Prairie-Fire Anger
Why Are People in Revolt?
The approval ratings on nearly every one of the President’s key policy initiatives—cap-and-trade, health care overhaul, government take over of industry and finance, deficit spending, stimulus—are already less than half of polled voters. Obama’s own popularity has fallen dramatically and hovers near fifty percent. A number of well-publicized town meetings have erupted in shouting, as administration and congressional representatives try, often in condescending fashion, to explain the Obama agenda. The Republicans—written off just a few weeks ago as an obsolete party headed for oblivion—are now often polling higher in generic surveys than are Democrats.
Why the sudden uproar?
Bait-and-Switch
There is a growing sense of a “we’ve been had”, bait-and-switch. Millions of moderate Republicans, independents, and conservative Democrats—apparently angry at Bush for Iraq and big deficits, unimpressed by the McCain campaign, intrigued by the revolutionary idea of electing an African-American president—voted for Obama on the assumption that he was sincere about ending red state/blue state animosity. They took him at his word that he was going to end out of control federal spending. They trusted that he had real plans to get us out of the economic doldrums, and that he was not a radical tax-and-spend liberal of the old sort.
Instead, within days Obama set out plans that would triple the annual deficit, and intends to borrow at a record pace that will double the aggregate debt in just eight years.
He not only took over much of the auto- and financial industries, but also did so in a way that privileged unions, politically-correct creditors, and those insider cronies who favor administration initiatives. On matters racial, his administration is shrill and retrograde, not forward-looking. It insists on emphasizing the tired old identify politics that favor a particular sort of racial elite that claims advantage by citing past collective victimization or piggy-backs for advantage on the plight of the minority underclass.
In other words, the Obama swing voter thought he was getting a 21st-century version of pragmatic, triangulating Bill Clinton—and instead got something to the left of 1970s Jimmy Carter.
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Male, retired and the rest is of little interest to anyone. The site keeps me busy and if it helps others to stay abreast of daily events then my time is well spent.
Cynapse Says:
Obama’s greatest weakness is his refusal to budge on the healthcare issue. If he were really a bridge-builder, he’d be in conference with the Medical industry and the GOP -all of whom have at least admitted that their “Rolex Healthcare” system needs fixing- to hammer out a more market-friendly and American-friendly solution. Instead, he’s strong-armed his foes and blindly taken up the cause for whoever is actually planning this change (which is obviously not him, based on failed attempts to answer basic questions).
Posted on August 6th, 2009 at 9:59 am
nomdeblog Says:
VDH remains optimistic that Obamamania, much like our Trudeaumania 4 decades ago, will wither and die simply because utopianism can’t possibly work in a complex society of 300 million people.
He and his elitist cronies are attempting to take over the American economy by nationalizing 16% of GDP through ObamaCare and also through his cap and trade “theft”. These policies are so extreme they thankfully are recognized as such and will be non starters.
For example, cap-and-trade would really destroy the economy. The USA and the West, is dependant upon low cost energy, whereas China and India rely on low cost labour but are using more and more energy. Any emission tax levy weakens America. Moreover, any effort we make would be swallowed up in a week or two of India and Chinese emissions.
Charles Krauthammer says “China is starting a coal fired plant every week on average, and that is just throwing all that CO2 into the atmosphere, of which our reductions would be negligible. It would simply end up as a great transfer of wealth out of the West into the third world on a scale never seen. But it’s a religion. So they are impervious to empirical evidence.”
Posted on August 6th, 2009 at 10:08 am
MaryT Says:
I don’t think his attempts to say all the protests are organized by groups etc will help him. What about all those protests in front of AIG homes, the buses of protestors brought in by Acorn. His people are calling all those that went to the townhalls etc on their own dime and anger liars. Great way to get votes. November 2010 will be interesting. If he loses the House and the Senate, will he try for a second term, or be kicked out of his first one.
Posted on August 6th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Soccermom Says:
Wow, Cynapse, I actually agree with you for once! Great comment!
Posted on August 6th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
ward Says:
Second that Soccermom!
Posted on August 6th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
nomdeblog Says:
Third that Soccermom
Posted on August 6th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Mac Says:
Cynapse, I wonder if Obama is moving this way in response to Pelosi’s thinly veiled power grab?
Posted on August 6th, 2009 at 7:56 pm