Why Barack Obama and the Democrats Don't Deserve Re-Election

[Wamitoria]

That's probably correct, but I simply wish to point out that he's not a very good politician.

Going hard-line like the Republicans are would only make the situation worse. The more he tries to compromise, the more moderates the Democratic party will draw in.

[SaintB]

I agree with the OP about many of the things he said, but however what is the alternative? All GOP? I would never support that.

[Alien Space Bats]

I'd love to see a more aggressive strategy in Washington, but a large part of the problem lies with a Beltway culture that indoctrinates everyone into believing that, politically speaking, the GOP always possesses the upper hand at the ballot box. Thus, Republicans act like assholes because they believe that they are always working from a position of strength (as the Beltway press and self-styled "experts" all tell them); likewise, the Democrats act like wimps because they believe that the are always working from a position of weakness (as the Beltway press and self-styled "experts" all tell them).

Thus, the Democratic base gets no respect. The Party leadership and the Beltway crowd pretend like there really isn't a Democratic base; they pretend that Democratic voters are few in number and disinclined to vote, while Republicans are a massive, angry mob ready to set Washington alight. The polling numbers do not support this view any more than the data does, but that is the pocket universe within which Washington operates.

As long as this is true - as long as these are the perceptions that shape Washington politics - then you will continue to see a world of raging Republicans and cringing Democrats.

Is there hope? Yes. The continuing rightward movement of the GOP will not stop, but sooner or later the GOP will alienate too many voters to survive. I may be wrong, but I don't believe that the majority of Americans wish that the Confederacy had won the civil war, that we were ruled completely by a wealthy elite, that our wages should be reduced to Third World levels, and that the future options of everyone who isn't born with a sliver spoon in his mouth (and yes, the male pronoun is intended here) should be sharply constrained. If the GOP nominates someone like Bachman to run against Obama and then gets wiped in November of 2012 (which is quite possible), and then does what it always does in the wake of any defeat and moves further to the right, the political landscape post-2012 will look very, very different. An unelectable Republican rump will no longer be able to compete politically against a moderate Democratic party whose impulse is towards "big-picture" conciliation.

And if they double down on that defeat by attempting to rectify their loss with an ill-considered attempt at a Second Amendment Remedy (which, while not probable, is still not so unlikely as to be beyond the realm of possibility), we could very well find ourselves in an entirely new political world, at the dawn of the Seventh Party System - which I guarantee will look nothing like the six that came before it.

[Shalrirorchia]

I'd love to see a more aggressive strategy in Washington, but a large part of the problem lies with a Beltway culture that indoctrinates everyone into believing that, politically speaking, the GOP always possesses the upper hand at the ballot box. Thus, Republicans act like assholes because they believe that they are always working from a position of strength (as the Beltway press and self-styled "experts" all tell them); likewise, the Democrats act like wimps because they believe that the are always working from a position of weakness (as the Beltway press and self-styled "experts" all tell them).

Thus, the Democratic base gets no respect. The Party leadership and the Beltway crowd pretend like there really isn't a Democratic base; they pretend that Democratic voters are few in number and disinclined to vote, while Republicans are a massive, angry mob ready to set Washington alight. The polling numbers do not support this view any more than the data does, but that is the pocket universe within which Washington operates.

As long as this is true - as long as these are the perceptions that shape Washington politics - then you will continue to see a world of raging Republicans and cringing Democrats.

Is there hope? Yes. The continuing rightward movement of the GOP will not stop, but sooner or later the GOP will alienate too many voters to survive. I may be wrong, but I don't believe that the majority of Americans wish that the Confederacy had won the civil war, that we were ruled completely by a wealthy elite, that our wages should be reduced to Third World levels, and that the future options of everyone who isn't born with a sliver spoon in his mouth (and yes, the male pronoun is intended here) should be sharply constrained. If the GOP nominates someone like Bachman to run against Obama and then gets wiped in November of 2012 (which is quite possible), and then does what it always does in the wake of any defeat and moves further to the right, the political landscape post-2012 will look very, very different. An unelectable Republican rump will no longer be able to compete politically against a moderate Democratic party whose impulse is towards "big-picture" conciliation.

And if they double down on that defeat by attempting to rectify their loss with an ill-considered attempt at a Second Amendment Remedy (which, while not probable, is still not so unlikely as to be beyond the realm of possibility), we could very well find ourselves in an entirely new political world, at the dawn of the Seventh Party System - which I guarantee will look nothing like the six that came before it.

While I would not be so arrogant as to assume that my own experiences represent a broader pattern in political culture, I think that they might be enlightening nonetheless.

I used to work for a manager who was a staunch Republican. Believed the whole platform from top to bottom. In my experience with that manager (and others like him), the Republicans seem to believe in doctrinal, universal absolutes. There's right, there's wrong, and there's never any question about which is which. Some of our most hotly-contested discussions occurred when I challenged the notion of an absolute on one topic or another. This phenomenon is not only evident in rank-and-file conservatives; listen to Rush Limbaugh for a little bit. The man presents all sorts of absolutist judgments every single day.

A lot of Republicans are very religious folks. Even for those who are not, there seems to be a doctrine that is adhered to LIKE a religion. This sort of clearly-defined order has been obvious in Republican presidential contests over the past couple of decades; the Republicans often have a candidate whose "turn" it is considered to be. Republican national politics often appear to be far more tightly controlled and organized than their Democratic opposites. I've worked for a Democratic political group before...there were all sorts of broad differences in opinion and all sorts of disagreements. What's more, the disagreements are -expected- in the Democratic fold. The Democratic base is very diverse, and we pretty much expect disagreement. It's not like what the Republicans are going through, now. Right now, the Tea Party is engaging in purification, mounting primary challenges against any Republican candidate who isn't conservative enough to satisfy them.

The Democrats and the Republicans are two very different groups of people, and the differences between them just keep growing wider because the Republicans keep scooting to the right.

[The Romulan Republic]

Weather the Democrats deserve to win may be a moot point, as the Tea Party now seems determined to hurt themselves by picking a fight with the AARP.