Will an Obama victory mean the country has swung left?

[Politicub]

I believe that it will. Think about the democratic platform and the positions that our president has taken.

And the other barometer is the gay marriage referendums across the country. It will be historic if we eke out a win at the ballot box for gay civil rights.

I am filled with optimism about what a second Obama term will bring, so send positive energy to the tireless volunteers out there who are getting out the vote!

[onehandle]

2. Swung sane. Too bad the crazy was allowed to take over in 2010. nt

[northoftheborder]

3. Maybe a bit more to the center, but not left yet.

[codjh9]

4. Hmmm - to me, Left in some ways, yes, but not in others. But compared to the Right's

march further to the um, Right in the past 30 years, it's way left. So it somewhat depends on perspective. That reminds me of a co-worker in Colorado Springs, which is HEAVILY conservative, very far Right, and he (a TX native like me), who's lived there for years (this was in the late 90's), thought he was 'moderate', but that was only (if at all) *compared to the far-right nuts of Colo. Spgs.*

[NightWatcher]

5. depends on how many Supreme Court positions get picked by Obama

we might start to swing it back

[Gregorian]

6. A swing to the left is when a candidate like Romney isn't in the race.

When it's two smart people debating real topics. Then, and only then, will be swung into the realm of reality, or "left".

[krawhitham]

7. no, it just means the country voted against bat shit crazy

[Recursion]

8. The comparisons to Reagan are probably apt

Reagan wasn't, by today's standards, all that conservative, but his administration was an inflection point. If Obama wins, he will probably be mis-remembered a generation from now as being much more liberal than he actually is, because he would have been President at the start of a new, more liberal, party alignment.

[Politicub]

17. Agree. It's a marathon - not a sprint.

And the ACA will rank up there with social security and Medicare as the law gets adjusted and made better.

[Zen Democrat]

9. I'm certain that Tom Brokaw won't think so.

[ChangeUp106]

10. The country is left

Most people just don't know it.

[RhettScarlett]

24. It's all perspective (n/t)

[Hydra]

11. No

We don't have anyone offering us a road to the left. It's either gentle right or hard right.

One can hope that this election cycle showed the President who his real friends are and what his goals should be...but I never once believed the idea that he was naive.

We can always hope though.

[Politicub]

18. I disagree. A vote for the dems means America is turning on its left turn signal.

Maybe we won't make the turn as quickly as we would hope, but we will be headed in the right direction.

[superpatriotman]

12. NO

Unless it's a landslide, the country is politically split right down the middle.

[RhettScarlett]

26. Split..

45% our side
45% their side
3% keep up with the Kardashians
2% Focus on the X-Factor
5% Only care who wins their home team's football game.

[el_bryanto]

13. Why would electing a center or center right candidate like Obama mean that the US has swung left?

I voted for Obama and I hope he wins, but mostly because Romney's positions are so very right wing as to be insane.

Bryant

[MadHound]

14. No, just stuck on the center right path it's been on. n/t

[kwolf68]

15. No, but....

The nation is swinging AWAY from the right. Lets face it, the best the Republicans have is...

"vote for freedom" and other assorted cliches'.

It no longer resonates with people, except those with Nationalistic tendencies.

Thing is, I don't think many Republicans are totally out to lunch. I had a fun debate with a life long friend last night and he is SOLID Republican, always has been. Here are some of his quotes

-I am against that war crap, I'm not a war monger
-I want clean rivers, I like to fish...i don't want pollution
-This guy (Obama) isn't going to stop government spending, it's out of control

He had other assorted complaints about people on disability and welfare in general. I tried to explain how much welfare goes to corporations, which he also opposed.

He is really pissed about any talk of raising capital gains taxes.

So as you can see...this guy actually agrees with us on some issues, but has other issues where he pushes to the right. If we can find a compromise on stuff he talks about then we can win him over. I hope President Obama, should he win, does all the great things he proposes to do while also bringing the fiscal house of our federal government back in order.

My point is, people not locked into their political party are not going to find the Conservative agenda very palatable when giving it an objective analysis...it's odious, hypocritical, selfish, hegemonic, and destructive.

[1StrongBlackMan]

16. Did President Obama's 2008 win mean ...

the end of racism?

Seriously ... This nation has NEVER been a center-right nation; it has always been, since its inception, left-leaning. The appearance of a rightward nation is the result of the media giving voice to a small minority of vocal rightists.

[Politicub]

21. True that.

[santamargarita]

19. It means we've beat back those who want to..

destroy our Nation one more time.

[Johonny]

20. Well it will mean Democrats have won 5 of the last 6 presidential elections

and at times held the house and senate over the past 20 years. Despite this it will mean we had 8 years of BUSH and 30+ years of conservative politics dominating the news and the political debate in the country.

So it really depends on how you see it. Politically there is no indication the country isn't moderate-liberal. But nationally conservatives still do and will dominate political discussion because they OWN the sources that generate discussion in this country.

[kansasobama]

22. Not at all, it is a process

Obama is left of center but he cannot govern that way because country is not. Also Koch brothers have bought 50% of the population.

Congress has to remain left or left-of-center for two consecutive elections with a left-of-center President for me to say "yes."

Unfortunately, liberals have a problem about strategy. Liberals need to take it one step at a time. In 2010, they wanted everything and started acting like pampered kids when it was taking longer. They wanted single payer right away. Remember? Result was we got swept thereby delaying the so-called "rise of left of center" government for at least another 8 years. Conservatives have more discipline and are patient. This time, they had a few crazies who could not shut their mouth (good for us). Will we now work at converting state legislatures and the 2014 elections to gain just a little bit more? If we do, we are on the right path.

[cthulu2016]

23. Not even close, except in not wanting a new war

[Nye Bevan]

25. Nope. Obama is not a leftist.

Both candidates are essentially centrist. Obama is not a left-wing socialist, and Romney is not a right-wing fascist, despite what the more extreme rhetoric from both sides would have you believe.

[BlueMan Votes]

27. unfortunately. no.

[PowerToThePeople]

28. imo, No.

The government is still right, we just will have avoided going insane right.

I believe the citizens of this country are much further left than their government.

[spinbaby]

29. Oh, heck no

In the morning Fox Noise will be telling their viewers that their candidate wasn't conservative enough and that a REAL conservative would have won.

[Marr]

30. No. See, when the Republican wins, it's proof that the country has swung to the right and

that the Democratic Party will have to move to the right in order to remain relevant.

When the Democrat wins, it's a ringing endorsement of bipartisanship and compromise, and proof that Democrats musts must continue marching to the right.

[Stand and Fight]

31. Absolutely not.

It just means that the winner is more in line with the majority of Americans. I believe that winner will be re-elected...

[rrneck]

32. More like turning a bit I think. nt

[hughee99]

33. Since Obama won in '08, if he wins with about the same % of the vote

it's hard to say the country has "swung" anywhere.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

34. It has to "swing left" just to reach the middle. The "3rd Way" is not "left".

[Motown_Johnny]

35. I wish, it more like we have stabilized and not moved more right.

It will take much longer to start to move this country to the left.

The demographics are in our favor. At this point even just holding our own is not such a bad thing.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

36. Depends on the popular vote count

Sure, the electoral vote is what elects the President, but popular vote does have an impact on perception.

Win popular by a large margin - sharp move to the left
Win popular by a small margin - status quo
Lose popular vote - small shift right

JMHO

[Coyotl]

37. No, but it will show we did not swing Stupid.

or simply for sale

[HopeHoops]

38. No. I think it will just mean that people trust him more than some rich asshole.

Sorry, but that's the most I can read into it. On the plus side, he'll have long coattails.

[randome]

39. Tilted left, not swung. But yes, change is in the air. And inevitable.

[War Horse]

40. Remains to be seen

but I don't really think so. Guess it's in the eye of the beholder. The Rs that I know of who have voted for Obama have done so b/c, in their own words, "The Republicans have become batshit crazy".

They might have mellowed a bit on things like health care, but remain incredibly hawkish as well as FisCons, basically. They've simply realized that Obama is a pragmatic leader, not the monster they were lead to believe he was.

If an R comes along who is NOT a SoCon, does not pander to the Religious Right, is not overtly racist and doesn't think AGW is a hoax I think a majority of them will be right back in the R camp, bashing 'Libs' and 'Dems' once again. Although I guess that might be considered 'progress' in some ways...

[Spike89]

41. The country has been swinging left for a decade

We'd just been well to the right at the start. I also believe that we were never really as "right" as commonly thought. On the real issues, people have been very much on the left (from medicare, universal healthcare, social security, civil rights, infrastructure and education policies, and more). The problem has and always will be making the case that our programs are working.

Almost no one is against welfare as a general concept--you'll never hear (well, some teabaggers are outliers) anyone say there should be no safety net. Instead, they attack the programs from an implementation standpoint. We've all heard variants of "I'm all for giving people a hand up, but I don't want my tax money going to a welfare queen driving a gold Cadillac..."

In other words, the "right" can't win many arguments on facts or statistics, but they own the politics of anecdotal resentment. We don't do a great job of pointing out the successes that offset the problems. The single mother who is able to feed her kids decent meals for a few months until she finds a job just doesn't make as good a story as the cheat who games the system--even though the first instance may be 100 or 1000, or even 100,000 times as common.

We'll probably never get most of the resentment folk, some are incredibly hard hearted, some are pure followers, and others just can't/won't believe that these programs work. Ironically, the worse things get, the more likely these people are to fall into the safety web where some of them will see the light. There is no coincidence that the great depression birthed the most progressive safety net programs ever implemented.

[loyalsister]

43. "Almost no one is against welfare as a general concept"

I WISH! I disagree after few conversations I have had with family and some people I know. There are people who truly believe it is an infringement on their lives. There are also people who can be tempted by all of the social issues.

[Spike89]

48. Really, I ALWAYS get the cop out answer

They always say that if we could just make sure the "right" people could get it...then they'd be happy to make sure no kids starve in the US. Sometimes I'll get the blanket version "Welfare makes people lazy" but once I probe a bit, it comes down to "If I could ensure that no lazy (drugged out, hippy, etc.) scum were taking advantage, well..."

Basically, they all want to have a social safety net for themselves and "good people" like them. They just don't want "the unworthy" to get something for free.

I will admit that I have met a few who seriously feel (and walk the walk) that private charity organizations and churches can and should handle the safety net. When you break down that argument though, it really comes down to deciding who gets helped, not whether people should get and expect assistance in bad times.

[loyalsister]

49. That's the most common answer

But, among some people it seems to expand... "everyone who receives food stamps should be subject to regular drug tests."
"I want women who keep having children for welfare to be "spayed" (I swear heard that one time).

I hae also talked to some who boast about giving to charities and say- see they don't need my tax dollars I gave enough so a couple of families can have Thanksgiving dinner.

I think there are some who believe they are morally and naturally above ever needing assistance.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

42. No, but maybe it's trying to claw its way back to the center.

That's a start, anyhow.

[NNN0LHI]

44. No. This demonstrates something else entirely different

Last edited Tue Nov 6, 2012, 08:14 PM - Edit history (1)

It shows that President Obama is a lot smarter than the 60% of Americans who were against giving loans to the US union auto industry than the scumbags who refuse to support it.

President Obama did what he knew was the right thing even against the wishes of the majority of public opinion. And don't forget this could have blew up right in his face and cost him/us this election.

We got damn lucky to have a President who is more intelligent than most of the general populace for a change. As for those 60% who opposed the loan, fuck them.

That is what an Obama victory means. End of story.

Don

[mmonk]

45. No.

My state swung into redneck hell in 2010 and is now gerrymandered with no escape.

[loyalsister]

46. I don't think so

If there were blowouts all over and we got the house back you could say that. But, I do think some of the hard core tea party types may be neutralized. I think in that sense the center would be expanded allowing dems to sit more comfortably left of it.

[cherish44]

47. I don't think we're swinging left but slower inching our way there

I do think in 20 years we'll be a center-left country overall, just have to wait for all the old teabaggers to kick the bucket