As the GOP continues to implode, the Democratic party is going to receive an even greater influx of Reagan Democrats. We have seen this already as the GOP started to lurch towards crazy. In my estimation this happened in the 90s. As the Democratic party lurched rightward under Bill Clinton, the GOP tacked even further rightward. Bill Clinton started the rightward shift with Welfare Reform, NAFTA, repeal of Glass-Steagall.
CANDIDATE Obama campaigned on a progressive left platform. The enthusiasm and support was tremendous. President Obama running on his record as a right-leaning economics didn’t see the high levels of enthusiasm. Before the ACA arguement is brought out, remember that was based on a CONSERVATIVE THINK TANK idea. This is notable for a couple reasons
1) The overton window has shifted so far to the right that CONSERVATIVE THINK TANK ideas are now considered “leftist” by today’s corporate shilled media
2) The huge givebacks to insurance and pharmaceutical companies shows the ACA was going to take care of the corporations first, not the people.
Note: The ACA is better than the nothing we had, but given the electoral mandate a better solution could have been achieved. (This was in part due to blue-dog Democrats, where we don’t hold anyone in the party accountable if they pander to Wall Street and the mega-corps)
Seeing as how the overton window has already shifted hard right, the implosion of the GOP into NOT-ASHAMED racist bigoted scum, the somewhat sane GOPers will come more and more into the Democratic party pushing more Reagan style economics. The two parties will no longer be Democratic and GOP, but GOP and GOP-lite (All the Reaganomics you loved but now with 0 bigotry. So when you gotta have your Reaganomics, you can now do so without feeling ashamed)
Question: How DID the GOP devolve? Both sides have their far (left/right) base activists. The ones on the right are FAR MORE COMMITTED to achieve their goals even if it means short term losses. While on the left, the boogey-man fear of any GOPer (SCOTUS, SCOTUS!)makes us all fall in line and support more Reaganomics.
The GOP far-base right (tea party) have primary’d important people like Cantor, pushed crazies into congress, and for a real treat…
A call over on free republic...Conservatives in Paul Ryan's district: if he makes it through a primary, VOTE FOR THE DEMOCRAT
The opening line of this on freeperville - The time has come for desperate measures against the Oligarchy.
Note: I understand the irony of what the guy says about the Oligarchy and the far right. My point is solely to the depths and convictions the right has in terms of getting their base politicians elected.
Remember they successfully primary’d Cantor.
Would ANYONE here ever dare to go that far (vote republican if the candidate were a Reaganomic)? Of course not. The far right is willing to lose a couple battles in the long war. The far left is too paralyzed by fear.
Now for 2016, the Democratic Party is at a cross-roads. We can either choose a candidate that will represent the people, or a candidate that will continue the Reaganomic economic model. We all know the left has no stomach to fight it out in the general election, sending a message to the DNC. The right has the stomach for it, as such bigoted racist scum like Trump and Cruz are polling the highest. The right has sent a message that they are tired of THEIR political machine foisting politically impure candidates upon them. The left, we just keep on rolling under the Wall Street/Clinton machine.
Of course I would NEVER advocate for voting for scum like any of the current GOP field over Hillary Clinton, but i would ask a very important question….
WHEN WILL THE LEFT FINALLY STAND UP AND BE WILLING TO LOSE AN ELECTION TO MAKE THE PARTY MOVE TOWARDS PROGRESSIVE ECONOMICS AND AWAY FROM REAGANOMICS?!
If the answer is never, we can only slightly impair the decent into becoming the GOP of the 1980s.
