Sixth, this black president with the funny name is trying to lead America out of the great recession, by far the worst recession since the depression, and the Republicans were wildly successful in convincing much of the voting public to forget what they had done to drag America into the great recession, and that Obama should have been able to snap his fingers, wave a magic wand, and voila!, everything's all good again!
Seventh, President Obama made a few serious mistakes in that he (1) didn't trumpet every day how his efforts were indeed helping America out of the great recession, (2) didn't make the stimulus big enough, (3) didn't attack the Republicans day in and day out for what they'd done to the American economy during the Bush administration, and, in my opinion (4), didn't haul many of the previous administration before the Hague for war crimes trials which were richly warranted by international and American law, which would, in my opinion, have damaged the Republican brand even further.
So my question, then, is this: why wasn't the Republican victory in the 2010 midterms much bigger than it was? Given the above advantages they had, in my opinion they should have been able not only to take more House seats, but they should have been able to capture the Senate as well. But they didn't, did they? What's more, as of today, Obama's approval rating (43%) is equal to the average of Reagan's approval rating throughout 1982, despite all the advantages the Republicans have had this year over the black president with the funny name!
That's why I love holding current events up to the harsh light of history. For by doing so, I see that the Republican victory in the 2010 midterm elections, this great mandate of the American people the Republicans are claiming in their quest to unravel the Obama agenda is nothing more than a sizable speed bump in the liberalization of America, for America as a whole is more liberal now than ten years ago, and far more liberal than a generation ago. Anyone with even a modest understanding of American history can see that from our very founding, our nation has undeniably grown progressively more liberal. Sure, we've faced other speed bumps of conservative obstructionism along the way, but in each and every case, said obstructionism has proven only temporary.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - El Bicho
much like the impending extinction of the Repubs in '08 was overblown so is the demise of the Dems in '10 regardless of what short-sighted folks with little sense of history will tell you.
[edited]
2 - Dan
More and more white people are turning away from the party of racial hatred and voting Republican. I think that's a good thing. For the first time in two years I'm not ashamed of my country.
Even though the demographic trend is in your favor, you are right that many of you won't live to see it. Even though white liberals are too stupid to realize it, you wouldn't want to live to see it. Just like you wouldn't dare to live in places where whites are a minority now.
3 - zingzing
dan, i live in a predominately non-white neighborhood. and your comment is really, really ignorant. and somewhat confused, i think.
4 - Dan
zingzing, I live in a white neighborhood, your comment, in reply to my comment is really, really, really, ignorant. (more "reallys")
5 - Glenn Contrarian
Dan -
More and more white people are turning away from the party of racial hatred and voting Republican.
For every case of race-baiting you can find by a Democratic politician or pundit, I'll provide you TWENTY cases of race-baiting by Republican politicians or pundits. If we Dems are the party of 'racial hatred' as you claim, then this should be pretty easy for you, right?
But you won't take me up on this challenge - you know better.
6 - handyguy
Another racially charged comment from Dan. Yawn.
7 - Glenn Contrarian
And for Arch and Dan -
Anyone with even a modest understanding of American history can see that from our very founding, our nation has undeniably grown progressively more liberal. Sure, we've faced other speed bumps of conservative obstructionism along the way, but in each and every case, said obstructionism has proven only temporary.
You two can disagree with my article all you want...but can you disprove what I said? Feel free to try.
8 - zingzing
dan: "zingzing, I live in a white neighborhood..."
go figure. are you trying to say that dems are racist against whites? and are you trying to say that an america without a white majority is automatically a bad thing? and are you trying to say that a white liberal wouldn't want to live in a non-white neighborhood? (i like my non-white neighborhood, not because it's non-white, but because it's a great neighborhood.)
obviously, as a white lib in a non-white neighborhood, i am an example of a white lib that's perfectly fine living in a non-white neighborhood. and i dare to live here. and i want to live here. and i like living here. what do you make of that?
9 - zingzing
it is funny how cities mostly favor democrats while rural areas favor republicans. when people of different races live together, they gravitate towards the dems as a whole. wonder why?
10 - zingzing
dan: "For the first time in two years I'm not ashamed of my country."
funny again... obama's wife says something very similar and the right jumps all over her.
11 - Ruvy
Do you really think, any of you, that it matters who holds the flusher of the toilet flushing you away? Conservatives and Republicans can do nothing to sponge up the $trillions of unbacked dollars that are going to kill your economy.
Foreigners will back your fake dollar only until the Chinese can convince its HOME market to consume its products. Once they do, they can afford to dump your dollars, buy gold and silver and demand that YOU pay in gold and silver if you want "cheap" Chinese goods. Once the Chinese demand gold from you, so will everyone else - including Israel. Your dollar will be worth less than toilet paper.
You have no manufacturing base at all, and you haven't the capability of rebuilding one either.
Oh, you sad lot of fools!!
12 - Clavos
when people of different races live together, they gravitate towards the dems as a whole. wonder why?
Dunno, but that question could revolve around the chicken/egg which came first conundrum. Do they live together first and then "gravitate toward the dems" -- or vice versa?
I live in a mixed race neighborhood, too. I don't dislike it, but do dislike the foreigners in my neighborhood who litter, line-jump in traffic and in stores/theaters, play their music loudly, and otherwise are inconsiderate. In my neighborhood, these foreigners are paying rent in excess of $1500/month and most drive upscale cars (i.e. Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, etc.), so they ain't poor, but they ARE assholes.
For the record, I dislike the anyone of any race/nationality who does those things.
13 - zingzing
DOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
and you really have little understanding of the reality in china. in order to "convince the HOME market to consume its products," china would first have to address the massive income gap. problem is, the current trajectory of the economic boom is only widening that gap. what's fueling that boom is the foreign markets, especially the us. so it's not the home market that needs convincing... they'll never to be able to afford the stuff the way things are... you need to convince those making money hand over fist to make less money less quickly. fat chance in hell, ruvy.
the world economy is all linked. if china (and "everyone else-including israel") were to deliberately sink the largest economy in the world, they'd just be sinking their own economies as well. and most sane people know that.
a run on the dollar would destroy china's fortune as much as it would ours, and it would only serve to hurt its best consumer. it knows that. we know that. they're getting rich right now despite it. we're hooked on the cheap goods and loving it. no one wants to change. maybe someone should, but you can be DAMN sure it's not going to be the chinese.
14 - Baronius
Another racially charged article from Glenn. Yawn. Glad Dan called him on it.
15 - Jimbo
The vote was historic! The dribble in this article ignores the fundamental lesson of the election: the public wants a smaller and less intrusive government.
16 - Baronius
"when people of different races live together, they gravitate towards the dems as a whole."
Heh. Together. There's more racial mix in a neighborhood in Anchorage or the Louisiana bayou than in Harlem or the Upper East Side.
17 - handyguy
Baronius, you can't possibly find Dan's invariably nasty tone appealing. He has no interest in having a reasonable discussion, just throwing attitude around.
18 - Glenn Contrarian
Arch, Clavos, Baronius, Jimbo -
Yeah, I'm a real idiot for pointing out how the nearly completely-white Republican party is screwing itself in the long run, while the Democrats are poised perfectly for the future with our acceptance of diversity in everything, right?
WELL, CHECK THIS OUT!
Apparently I'm not the only one who says that the Republicans' war on brown people isn't a real good idea...because the socially-conservative Hispanic community voted Democratic by a whopping 3-1 margin!
And the same article shows clearly by the numbers that the Hispanic vote is PRECISELY what kept the Republicans from taking control of the Senate!
Gee, now where did I hear such an idea before? Oh, yeah - from ME...right before I was told I was an effing idiot for spouting such a ludicrous idea!
But I guess all y'all have moved on to a different subject, specifically how Obama's spending $200M per DAY on his trip to India while keeping a 34-ship fleet just offshore at his beck and call, right? I mean, Fox News, their pundits, and Republican politicians are all about factual reporting, right? And it's all over the Right's blogosphere...
...but how many of those on the Right will own up to buying into the completely, utterly bogus figure from an anonymous figure in India that the Right immediately latched upon as FACT?
Precious few. But then, ensuring integrity in reporting is not real high on the Right's list of priorities.
19 - roger nowosielski
Baronius must have responded to the following:
"Third, we've got a black president, and this does make a difference, since race does play a part in voting and white conservatives are much more likely to vote in midterm elections; witness the plethora of race-baiting which was almost exclusively committed by those on the right."
Frankly, I, too, find it objectionable in that Glenn keeps on harping on the race issue to no end, as though he really needed to in order to account for the election results. And to keep on using the same point over and over is like saying the electorate had no other (in their eyes, no doubt) valid reasons for voting like it did. It's that kind of blindness to the possible faults of this administration as regards its performance or agenda that I also find repugnant. It does appear that Glenn has a race-fixation when each and every time race figures as a major part of his explanation. It's no different in essence from the kind of objectionable statements from the extreme religious right who lay the blame for natural disasters at the feet of the "evil" people.
20 - roger nowosielski
Here's an antidote to Glenn's always simplistic, Obama Can Do No Wrong thesis.
21 - Glenn Contrarian
Rog -
You think racial attitudes didn't have anything to do with the election results? Read my comment #18.
That, and remember - only a minority of white voters voted for Obama in the 2008 election. Whether you like it or not, race DOES play a significant role. In this past election, the economy was the dominating factor...but as I pointed out in comment #19, race also played a major role - because the shift in the Hispanic vote cost the Republicans control of the Senate!
So...yeah - I do post a lot of articles on race. I know that. But do you really, truly think the fact insignificant that one party has very few people of color and tolerates race-baiting on a weekly basis, and the other party embraces diversity and does not tolerate race-baiting at all?
To people of color, Rog, this is a VERY big deal - and as the Hispanic vote proved, to them it was a bigger deal even than the economy in this past election.
Think on that, friend.
22 - Glenn Contrarian
Roger -
Here's an antidote to Glenn's always simplistic, Obama Can Do No Wrong thesis.
Did you even bother to read my article where I listed four major mistakes by Obama?
I guess not.
23 - Clavos
Frankly, I, too, find it objectionable in that Glenn keeps on harping on the race issue to no end...
Which, of course, shows Glenn himself to be a race baiter.
Calling an entire cohort of people racist is simplistic (Glenn's hallmark) generalization and just as racially charged as is ascribing inferiority or other shortcomings to a group of people identifiable by a common physical characteristic.
24 - Baronius
Glenn - I admire you for shaking off your racism. You haven't gotten rid of your bigotry though.
Your comments remind me of a former alcoholic who can't distinguish between a casual drinker and a lush. As soon as you hear someone pop open a beer, you assume they have the same illness you used to.
But the essence of your behavior hasn't changed much. You still lump people into groups. You see only virtue on your side of the aisle and only vice in your opponents. Your comments never have any gray. Because the one thing you've held constant is that you and your people (whether the whites before or the liberals now) are perfect.
25 - Baronius
Hey, how about that, Clav? We must have been thinking the same thing.