Obama has lost the party
I don’t know if there will be a serious primary challenge to Obama in 2012; even if there is, I doubt it will be successful. But I do think Obama has lost the party. Not just the base, but the party. The other Democratic politicians, the people on the Hill. The people who woke up this morning to headlines like “Don’t topple economy by rejecting tax deal, Obama tells the Dems.” This is the maneuver Obama should have been using on Republicans to shame them into approving tax breaks for everybody but the rich; instead, he’s using it on Democrats—or rather, against Democrats—to force through a nightmare deal that raises taxes on the poor, defunds Social Security,* and gives tax breaks to millionaires.
And for this, Obama brings his A game. The White House unleashes a blizzard of emails and press poo in favor of the deal. The president himself goes on TV to ridicule progressives and beat his chest about how he’s saving the hostages or something. “Where the hell was this operation when we were trying to pass health care?” one Democrat was heard to ask. Where, indeed.
Like I said, I don’t know if there will really be a serious primary challenge to Obama in 2012. But I do think that the party is psychologically, emotionally finished with this guy. He’s a backstabber, a liar, a cheat. He’s not the leader of the party; he’s its albatross.
*Edited to add: I’m well aware that the payroll tax doesn’t really fund Social Security, but that’s the equation that’s used in the imaginary budgeting game our politicians insist on playing. Which is why people worry that cutting the payroll tax is a prelude to pretending that Social Security is broke.
24 Responses to “Obama has lost the party”
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Sameol says:
I don’t think so, personally. I think Obama will always be somewhat protected by the fact that he ran against Hillary. The rank-and-file may be done with him, but the party elites can’t bring themselves to face up to what happened in 2008 and why it happened. As a result, they might be upset with Obama, but they’ll always try to save and protect him in order to maintain the fiction that Hillary would have been the same (or worse), that the 2008 primary was a beautiful exercise in grassroots politics. Etc. They can’t look at his failures honestly without indicting their own behavior, IMO.
December 9th, 2010 at 5:04 pm EST -
dandelion says:
The health reform debacle clearly showed that Obama would throw congressional reps under the bus in order to pump up the WH. I think that with that experience, the congressional Dems have to be looking at him with jaundiced eyes, out of sheer self-protection.
The problem with a primary challenge is, still, the problem Hillary faced: the insane Dem primary system: the caucuses, the unfair delegate apportionment system, and the superdelegate votes for sale to the highest bidder.
It would take a huge ground game to manipulate the caucuses the way the O crowd did; it would take a gigantic swing in votes to compensate for the disproportionate allocation, and it would take gobs of money to buy up superdelegates.
What I see more likely: O gets the Dem nomination, and someone other than Palin gets the Repub nomination, and then we see much stronger 3rd and 4th party challengers come onto the scene — as Perot did in 91-92. Those 3rd and 4th party candidates might not win electoral votes, but they could create enough disarray that the whole general election becomes pretty chaotic and unpredictable.
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dandelion says:
p.s. I wonder how Nancy Pelosi feels about O now? She was instrumental in his winning the nomination, spending millions from her own PAC to buy him the nomination and, early on, leading the WWYTSBQ cheerleading even as Hillary won Pelosi’s own state by double digits (though she did change her tune later.)
But alas — thanks to O, she lost the Speaker prize.
Sometimes you DO get exactly what you paid for.
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myiq2xu says:
It’s not like he was really ever a Democrat in the first place.
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merciless says:
I’m still betting that Obama will be impeached next year, at which time he’ll find out that Bo really is his only friend in Washington. So there might just be an opening for the right democrat (who that might be I have no idea).
But I’m also betting that the “serious” republicans, that is, those who own the place, are not interested in President Palin or any of the other losers from 2008. My money’s on Petraeus, and if he runs, Abe Lincoln couldn’t win against him.
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Cyn says:
For the first time since the election, a friend mine, who was a staunch supporter, admitted her misgivings.
Obama is toast. I think the party elites will be jumping ship like rats in a storm, which they pretty much resemble.
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Cleaver says:
It’s time for progressives to stop voting for Democrats and vote for a third party.
The only third party that’s even marginally viable at this time is the Green Party, so go Green. The Democrats are a lost cause, but at least you can vote for candidates who stand for progressive goals and values.
The Greens won’t win in any significant way for a long time, if ever. But the more progressives who bail on the corporate Dinocrats and back Green Party candidates, the stronger will be the voice of progressive values and goals in what passes for our national political conversation.
I’ve been voting for almost 40 years and have not yet given my support to a Green Party presidential candidate. That’s about to change.
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SYD says:
miq is correct. Obama never was a Democrat.
The party is, in fact, unrecognizable as long as he is at it’s helm. I do not know what that is… but it is NOT the Democratic party I voted for for 30+ years.
The sooner Obama is removed from “leadership” the better off the party will be.
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Sweet Sue says:
Well, Salon has an article,today,stating that most self described liberal Democrats like Obama and approve of his job performance.
Hahahahahaa.
Of course, it also has a piece comparing Hillary to Nixon.
They’ve gone completely around the bend. -
Cleaver says:
@ Sweet Sue: Yeah, Salon, except for Glenn, has been a lost cause for a long time. Witness the front-page post by Joan Walsh, who says “Don’t primary Obama, change Congress.” Because, um, you know, Obama has no choice but to do what Congress and the bad Republicans tell him to do.
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lambert strether says:
myiq2xu : Look, isn’t one Republican Party more than enough?
merciless: The impeachment, then Petraeus scenario is so beautiful it has to be true.
cyn: Same thing happened to me. Staunch Obama supporter walks in the room, and a propos of nothing at all says “What a weakling!” And the other two go “Ugh!” or “Feh!”
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cellocat says:
Yup, the worm has turned. Even my most die-hard Obama-loving friends are mad about the tax deal.
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votermom says:
I dunno if he’s lots the party … sure sounds like he is still partying like it’s 1899 in the WH./snark
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Paige says:
Obama has proven not to be a leader – of the country or his party – and has failed to grow into the job of President. Nevertheless, I believe that the Democrats are stuck with him in 2012. Any public challenge to Obama by other than another black candidate will be seen by Americans of color as back stabbing. Even if that candidate won the nomination, he/she will have lost the support of black America and the election is unwinnable under those circumstances.
The Democratic nomination in 2012 is simply not worth fighting for in public. That is not to say that the Democratic party should not fight for the Presidency in 2012. IMHO, for the Democrats to have a viable chance of winning the Presidency in 2012, Obama must either become very Presidential within the next six months or declare that he won’t run for reelection.
Both options will require much infighting/compromise by all of the party faithful. The battles and compromises must be fought and resolved outside the public eye and not in the media.
We can say what we want about the Republicans over the last two years but one must acknowledge that they were successful in presenting a unified image as “the party of no”. They stuck with a strategy and largely demonstrated party discipline. Events of this past week make me wonder whether the Democratic party is capable of the same discipline.
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tinfoil hattie says:
GO. BERNIE. SANDERS.
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spring says:
Has anyone seen this? What’s this about?
http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....ntrol.html
Obama Ditches Tax Cut Presser After Bill Clinton Takes Control
Former President Bill Clinton gave a statement after his meeting with President Obama about his tax compromise with the Republicans.
However, after his statement, Clinton began to call on and take questions from the press with Obama at his side. Obama leaves promptly after a few moments and said he had to see Michelle, as he was keeping her “waiting.”
“I don’t want to make her mad, please go,” Clinton told Obama.
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sehkmet says:
If you vote democratic write in a different choice for president.
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monchichipox says:
I saw that spring. In all the time I’ve followed politics I have never seen anything like that. It was odd to say the least.
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Toonces says:
If Obama can complete his hit on the middle class, the safety net, and really make some progress toward replacing that raggedy old democracy with (crony) capitalism once and for all in four years, why take eight? Though I suppose if TPTB don’t have another president-in-a-box waiting in the wings, we will pretend to “elect” Obama again because it will just be easier.
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Lexia says:
Heh – I first read this as “Obama has left the party” as in Elvis.
And he has, at that.
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tinfoil hattie says:
votermom: LOL!
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tinfoil hattie says:
Today’s WaPo: Dana Milbank, sanctimonious asswipe extraordinaire (Remember “Mad Bitch Beer”?), says he’s proud of Obama for the FIRST TIME EVER because he didn’t cave TO LIBERAL DEMOCRATS.
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DaTechGuy says:
Although we disagree on a ton I will always mark you as an honorable person of the left because you saw what was coming and was unwilling to stay silent to accommodate the party.
The more honorable people in the debate the better informed the public will be on a decision.
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Topper Harley says:
@7 IMO, the real goal of voting 3rd party at this point in time should be garnering enough votes to get support from the FEC. Then you can get 3rd party candidates up on the national stage during debates and show the electorate a real choice.
