the lives of the people in
America—education, jobs, peace, the environment, food and the
economy. Instead of focusing on real solutions that benefit the
people, President Obama further enriches large corporations.<br>
<br>
I consider myself a commonsense person who wants to see solutions
that are based on the evidence of what works. Single payer has been
proven to work at home as Medicare and in other industrialized
nations. Single payer covers everybody and saves money.<br>
<br>
As a doctor, I believe it would be irresponsible to prescribe
treatments for my patients that have been proven not to work.<br>
<br>
The President’s health bill doubles down on for-profit health
insurance, a system proven to limit coverage and foster runaway
costs.<br>
<br>
I support a cure that's both proven and affordable: single
payer/Medicare for all.<br>
<br>
I guess that being a pragmatist when it comes to public policy makes
me "2L4O" (Too Left/Liberal for Obama).<br>
<br>
* * *<br>
<br>
<u>Historian Paul Street explains why he's "2L4O":</u><br>
<br>
How could any real lefty or liberal not be 2L4O (Too Left/Liberal
for Obama)?<br>
<br>
Having watched Obama coming up in Chicago and at the Iowa Caucuses,
it's been clear from the outset that he's deeply conservative. But
many have been, and remain, in denial about that.<br>
<br>
As I documented in my books "Barack Obama and the Future of American
Politics" and "The Empire's New Clothes: Barack Obama in the Real
World of Power," Obama re-brands much of the George W. Bush agenda
with marketing designed to seduce progressives.<br>
<br>
Policies as awful as—and sometimes worse than—ones the left properly
railed against under Bush suddenly became acceptable with Obama at
the helm. There seems to be no limit to this, with Obama even
attacking Social Security and claiming the right to assassinate
American citizens!<br>
<br>
A necessary step to re-energizing a policy (and not personality)
focused left is to break the taboo on admitting that Obama is not of
the left and that we do not support his politics, the politics of
empire and corporate greed.<br>
<br>
If it sounds radical to declare yourself "2L4O," that's a measure of
how far we have to go to reclaim a true left-oriented politics.<br>
<br>
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