In 2008, Barack Obama won the presidency with 53 percent of the popular vote. He was the first Democrat to receive over 50 percent since FDR in 1932. In addition, his coattails gave his party control over both houses of Congress.
Candidate Obama promised us “change,” and on that broad subject, he followed through. He did not divulge that he wants to remake America into a European-style socialist democracy. As proof of his intent, he has rammed through the overhaul of both our health care and financial systems, on a straight party-line vote. Voters disapproved of these bills, but we were told we would come to love them when we saw what was in them, and how they would benefit us. Big government, with its tax-and-spend liberalism, had returned.
Until November 2, 2010, that is. The United States still has a center-right constituency, and on 11/2/10, its members yelled “Stop.” In January 2011, the House of Representatives will have a new speaker, as the Republicans have picked up at least 60 House seats, and they also added six additional members in the U.S. Senate.
Will President Obama now move his agenda more towards the political center, as President Clinton did following his loss of the House in 1994? Only time will answer that query. At his November 3rdpress conference, while he was still recovering from the debacle, he was hit with some good, searching questions.
He did state, very calmly, that as president he was responsible for the defeat. However, he then moved the blame for the loss over to the economy, which had not recovered from the recession he was given — from who else, but George Bush. When the questioner suggested it was also due to the liberal direction in which he was leading the country — with cap and trade, health care, and all — he disagreed. Speaker Nancy Pelosi supported the president’s position when she was being interviewed by ABC’s Diane Sawyer. As reported by Jon Ward in The Daily Caller, she claimed that the election results were not a rejection of President Obama’s programs, but were totally because of the economy and the loss of jobs. At the press conference, the president also reiterated that even though the recession had officially ended several quarters ago, the public was still upset over the lack of new jobs. Thus, they “took it out” on the party in power. When asked how he felt about it, he said, “Terrible.”
Does President Obama realize and accept that many of those who voted against their Democratic incumbents were voting against him and the direction in which he and the Democratic Party were taking the country? I don’t believe he does. The party line is that the loss was all due to the Bush economy he inherited. The president claimed that a majority of Americans support the health care bill, and the changes that it will bring. Is he ignoring the fact that 60 percent of the electorate was against the passage of the bill? Well, only Barack Obama knows what it is he believes.
It appears he believes that — given enough time — he is able to convince anyone that what he — Barack — knows to be true is, indeed, true. He is constantly taking the blame for not explaining his plans or programs well enough for the public to understand and agree with him. Both health care and cap and trade are two examples of that condition.
What happens next? My guess is that the president may attempt to have it appear that he wants to work with the Republican majority. Then, after having some closed-door meetings with them, discussing how to make the health care bill more acceptable and less intrusive, the administration will announce that the negotiations have ended as the Republicans are still the party of “No.”
In truth, though, it will be due to the president being unwilling to remove any — what he looks on as — meaningful items from these bills. For example, he considers the requirement that everyone must purchase health insurance as the linchpin of the health care bill. The bill itself is the essential standard in his program to change America. From the Republican’s perspective, it is a principal exhibit of Obamacare, which has to be exorcized.
It is this writer’s opinion that President Obama will not move towards the political center, as did President Clinton in 1995. President Obama is a true progressive. As such, I expect him to continue to promote the core liberal issues, hoping to build support for them. Barack Obama may be the best political campaigner I have ever seen. But, he does not know how to govern. Further, most of the top members of his administration are not much better.
It has even been suggested that when he realized that the Democrats would lose the House of Representatives, he was hoping that the Republicans would carry the Senate, too. He would then be able to blame them for every shortcoming for the next two years.
Now we may be able to slow the hemorrhaging of our nation’s money down from its 500 MPH speed, to something more reasonable. Knowing how our government operates, we must accept that the Republican-controlled House cannot rescind the health care bill. However, we do hope that they will not fund it. Finally, only time will reveal whether the U.S. Congress and the administration will be able to work together to keep our nation functioning. Stay tuned, it will be an interesting two years.
Robert L. Wichterman is an Army veteran and former sales representative who lives in Lancaster, PA. His articles have been published in Lancaster County Magazine, the St. Croix Review, Friend’s Journal, Lancaster New Era, and the Sunday News.