As many of us have heard, two weeks ago the Republicans had a 10 point lead in voter preferences for the upcoming elections. The most recent Gallup Poll, however, shows both parties tied up at 46%. This, of course, can be a fluke. It could also be attributed to President's Obama's address that announced that combat operations in Iraq were officially over. If that is the real reason behind the President's surge in popularity (which I believe is very likely since it was his opposition to the war in Iraq that helped put him in the Oval Office), I hope this will prompt Obama's administration dig out those campaign promises we all liked so much and start going over them.
If the Democrats have any hope of not losing too badly at the polls in November, they have to start listening to their base and not to the screeching of the religious fanatics, crazy Tea Partiers, and Glenn Beck's group of racist jerks. I am convinced that the absolute majority of Americans want peace, jobs, education, healthcare, and security. Even if the militant fringe of the religious right tries to convince us that we want the opposite of all those things. As you can see from the poll linked above, the ultra-conservatives are a lot more enthusiastic than the Democratic supporters about showing up at the polls in the first place. This enthusiasm is due to their certainty that, if elected, their candidates will definitely deliver every piece of insanity they are promising right now. The Democrats find it a lot more difficult to disregard the Conservative howling and stick to fulfilling the mandate they got from their base. I truly hope there is enough time for the Dems to start thinking seriously about the upcoming elections.
3 comments:
I hope Obama starts meeting some of his campaign promises. So far, I'm unimpressed.
Obama has backed down on universal health care, betrayed women's reproductive freedom, let down gays on DADT and marriage, insulted the mentally ill, and now has appointed the deficit commission, also known as the cat food commission to cut social security.
At this point I will continue to vote democratic. If Obama hasn't done a complete about face on these issues by 2012, I will either leave the choice for president blank or write in Hillary Clinton (just saw the add put out by someone who wants her to run).
You may say that will put the republicans in power and they are much worse, but are they, in the final analysis? With republicans we know we must put on our best fight to stay alive. With Obama we get a stealth attack from within our own ranks that no one seems to know how to defend against. This stealth attack is causing a lot of damage. Reproductive rights are weaker since Obama came in power. He is pretty much the same as the republicans on this issue.
A straight up fight might be to our advantage. It certainly would inform the next Democratic president that s/he better take care of the people who voted her/him into office.
I am an independent because I don’t believe either party deserves my allegiance. Although President Obama is far more articulate and eloquent than former President George W. Bush, it is far from clear that his policies are really all that different. My impression is that the U.S. Two Party System is just a shell game in which every few years the public faces are changed, but the underlying policy producing machinery remains the same
While I am a registered Democrat, my feelings are similar to Richard's. Health care reform is just one example, legislation written by and for the insurance companies. With every election cycle, I become a little more disenchanted with the Democratic part.
Post a Comment