|
White House Blames Midterm Results on Congress
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
November 4, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Blaming the
expected bad results for Democrats in today’s Midterm Elections, the White House
accepts no responsibility for worsening the bitter partisan divide that existed
in the former Bush administration.
Running as a candidate in 2008, President Barack Obama promised to govern as a
post-partisan president, finding common ground, ending once-and-for-all the
country’s red state-blue state rift.
Shortly after taking office Jan. 20, 2009, backed by a Democratic
Congress, the inexperience Obama let House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) set his agenda, pushing national
health care. When the dust settled
and Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordability Act March 23, 2009,
his presidency headed South. When
the ACA passed the Senate Dec. 24, 2009, it was over the objections of every
Republican in the Senate.
Since signing ACA into law, Republicans in Congress went into
obstructionist mode, providing little cooperation to any White House initiative. “At this point I don’t anticipate that will happen,” said White House spokesman Josh
Earnest, referring to possible terminations.
“Frustration with the failure of Washington D.C. to put in place policies
that are help to middle-class families,” said Earnest, repeating the same worn
out talking points. White House failure to create any rapport with the Republican House or Republicans in the
Senate added to unending partisan gridlock.
When Obama was sworn in, voters hoped that things would be different. Letting Pelosi and Reid hijack the
White House agenda caused untold problems for Barack. Blaming Washington gridlock on
Democrat’s expected loss of the U.S. Senate in today’s Midterm Elections passes
the buck to Congress.
Promising to hold onto the Senate, Vice President Joe Biden rejected
suggestions that the White House change its ways. Biden’s predictions are at odds with
every forecasting service pointing to a Democratic shellacking Nov. 4. Getting off on the wrong foot since
taking office, Democrats went into attack mode, pushing national health care at
the expense of everything. Now forced to live with all the flaws of Obamacare without any way of fixing it, the
White House faces the prospects of having even less backing in Congress over the
next two years. If Democrats lose
the Senate, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kt.) becomes the Senate
Majority Leader, imposing a more conservative agenda on the Senate. White House officials will have to
decide whether or not to gridlock the country until Barack leaves office or
start compromising with the GOP.
Boasting a revised “ground game,” the Republican Party hopes to score big
on Election Day. House, Senate and
governors’ races are more regional than national, giving the GOP its best shot
at adding seats in the House, retaking the Senate and adding more GOP governors. Once the GOP sensed that Obama was
going full-steam ahead with national health care in 2009, the GOP’s political
and PR machine went into overdrive, obstructing any of the president’s agenda
and discrediting his health care proposals.
By the time he signed the ACA, Obama’s negative publicity had hit tsunami
proportions. Today’s vote is a
backlash and referendum on ACA. By
all measures, with the economy staging a dramatic recovery under Obama,
Democrats should be adding votes in the House and Senate. Yet the public’s disgust with ACA
overrides Barack’s tangible accomplishments.
Democrats have no one to blame but themselves for the poor showing at
today’s Midterm elections. While
the GOP’s done a good job with the help of right wing media discrediting the
president, the real problem lies with Democrats.
Few media outlets highlight daily Obama’s real accomplishments on the
economy. Taking the Dow Jones
Industrials from 7,900 on Inauguration Day to today’s close at 17,294, reducing
federal budget deficits from $1.4 trillion to under $500 billion, lowering the
unemployment rate from a high o 9.8% to 5.9%, improving U.S. Gross Domestic
Product from minus .5% to plus 4%, should have given Democrats a landslide. Letting the GOP define Obama’s
failures, the Democratic Party failed to confront endless negative propaganda
from GOP conservatives. Both
parties have equal access to good spin doctors to confront pernicious propaganda
and control the message.
Obama and the Democratic Party have lost the propaganda war and now must
pay the price on Election Day.
Forcing Obamacare on the GOP in 2009 and signing the ACA March 23, 2010 sealed
Obama’s partisan agenda, upending all the good will from independents and
Republicans that helped win him two terms.
“With Election Day coming up tomorrow, right now is your time to make
your biggest impact by getting out the vote, so Democrats can win crucial
elections," wrote First Lady Michelle Obama.
No one at the White House is willing to take any responsibility for
squandering the best chance of ending Washington’s partisan divide. When Barack let Pelosi and Reid
hijack his presidency forcing Obamacare on the GOP and American public, he set
up the current train wreck, leaving Democrats scrambling for answers. Imposing his well-intentioned agenda
cost Democrats dearly.
About the Author
|
