When President Obama made 'Real Change' the main tenet of his 2008 campaign, he fed off the growing sentiment that Washington and its actors had given up on doing the right thing for the people of the United States at the expense of their popularity with the media. It wasn't so much that the ever-important independent voter was enchanted with the liberal ideals that President Obama supported, it was that they were disenchanted with the fact that the Republican party had become phantom proponents of big government spending. The independents weren't supporting Barack Obama, they were punishing incumbent Republicans.
Now the tables have turned. Voters didn't get what they were expecting with the new administration and congressional Democratic super-majority. They got a government more focused on the values that they opposed. They got a big dose of self-identification and, with the election of Scott Brown, are expressing their new-found identity. We are a country made up of a middle-right majority. Even in places that are traditionally viewed as blue, when it comes down to it, we all want to be red. We believe in personal responsibility. We believe in helping our neighbors, but we don't need the national government to tell us when and how to help. We are Americans, and Scott Brown is our senator.
hey mike, it's ethan hansen, i saw this post on facebook and thought i'd throw my two cents in. first off, i really like your point of view, it's real, and it's fair.
ReplyDeleteit seems you cant turn on the tv or radio without hearing candidates for whatever position blabber on and on about change. CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE! and its true, obama did promise us this, he fell short, so, so short. now, brown's driving on the same expressway, CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE, and i'd like him to succeed, not because i'd call myself conservative, but because i JUST want to see a candidate actually DO what said they would, but it's doubtful.
i don't have a mind for politics, and i wont claim to be educated in any way on the matter, but i'll offer you my honest opinion. you said obama was a reaction, just an answer/punishment for all the b.s. going on on capital hill. i wold say brown is just as much a reaction as obama was, maybe even more so, given the circumstance in which he was elected. he is our punishment to obama, not the 'red in us' not the 'return to conservatism.'
this is our problem, we are no longer political america, we're reactionary america, where YOU. WILL. BE. PUNISHED! it's part due to kids my age, the ones with no patience, who cant sit still, who read every article and blog about everything, who want everything their way. its us, we watch the news and simply REACT! brown was a reflex, the hasty disapproval of an antsy nation. maybe its the media, judging every little thing, or maybe it's the stress of a deteriorating america, but this reactionary mentality will not serve us well. candidates will be elected more on whim than on platform or policy, promises will be broken as soon as made, and america will live to see the result of ignorance, then shortly thereafter be dismantled.
Ethan,
ReplyDeleteThat's a fair analysis of recent politics, because we vote in cycles. But, political revolutions have a lasting effect. I would point out that Ronald Regan's presidency was seen as a conservative revolution as opposed to simple anger at the opposing party. He affected real change, after a charismatic, ineffective popularly elected Jimmy Carter was seen as a colossal failure. In my opinion that cycle is repeating itself. But, who could the 21st century Regan be?
I hear Conan O'Brian is running for president in 2012, his aim is to reduce unemployment, if only just by one. lol.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea the social climate going on during Regan's campaign, though i imagine it was very dissimilar to what it is today. I do know that media is becoming less and less forgiving, and more and more willing to openly criticize, it gets good ratings. because of this, and the rhetoric of the internet, the cycles you described are growing smaller and smaller, its more like political ping-pong now. brown is only a ping. i don't see revolution on the horizon, i see only a reaction of disapproval.