Good or Bad?

[rushmc 23]

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Obama's 'Blue Wall' Locks in Democratic Gains

Sunday, January 25, 2009 5:46 PM

By: David A. Patten

Led by President Obama, Democrats are leveraging the nation’s economic crisis and the aura of inaugural goodwill to build a “blue political wall” — new constituencies dependent on expanding government programs — that could lock in 2008 Democratic political gains for decades to come.

Unless Republicans act to counter those initiatives, pundits and pollsters warn, they could find themselves on an extended vacation from power in Washington.

The combination of former Rep. Rahm Emanuel, described by former Bush adviser Karl Rove as a “sharp-edged partisan,” and President Obama’s strategic mindset, could spell big trouble for Republicans hoping to return to the majority.

Shortly after being appointed Obama’s chief of staff, Emanuel declared at an executive forum: “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think that could not do before.”

The administration’s plan to take advantage of the financial meltdown centers around Democrats’ proposed $825 billion stimulus package, which the Wall Street Journal reports “has given Obama a unique opportunity granted almost none of his predecessors. Because of the economic crisis, he is meeting an unusual array of promises almost immediately, including heavy investments in energy and other priorities.”

At the very least, this gives Obama an early boost in building a record of accomplishment for his first term, countering GOP charges that he’s failed to live up to expectations. Perhaps more significantly, some programs Democrats are rubberstamping appear aimed at solidifying Obama’s recent political gains. Consider:


Stimulating Democrats — Obama has estimated that 80 percent of the 4 million jobs that his stimulus package creates or saves will come from the private sector. But that still means 800,000 will be public sector jobs. This alone means Obama’s plan conveys “a partisan advantage,” says GOP leader Ken Blackwell. He points out that last year Virginia went Democratic for the first time since 1964. Obama won the Old Dominion by just 130,000 votes. Creating 800,000 new jobs “might help cement Virginia in the Democrat column, making it harder for Republicans to retake the White House,” Blackwell says.


“Organizing” America — In part, Obama’s call for a national spirit of volunteerism is a clever extension of his campaign’s adroit use of the Internet to mobilize political support. Previous presidents have called on Americans to volunteer their time, but Obama’s “Organizing for America” is a political operation that will be run by the Democratic National Committee. “The Internet is an amazing tool for us to be able to organize people together,” Obama remarked while he rolling paint onto walls during a volunteer photo op shortly before the inauguration. “We saw that during our campaign.” Indeed, during the campaign Obama raised $500 million online and built a database of 13 million e-mail addresses. As president, Obama now controls the DNC, so he can share his digital brigades with whomever he wants. Organizing for America will keep Obama’s online army ready to march. Observes Ben Smith of Politico: “It's a potentially hugely, uniquely powerful tool, enhancing the muscle of the official who is already the most powerful man in America.” The organization will also help Democrats hone their appeal to a younger demographic that is particularly receptive to Internet-based messages.


Infrastructure Politics — Democrats, who so often tout the economic virtues of infrastructure projects, are continuing to build their party’s political infrastructure as well. One notable example is the Secretary of State (SOS) project. SOS, funded in part by George Soros, was created to seed state election bureaucracies nationwide with partisan activists, usually secretaries of state who are strategically positioned to influence the outcome of close recounts. The prize SOS pupil is Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, who recently oversaw the recount that flipped the original result in the Gopher State from GOP Sen. Norm Coleman to Democrat Al Franken.


“Blue” Behavior — Another new Democratic organization, ActBlue, serves as an online fundraising clearinghouse for Democrats. Launched in 2004, ActBlue has raised over $50 million, including $3.7 million garnered for Democrats just since Election Day. It has orchestrated contributions of nearly $1 million for the Franken recount effort. Like SOS, ActBlue works behind the scenes to give Democrats a structural political advantage.


Boosting Hispanic Support — Obama carried the Hispanic vote by 67 percent, a key part of his victory. The $32.2 billion expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) that Obama is expected to sign will provide health insurance for some 11 million children. The House version would cover hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants’ children, without the current five-year waiting period for eligibility. Along with a phased-in amnesty push that will likely begin with immigrants serving in the U.S. armed forces, this should solidify a Democratic constituency that, as recently as 2004, split its vote much more evenly with Republicans. William Gheen, president of the Raleigh, N.C.-based Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC), tells Newsmax that amnesty would so indelibly alter the nation’s political balance that it would “destroy any future hopes for immigration enforcement or border security.”


Promoting Unions — Most union members vote Democratic, so one way to tilt the game in Democrats’ favor is to swell union ranks with more workers. That’s where card check comes in. Also called the Employee Free Choice Act, it would eliminate the confidential balloting in which workers now determine whether they want to be unionized. Even former liberal presidential candidate George McGovern warns that the measure could deny “freedom to many Americans,” as union toughs bully American workers into joining the unions, whether they want to or not.


Healthy Down Payments — The Democrats’ massive stimulus plan includes $600 million to “prepare” the government to deliver for national health care, which will eventually make millions dependent on the federal government. Fox host Glenn Beck’s reaction: “Wow, $600 million just to prepare for it? Sounds like it's going to be cheap. No seriously, socialism is going to be so much fun when it's fully in place in America.”

The idea of a growing, Democratic wall protecting the states that moved into the blue column this election worries Republicans who already face an uphill battle when it comes to Electoral College trends. Atlantic Media Political Director Ron Brownstein recently noted in the National Journal that since 1996, “Democrats have built a wall of solid states that gives them an inherent advantage in the race for electoral votes.”

The good news for Republicans: Polls show party loyalty means less than ever before. So Democrats know they have to move quickly to lock in their political advantage.

As Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher tells U.S. News & World Report: “Work will be needed to hold onto our gains from this year. New voters aligned themselves with Obama, but will need more convincing to solidify this group for 2012.”

If the nascent Obama political machine is allowed to rumble forward unchecked, however, Republicans may find that the blue wall now under construction by Democrats could become a formidable obstacle indeed.



© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[funjumper101 15]

OUTSTANDING!!!!

I hope that I never see the rescums/righties in power, as long as I live.
It is going to take the rest of my life to fix what they have so badly broken.

[carmenc 0]

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© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

OK.

[Amazon 7]

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Unless Republicans act to counter those initiatives, pundits and pollsters warn, they could find themselves on an extended vacation from power in Washington.

I think MOST people in this country.... other than the 20% dead enders who think everything is still in great shape and support the Incompetent in Chief, see how well the GOP and the NEO CONS ran this country into the ground.

They took their money and ran.... the treasury is in sad shape after their raids on it for personal gain.

There are THOUSANDS of NEO CONS.. who deserver to sit in prison for their actions.. there was nothing new about their greed.. just the magnitude of the offenses against our nation.

[rushmc 23]

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Unless Republicans act to counter those initiatives, pundits and pollsters warn, they could find themselves on an extended vacation from power in Washington.

I think MOST people in this country.... other than the 20% dead enders who think everything is still in great shape and support the Incompetent in Chief, see how well the GOP and the NEO CONS ran this country into the ground.

They took their money and ran.... the treasury is in sad shape after their raids on it for personal gain.

There are THOUSANDS of NEO CONS.. who deserver to sit in prison for their actions.. there was nothing new about their greed.. just the magnitude of the offenses against our nation.

You keep posting these accusations (crap) but you never post anything to back it up. So that makes this your opinion and nothing more.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[sfc 1]

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Unless Republicans act to counter those initiatives, pundits and pollsters warn, they could find themselves on an extended vacation from power in Washington.

I think MOST people in this country.... other than the 20% dead enders who think everything is still in great shape and support the Incompetent in Chief, see how well the GOP and the NEO CONS ran this country into the ground.

They took their money and ran.... the treasury is in sad shape after their raids on it for personal gain.

There are THOUSANDS of NEO CONS.. who deserver to sit in prison for their actions.. there was nothing new about their greed.. just the magnitude of the offenses against our nation.

You keep posting these accusations (crap) but you never post anything to back it up. So that makes this your opinion and nothing more.

Noticed the financial crisis were in have you?

The reason the republican base is shrinking is that they fucked up big time and people don't vote for them any more, except for you 20%ers.

This article is just an attempt by a 20%er to blame the Democrats for their own parties failures and anyone except a 20%er can see straight through it.

[rushmc 23]

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Unless Republicans act to counter those initiatives, pundits and pollsters warn, they could find themselves on an extended vacation from power in Washington.

I think MOST people in this country.... other than the 20% dead enders who think everything is still in great shape and support the Incompetent in Chief, see how well the GOP and the NEO CONS ran this country into the ground.

They took their money and ran.... the treasury is in sad shape after their raids on it for personal gain.

There are THOUSANDS of NEO CONS.. who deserver to sit in prison for their actions.. there was nothing new about their greed.. just the magnitude of the offenses against our nation.

You keep posting these accusations (crap) but you never post anything to back it up. So that makes this your opinion and nothing more.

Noticed the financial crisis were in have you?

The reason the republican base is shrinking is that they fucked up big time and people don't vote for them any more, except for you 20%ers.

This article is just an attempt by a 20%er to blame the Democrats for their own parties failures and anyone except a 20%er can see straight through it.

I love this 20%er thingy that keeps showing up

You can try and marginalize if you wish but know one thing. If Regan ran in the last election he would have won by the same margins as before.

The reasons the R's lost is because they moved away from those principals. They have moved away by listening to the same bullshit you post here.

You want a socialist country. I dont. You want the gov to have more money to give away and but votes. I dont.

Simple difference here. We will see what happens in 2 years but dont fool yourself into believing what you post here, it will bite you if you do.

Oh, and I am still waiting for the points to be backed up

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Darius11 12]

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Noticed the financial crisis were in have you?

People who know me on here know that i am no supporter of Bush, but to say this economic claimant is his fault and his only is incorrect.
The problem started with regulation and allowing people who normally would not receive loans to receive them. You can thank Barny Frank for that.
It was a government initiative so every American no matter how poor could someday own a home that fucked all of us. There are a lot of great sweet ideas yet they do not work with the human condition. We should never hand out but provide opportunities for people to do for them selves. That's what we are about. When we do not follow our DNA we have huge collapses like we have now. The war obviously is a huge expanse as well we can blame that on GWB and i do. But lets keep every thing in prospective. We all might disagree but the one thing we can agree on is we love our country and we want to succeed. The way we do that is remaining factual and honest about the causes and effects we have seen.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[Darius11 12]

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If Regan ran in the last election he would have won by the same margins as before.

The reasons the R's lost is because they moved away from those principals. They have moved away by listening to the same bullshit you post here.

President Regan is a hero because he brought down the USSR by spending them in to bankruptcy. How is that the principles of Republicans? I was always under the assumption that Republican principles are for not for spending but Small government, and lower taxes.

I know that has not been the case for any Democrat or Republican for a very long time as the size of government keeps growing but we are discussing principle here not action.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[gjhdiver 0]

Good.

Add to that the more important issue of all the federal judge positions that will now be filled by liberal judges, and we can finally drive a few more nails into the coffin of the religious conservative movement.

BTW, if you're going to idolize Reagan, at least learn to spell his name correctly. Most of the new voters weren't even alive when he was in office, don't care, and were thankfully spared the bumbling idiot. He ain't coming back.

I personally don't care if the GOP regain control again in 8 years. They are in too much disarray to do it in four. By the time they ever get a sniff of power again, there will be no undoing what will have been done in the meantime. I suspect that we'll be able to retire the two oldest supreme court justices with much more liberal and younger ones.

Lastly, let's just say that the Democrats locking up the blue vote is just karmic payback for the GOP gerrymandering and redistricting that attempted to consolidate the red vote.

The left is in the driving seat now, just as the right was for 8 years. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

[rushmc 23]

Your religious and ideological bigotry is showing

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[Andy9o8 2]

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Your religious and ideological bigotry is showing

That just means he's partisan. So what?
You're like the kid who says "I know you are, but what am I?" because you can't stand not getting the last word in. Any dog can bark mindlessly at a passing car, but that doesn't make it intelligent discourse.

[rushmc 23]

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Your religious and ideological bigotry is showing

That just means he's partisan. So what?
You're like the kid who says "I know you are, but what am I?" because you can't stand not getting the last word in. Any dog can bark mindlessly at a passing car, but that doesn't make it intelligent discourse.

Point taken but, the vitrol in the post I responded to needed to have it point out

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[grimmie 186]

The Democrats are using the financial meltdown for their gain just as the Republicans wrapped themselves in September 11th to raid Iraq and scare the populace into re-election.

And +2, Reagan was a moron. We can start an entire thread on that bumbling idiot if you would like. And to think I voted for him...