Looks Like Obama Interpreted Midterms Correctly
Steve Benen has a good piece up about how Democrats and Republicans interpreted the midterms differently:
For Republicans, the 2014 elections reflected a center-right nation reasserting itself, strenuously objecting to President Obama’s agenda. For the GOP, this couldn’t be more obvious: Republicans nationalized the cycle, President Obama was effectively on the ballot, and Dems lost big. Ergo, the American mainstream wants to see conservative governance going forward.For Democrats, most notably at the White House, this year’s midterms were about something very different: the public’s disgust with inactivity. Washington spent the last two years spinning its wheels, accomplishing nothing, and by Election Day, voters weren’t rejecting liberalism so much as they were expressing contempt for political paralysis.
So Obama has moved aggressively since the midterms. And the results?
Click here for reuse options!Improving views of the economy have helped hike President Barack Obama’s approval rating to a 20-month high,
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Stuart Shapiro
Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.
20 responses to Looks Like Obama Interpreted Midterms Correctly
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edmeyer_able December 29th, 2014 at 12:03
It’s going to be a long two years watching the R’s try to dismantle everything that’s been accomplished. I can only hope he doesn’t run out of ink in that veto pen as surely boehner will deny him the funds for more.
tigerp December 29th, 2014 at 12:09
LOL!! Maybe the DNC will send us all more scary fearful emails for blanket donations, not figuring that we all now understand we can send ink directly to the Prez~~~
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 15:42
unlike some at LL, I’m seeing the glass as half full. Every time the POTUS is forced to use the pen, will be wasted time by the Congress (even with an over ride) -which they don’t have much of until 2016. The administration and Democrats in Congress should work together to keep the people informed as to why the pen was forced by the Republicans, each and every time. (eg: don’t accept a Republican’s promise for a damn thing!).
While the do nothing Republicans will of course ATTEMPT to accept credit for the economy they desperately tried to crash and burn since 2010, the people know and should be constantly reminded of is here because of THIS POTUS and those of US who supported THIS POTUS.
Republicans tried to crash and burn “Government Motors”
Republicans are the ones who supported the bailout of wall street with a 14K Gold chute while attempting to throw main street out at 30,000 feet with NO CHUTE.
for those who may have possibly been in the USMC back in the 60’s/70’s, they’ll well remember the saying about karma coming back really really pissed off.
HEY! – WHITE RACIST REPUBLICON TEABAGGERS, payback is a MF … and it’s here and now!
While THIS Hawaiian POTUS with an EXCELLENT Maui tan has proven himself time and again to be above such petty and meaningless tits for tats, I’m one of many many Americans who is not. [could be one reason we accept him as an overly worthy leader for the USA much more than our basic animalistic natures of territorial rites].
edmeyer_able December 29th, 2014 at 13:03
It’s going to be a long two years watching the R’s try to dismantle everything that’s been accomplished. I can only hope he doesn’t run out of ink in that veto pen as surely boehner will deny him the funds for more.
tigerp December 29th, 2014 at 13:09
LOL!! Maybe the DNC will send us all more scary fearful emails for blanket donations, not figuring that we all now understand we can send ink directly to the Prez~~~
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 16:42
unlike some at LL, I’m seeing the glass as half full. Every time the POTUS is forced to use the pen, will be wasted time by the Congress (even with an over ride) -which they don’t have much of until 2016. The administration and Democrats in Congress should work together to keep the people informed as to why the pen was forced by the Republicans, each and every time. (eg: don’t accept a Republican’s promise for a damn thing!).
While the do nothing Republicans will of course ATTEMPT to accept credit for the economy they desperately tried to crash and burn since 2010, the people know and should be constantly reminded of is here because of THIS POTUS and those of US who supported THIS POTUS.
Republicans tried to crash and burn “Government Motors”
Republicans are the ones who supported the bailout of wall street with a 14K Gold chute while attempting to throw main street out at 30,000 feet with NO CHUTE.
for those who may have possibly been in the USMC back in the 60’s/70’s, they’ll well remember the saying about karma coming back really really pissed off.
HEY! – WHITE RACIST REPUBLICON TEABAGGERS, payback is a MF … and it’s here and now!
While THIS Hawaiian POTUS with an EXCELLENT Maui tan has proven himself time and again to be above such petty and meaningless tits for tats, I’m one of many many Americans who is not. [could be one reason we accept him as an overly worthy leader for the USA much more than our basic animalistic natures of territorial rites].
Foundryman December 29th, 2014 at 12:07
This is all well and good, but the fact is the republicans won. It doesn’t matter what the Whitehouse view of the midterms is, sugar coating a loss is not going to change anything. The fact is, they won because people believed the lies and propaganda. The improving view of the economy is the result of the media finally reporting on it. The economy has been improving for 6 years, but no one believed it. Now that the republicans are in, how ‘good’ things are is all we’ll hear about, and guess who’ll get the credit?
Obama is going to have to veto many things, maybe everything the far right sends him, guess who’ll get the blame for the ‘political paralysis’? We lost, they won, we have to do more than pretend that didn’t happen by being much more aggressive in calling their radical,divisive agenda out.
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 15:22
-at every stoke of the pen, Foundryman, it won’t look pretty if the overwhelming Republican majority in the House, Senate and SCOTUS can’t overcome any disagreements the POTUS may have with there ‘do nothing’ except to make sure this POTUS is 1 term, agenda, either.
AnthonyLook December 29th, 2014 at 16:54
Pelosi will take the mantel of loyal opposition and having learned from the last six years of tea party birther racist Republican House experience of Obstructing– she will return the favor for the next two years. Reid will do in kind with Filibustering and delaying in the Senate; he already has said as much. Using the tactics that the Republicans have used for the last 6 years is fine by me; especially with legislation that is Republican insanity. They are going to try to further erode women’s health and rights; to overturn the civil right gains of the gay community; to neuter the Environmental Protection Agency as well as eviscerate Public Education and the Science of Global Warming. They will try to instill further intrusions of their brand of fascist fake christianity, and they undoubtedly will try to destroy healthcare, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, Welfare, Food Stamps, and any program that helps those in need. The other two considerations of defense against the upcoming “give them an inch and they’ll shoot themselves in the foot Republican Agenda” are Presidential Executive Action and Veto power. The game is afoot; it’s hardly begun let alone lost. No one is pretending that the last election results aren’t daunting, however; Republicans have lost their ability to project, blame, lie, and distort—they have no one they can point the finger at but themselves for their legislative actions. They can no longer be the “do nothings”, they can no longer “Obstruct”, they can no longer depend on “Filibustering and delays”. They are going to have to produce and that will be their exposing, that will be their destruction, that will be the reality check that voters will witness. Insofar as any continued fake investigations / scandals— when there’s nothing there, it doesn’t stick; they suck righteously at their witch hunts. Frankly, they’re cornered in; whether they move on Immigration or Cuba or War Mongering, or their continued insistence on their proven failure of “Trickle Down” whoreship to the Rich policies—- they are predictably doomed to repeat their past failed mistakes. They haven’t won the war, it was just a battle. Their hate, their racism, their sexism, their bigotry, their religiosity and their money whoreshipping — has steadly awaken a sleeping giant of discontent and resentment that grows day by day. This has just begun.
Foundryman December 29th, 2014 at 13:07
This is all well and good, but the fact is the republicans won. It doesn’t matter what the Whitehouse view of the midterms is, sugar coating a loss is not going to change anything. The fact is, they won because people believed the lies and propaganda. The improving view of the economy is the result of the media finally reporting on it. The economy has been improving for 6 years, but no one believed it. Now that the republicans are in, how ‘good’ things are is all we’ll hear about, and guess who’ll get the credit?
Obama is going to have to veto many things, maybe everything the far right sends him, guess who’ll get the blame for the ‘political paralysis’? We lost, they won, we have to do more than pretend that didn’t happen by being much more aggressive in calling their radical,divisive agenda out.
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 16:22
-at every stoke of the pen, Foundryman, it won’t look pretty if the overwhelming Republican majority in the House, Senate and SCOTUS can’t overcome any disagreements the POTUS may have with there ‘do nothing’ except to make sure this POTUS is 1 term, agenda, either.
AnthonyLook December 29th, 2014 at 17:54
Pelosi will take the mantel of loyal opposition and having learned from the last six years of tea party birther racist Republican House experience of Obstructing– she will return the favor for the next two years. Reid will do in kind with Filibustering and delaying in the Senate; he already has said as much. Using the tactics that the Republicans have used for the last 6 years is fine by me; especially with legislation that is Republican insanity. They are going to try to further erode women’s health and rights; to overturn the civil right gains of the gay community; to neuter the Environmental Protection Agency as well as eviscerate Public Education and the Science of Global Warming. They will try to instill further intrusions of their brand of fascist fake christianity, and they undoubtedly will try to destroy healthcare, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, Welfare, Food Stamps, and any program that helps those in need. The other two considerations of defense against the upcoming “give them an inch and they’ll shoot themselves in the foot Republican Agenda” are Presidential Executive Action and Veto power. The game is afoot; it’s hardly begun let alone lost. No one is pretending that the last election results aren’t daunting, however; Republicans have lost their ability to project, blame, lie, and distort—they have no one they can point the finger at but themselves for their legislative actions. They can no longer be the “do nothings”, they can no longer “Obstruct”, they can no longer depend on “Filibustering and delays”. They are going to have to produce and that will be their exposing, that will be their destruction, that will be the reality check that voters will witness. Insofar as any continued fake investigations / scandals— when there’s nothing there, it doesn’t stick; they suck righteously at their witch hunts. Frankly, they’re cornered in; whether they move on Immigration or Cuba or War Mongering, or their continued insistence on their proven failure of “Trickle Down” whoreship to the Rich policies—- they are predictably doomed to repeat their past failed mistakes. They haven’t won the war, it was just a battle. Their hate, their racism, their sexism, their bigotry, their religiosity and their money whoreshipping — has steadly awaken a sleeping giant of discontent and resentment that grows day by day. This has just begun.
fahvel December 29th, 2014 at 12:37
as long as politics is a game played by a group of narcissistic elites, there will be no real concern for the people in lieu of the need to appease the corporate “people”. This is sadly not exclusive to the usa.Full rejection of any govt, followed by a large or small collapse and then a possible rebirth of something better – I know, I dream
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 15:49
there’s an old Mongolian proverb just made up that says:
better for a man to build a new yurt
BEFORE
burning the old one.
FrankenPC . December 31st, 2014 at 13:52
Truisms like “never burn a bridge” span all cultures.
fahvel December 29th, 2014 at 13:37
as long as politics is a game played by a group of narcissistic elites, there will be no real concern for the people in lieu of the need to appease the corporate “people”. This is sadly not exclusive to the usa.Full rejection of any govt, followed by a large or small collapse and then a possible rebirth of something better – I know, I dream
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 16:49
there’s an old Mongolian proverb just made up that says:
better for a man to build a new yurt
BEFORE
burning the old one.
FrankenPC . December 31st, 2014 at 14:52
Truisms like “never burn a bridge” span all cultures.
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 15:52
I like it better when he waves to the crowds while standing at the entrance of the LUXURIOUS FLYING PALACE.
It looks –
good.
granpa.usthai December 29th, 2014 at 16:52
I like it better when he waves to the crowds while standing at the entrance of the LUXURIOUS FLYING PALACE.
It looks –
good.