Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod assesses the showdown over the budget:
Just last year, voters “didn’t vote for more ideology. But yet they swept in a group that is very partisan and ideological,” he said. “You see that up in Wisconsin,” which has been divided in a war over union rights.
Isn’t this like arguing that Americans didn’t vote for conservative policies, even though they elected a lot of conservatives? (Notice the term “swept in” — he makes it sound accidental, like America was cleaning the front steps and got careless with the broom.)
Obama argued that his victory was a mandate for his agenda — recall, “I won.” But somehow Republican victories at the Senate, House, and gubernatorial levels carry no mandate; through some sort of giant national misunderstanding, Americans completely misread the agenda of the candidates they elected. An electorate that somehow knew precisely what it wanted in 2008 became careless and ignorant in 2010.
Whatever.
So, Dems getting 'shellacked' (Obama's terminology) in 2010 was an "Oops!" moment for Repubs, according to Axelrod?
The strength of the Tea Party was just a fluke?
Did he miss what the people were saying as they voted for Conservatives? Ya know, the "Stop the Spending!" Guess so.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's especially galling when the GOP ran the most openly conservative campaign since, what, '94? And focused on domestic issues!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseGalling? I don't think so. If the chief architect of Obama's 2012 campaign really believes what he is saying, i.e. he is engaging in self-delusion, that can only benefit the GOP.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseFolks, we seem to forget. When voting for the Dems, it is because we like them and their agenda. When voting for the Republicans, it is because we are just not happy with the Dems and the WAY they are implementing their agenda. It is what the lefty media likes to say. No wonder so many people who take a passing interest in this can easily buy into it. As far as Wisconsin, hey here is one. Prosser won. Hey, WE won! What happened to the Dem/union machine? No win means that whole thing was amped up. We will see the recalls.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI think politics has become an intervention. Anybody who thinks 2010 was a fluke, including a number of GOP incumbents, needs to confront reality or be removed from office.
I'm not one who wants Boehner to go. I think he understands his situation better than I do, but I hope nobody on the right thinks that this is going to be a short struggle, or backs off because of media lies or union threats. Somebody on a comment thread the other day said that we've been through worse than this before. Perhaps he's right, but we didn't do it by backing down or putting our own comfort and safety ahead of our children's.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse“...didn’t vote for more ideology. But yet they swept in a group that is very partisan and ideological..."
That sounds like an exact description of Obama's victory.
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