Opposing Obama in 2010

townhall.com ^ | June 16, 2009 | Lorie Byrd

[kellynla]

When Barack Obama won the election last year, enjoying the adulation of not only millions of devoted followers, but of an overwhelming majority of those in the media, conventional wisdom was that it would be hard for those in Congress to oppose him. Every president enjoys a honeymoon period to one degree or another. I believed Barack Obama's would last at least six months, but I was terribly wrong.

While President Obama still enjoys healthy personal favorability ratings, the popularity of his agenda is lagging behind and falling fast. His out-of-control spending and policies which include a frightening expansion of government intervention in the private sector have resulted in recent polls showing Republicans being favored over Democrats on a number of issues, including the economy. The number of people who identify themselves as conservatives is now at the highest point in five years at 40 percent.

Dick Morris and Eileen McGann recently noted: "As it becomes clearer that the deficit caused by spending has landed us in a new economic crisis, entirely of Obama's own making, his popularity and job performance are likely to drop as well. The old recession, which the public says Bush caused, shows signs of winding down. But the new recession and/or inflation, which Obama's massive deficits triggered, is just now coming upon us."

Americans have now gotten a taste of Obamanomics and so far they are not liking it. Additional goals of the administration, such as health care reform, are now being introduced. In his health care speech this week Obama called those opposed to his plan naysayers who are "not telling the truth." Obama denies their claims that he is proposing government-run health care.

Also not true, according to Vice President Joe Biden, are claims that the administration wants to tax health care benefits. This weekend on Meet the Press, David Gregory asked Biden about the possibility of raising taxes to pay for health care reform, specifically asking if the president would "sign a bill that taxes health care benefits for employees." Biden responded, "We made it clear we do not think that is the way to go. We think that is the wrong way to finance this legislation." But when pressed by Gregory and asked if that means the president wouldn't sign it, Biden replied, "I didn't say that... We'll have to see what the whole bill says. But we made it clear we do not believe you should be taxing, taxing the benefits that people receive through their employers now."

So the administration does not want to take the unpopular position of taxing employee health care benefits, but would consider signing a bill including such a provision. This is not an unfamiliar strategy for Obama. In his speeches he plays the moderate, reasonable man looking for the best way to address the crisis of the day. He accuses those who oppose him of playing politics, or being out of touch, or of being extreme, or of lying. At times, he even throws his political allies under the bus. By blaming the Democrat-led Congress in advance, in case he eventually signs an unpopular tax increase, he is doing just that.

In many ways the first months of the Obama administration resemble those of the Clinton administration. A man who was elected as a moderate (although in Obama's case that was a misperception) wins the White House with the promise of "hope" and "change." The economy was a big issue in both elections -- although in Clinton's case the economy was well into recovery. Both men promised middle class tax cuts. Both men reneged on that promise. Both men vastly overreached in their policy proposals and governed in a much more liberal fashion than acceptable to the majority of Americans.

Bill Clinton was not on the ballot in 1994, nor will Barack Obama be on the ballot in 2010. Barack Obama has blamed virtually all of the country's problems on George W. Bush, but now appears to be setting up the Congress as an additional target of blame. Bill Clinton's party lost big time in 1994 -- beyond "big time" actually. The result of the 1994 election was historic. If current trends continue Barack Obama's party may lose big time in 2010. That will especially be the case if Obama continues to set himself (and his personal approval) apart from those in his party.

Elected Democrats who want to return to Congress and remain in the majority read opinion polls. They can see that the number of Americans self identifying as conservative is rising. They can read the public opinion poll numbers for individual issues and policies, as well. They realize that Americans are not happy with the huge spending and excessive government control they are seeing now and are wary of future proposals.

Over the next year it will be interesting to see what Democrats in Congress do. Will they pass liberal legislation that gives President Obama what he could never publicly request, but would gladly sign? Or will they follow the polls and retreat from their leftward march? If the results of the legislation Congress passed and the President signed over the past few months proves to be bad enough, could it be possible that Democrats in Congress (especially those in "red" states) might even feel the need to run against Obama in the 2010 elections? Watch the opinion polls over the next six months and you should have the answer.

[kellynla]

Hopefully the Gelding Old Party will get a testicle & spine implant before next year so they begin to retake the Majority in the House and/or Senate.

11/2010 won't come soon enough for me!

Semper Fi,
Kelly

[rjp2005]

I don’t know. We need new and true conservative voices.
There were plenty of powerful compromisers among the GOP ranks that messed things up last time.

I could see a third party (conservative) gaining traction this time around. They would be so small yet appeal because the Crats would only be attacking compromising GOP.

[Noumenon]

There will be no real elections in 2010 - or ever again - until we fight and win the next American Civil War.

Why do you think that Obama had so little to say about the stirrings of freedom in Iran? It’s because vote fraud and violent crackdown is on the menu for the Obamunist Left.

[pallis]

It’s time to start up some Republican, community action groups, and, if need be, man polling places with armed peace keepers to counter black panthers and other radical groups like ACORN.

[Baladas]

Well, the thing is is surviving until then - last year America elected a BIG mistake that’s making a series of BIG mistakes.

[freekitty]

They better watch what the dimwits and Rinos sneak into bills they do pass too.

[iowamark]

The problem is that you cannot fight something with nothing. If Republicans continue to choose candidates like McCain, Huckabee, and Romney, the Dems will win another landslide.

[Yorlik803]

AMEN BRO

[RWB Patriot]

This article assumes elections will still be around in 2010 and that the RATs will play fair. Count on Obama either finding some emergency to justify suspending elections or ramming a new immigration reform bill through Congress, giving illegals the right to vote.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Good post. Despite all the disinformation from the news media the guy on the street knows something is rotten in Denmark.

[GSWarrior]

Obama plans to pay for his programs through his cap-and-trade/carbon tax scheme. That way he can not raise taxes and when the costs get passed along to the consumer he can paint the energy providers as the bad guys.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

"While President Obama still enjoys healthy personal favorability ratings, the popularity of his agenda is lagging behind and falling fast. His out-of-control spending and policies which include a frightening expansion of government intervention in the private sector have resulted in recent polls showing Republicans being favored over Democrats on a number of issues, including the economy. The number of people who identify themselves as conservatives is now at the highest point in five years at 40 percent."

Which goes to show you that the conventional wisdom and opinion of liberal media are unreliable. The unpopularity of Bush-Cheney, the war, and the downturn in the economy drove the election. There is no long-term mandate for Obama's tax&spend policies of Big Brother, statism, and socialism. Bush's unpopularity and McCain's lackluster campaign were temporary blips in the political cycle. Now you have the correction in opinion polls and Obama's policies are moving downward.

The shift in '08 reflected the economy and weak candidates. An articulate and strong Reaganesque conservative with charisma could change that as the mood shifts to fiscal, security, and constitutional concerns with soaring deficits and a more unstable, unsafe world. The Obammunists may overplay their hand and push things too far. They are already out of touch with American culture and public opinion. With those deficits, few will buy the Alinskyite idea that the biggest threat is Rush Limbaugh. Obama has already jumped the shark.