Obama reelection 2012

[swampdragon]

switching allegiances

Are there people in here who voted for president Obama who are dissapointed enough with him that they would vote for any of the republican candidates? If so - who?

or just won't vote instead?

[DMT]

Are there people in here who voted for president Obama who are dissapointed enough with him that they would vote for any of the republican candidates? If so - who?

or just won't vote instead?

I've already stated I'd vote for Paul but it's highly unlikely he'll win the nomination and I'd be surprised if he ran as an Indy. I will also considering voting for 3rd party if they offer someone worth voting for.

[Erik]

The redistricting process hasn't helped, it's created more one-party districts which elect extremists because there's no need to placate a center. Nor have campaign finance laws/court decisions, which have put more money in play for campaigns than ever before, and people on the extremes tend to be more passionate/committed to giving money/funding ads than people in the center.

[onejayhawk]

I guess there's no convincing you, but as the article you linked to states (and the data supports), no Congress in history has been more obstructionist than this one since Obama became President. Yes, every Congress always has some of that, but right now is the worst ever.

Not right now. Read your own article.

J

[Wonderboy]

The redistricting process hasn't helped, it's created more one-party districts which elect extremists because there's no need to placate a center. Nor have campaign finance laws/court decisions, which have put more money in play for campaigns than ever before, and people on the extremes tend to be more passionate/committed to giving money/funding ads than people in the center.

Bingo. The redistricting to all safe districts coupled with the SC decision of unlimited corporate money have seriously damaged our country. Perhaps even more than our economic woes.

[OaklandA's]

Not right now. Read your own article.

Well, OK, since the 1800s.

[onejayhawk]

Well, OK, since the 1800s.

Not what I meant. The article covers his first Congress. Even leaving aside the objections on method, it does not apply now.

J

[bryanbutler]

Not what I meant. The article covers his first Congress. Even leaving aside the objections on method, it does not apply now.

you're not arguing that the current congress is less polarized than his first congress, are you? that seems an untenable position to me.

[B-Fly]

you're not arguing that the current congress is less polarized than his first congress, are you? that seems an untenable position to me.

I think there may well have been fewer people crossing the aisle in Obama's first congress, but he didn't need crossover support to pass legislation in his first congress, so despite the polarization there was less gridlock.

[onejayhawk]

you're not arguing that the current congress is less polarized than his first congress, are you? that seems an untenable position to me.

Certainly. Another way to read the article is to say that no Congress has ever had one party try to dominate the other to such an extreme. The level of brute power politics is no longer possible.

J

[dslaw]

Are there people in here who voted for president Obama who are dissapointed enough with him that they would vote for any of the republican candidates? If so - who?

or just won't vote instead?

I may have voted for Huntsman. No way will I vote for Mitt or Newt. Obama has been disappointing in some respects but he is way better than either of those two yahoos. Living in UT my vote won't count so I may go 3rd party if I like that person.

[bryanbutler]

Certainly. Another way to read the article is to say that no Congress has ever had one party try to dominate the other to such an extreme. The level of brute power politics is no longer possible.

while i haven't seen a DW-NOMINATE or IDEAL analysis of the current congress, i'd bet you'd find it at least as polarized as the previous one. i may be wrong though. i think b-fly has it right - there was certainly less gridlock. calling it "brute power politics" seems like hyperbole to me - more like business as usual. the thought that obama's first congress democrats "dominated" moreso than *any* previous similar situation (with an aligned president and congress) seems naive, and in any case was only really possible for the first year (until scott brown was elected).

[GwynnInTheHall]

Well, there's no question in my mind that many leading Democrats were quite focused on knocking George Bush out of office in 2004 and feeling, "improving our country, who gives a #^&*# about that?"

You can pick when in prior years that wasn't the case.

That's because Bush was an utter failure and lied us into War and IMO he hurt the Nation both here and abroad. What has Obama done that's even remotely comparable? And before you say it, Yes I'm not happy with Obama's term to date, but not because he has failed the country, but because he's failed to do as much as he promised to the extent he promised.

Sure they worked to oust Bush, but they had good reason to, the current GOP does not.

[onejayhawk]

That's because Bush was an utter failure and lied us into War and IMO he hurt the Nation both here and abroad. What has Obama done that's even remotely comparable? And before you say it, Yes I'm not happy with Obama's term to date, but not because he has failed the country, but because he's failed to do as much as he promised to the extent he promised.

Sure they worked to oust Bush, but they had good reason to, the current GOP does not.

The debt piled up in 2009 and 2010 outweighs all the negatives you cite and 2-3 other administrations as well.

J

[GwynnInTheHall]

The debt piled up in 2009 and 2010 outweighs all the negatives you cite and 2-3 other administrations as well.

J

Just keep ignoring who put the country on the brink of a depression and handed over a pile of **** to Obama.

If the Job creators need all the money they can get to create jobs it should also take money to fix the rest of the problem or in your world does money only deserve to flow one way?

It must be hard to live your life with one eye closed.