[quote=Allan from Fallbrook][quote=SK in CV][quote=Allan from Fallbrook]
SK: While I love the Rogers quote, I was more referring to the radicalized elements in both parties that have been driving the independents back and forth (think Dems/Obama in 2008 and GOP in the 2010 mid-terms) in terms of voting. [/quote]
I have no idea what was the least bit radical about Obama in 2008. He ran a pretty centrist democratic campaign, policy wise. No more than slightly left of center. His policies since then have matched his campaign, if anything moved further to the center. The only thing radical about his campaign was his rhetoric about changing the process. He underestimated the opposition party resolve to not allow any successes willingly.[/quote]
SK: I wasn’t referring to Obama in the 2008 campaign as being radical (he wasn’t); I was referring to his election as voter repudiation of the GOP (which had become reactionary), which the Dems mistook as more of a sweeping mandate than it actually was. The 2010 mid-terms were also mistakenly interpreted by the GOP as a mandate instead of continuing voter frustration/dissatisfaction with the status quo ante (as it became apparent that “business as usual” was still the norm, two years into a supposedly “transformational” presidency).[/quote]
Agreed. The frustration it caused me, was that they (congress and the admninstration) talked about it as a mandate, but then did nothing to exploit that mandate (whether real or imagined). That’s an exaggeration, they’ve actually done quite a bit, particularly at the executive level. But none of what they did was radical. Little steps. Eliminating DADT was a big deal. But it wasn’t radical. The time was right. Repealing DOMA? That would have been bigger, and more of what I was hoping for. But they’re Democrats. They suck at the political process.
