Monday, August 15, 2011

Realigning Election?

First things first, I actually would not mind if Mitt Romney wins the Republican nomination for President in 2012.  I think that a Mitt vs. Barack match-up means that Obama actually has to appeal to his base to differentiate himself from a moderate Republican like Willard.  Although the President has "caved" on any number of important issues, I believe he would at least have to vocalize support for liberal ideas and try to reduce unemployment, instead of rest on his laurels and win big against kooky right-wingers like Rick Perry or Michele Bachmann.
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One of the biggest issues I have with Obama is his constant platitudes to "bipartisanship"  (drinking game material).  When the President describes the current political situation he likes to say that partisanship is to blame and that both sides need to take a balanced approach.

Applying this rhetoric in a campaign against a Perry or Bachmann would only embolden their supporters, shifting the Overton Window to include their batshit ideas.

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However, my dream scenario would be a 2012 campaign of Democrats running on the preferences of 80% of the population and going all-out to crush the Republican Party at the polls.  Obama would stop giving any degree of legitimacy to the GOP, and expose them as the delusional, marginal party they are.

Sure, the teabaggers who don't give a shit about facts would vote against the D's but they ALWAYS will.  Plus almost everyone agrees that jobs should be the main priority of our government right now, and the GOP's ideas on how to create them have been routinely
refuted.

Of course Obama continually fails to put together a narrative that helps the Democratic Party and is identical to Bush in far too many areas.  He is totally beholden to Wall St. and perhaps even likes it that way.  But for all the Obama apologists who bemoan that the President is only unable to pass meaningful legislation because of the Republicans in Congress, they should realize that this President's rhetoric and policies continue to breath life into a zombie party that should enjoy electoral success comparable to the Federalist Party in 1816 or the Republican Party in 1932.