Did It Happen Too Soon For Democrats?

[FreeThinker]

Our government goes in cycles. From liberal to conservative and back to liberal. The trend happens over and over since it was federalists versus anti federalists in the civil war.

Voters get tired of their leaders. The political party's name becomes hollow. Leaders in the party eventually get caught in scandals.

The question I pose is this: did the cycle start too soon for the democrats?

We have a presidential election coming up in two years. At that time I believe whichever party holds the most power prior to the election will hold the least power after it (this assumes the new congress makes bush a lame duck).

I'm not saying the democrats are going to piss off the american people in the next two years. I have no idea what is going to happen.

What do you think? Could it have happened later and had a greater impact on American policy?

**** edit: This got posted in wrong forum. Can a mod please move this to the political parties or US elections section?

 

[FreeThinker]

Our government goes in cycles. From liberal to conservative and back to liberal. The trend happens over and over since it was federalists versus anti federalists in the civil war.

Voters get tired of their leaders. The political party's name becomes hollow. Leaders in the party eventually get caught in scandals.

The question I pose is this: did the cycle start too soon for the democrats?

We have a presidential election coming up in two years. At that time I believe whichever party holds the most power prior to the election will hold the least power after it (this assumes the new congress makes bush a lame duck).

I'm not saying the democrats are going to piss off the american people in the next two years. I have no idea what is going to happen.

What do you think? Could it have happened later and had a greater impact on American policy?

 

[Kandahar]

Perhaps. But it could also help them, depending on the headlines. My guess is that the 2008 election will boil down to the two candidates, and won't really be much of a referendum of anyone.

 

[jfuh]

This is more than just which party has control, this is about the fact that Americans are sick and tired of 0 accountability, constant partisan rhetoric and a do nothing congress.
Now congress is dominated by moderates - this is a great start for a new begining.

 

[AcePylut]

Constant partisanship like the "I Hate Bush" campaign strategy that the Dems ran on? Constant partisanship like the Democrat "leaders" insulting Bush every time there was a CNN mike in front of them?

I think the Democrats are overreacting to what happened yesterday. That's good. The faster America realizes what they just did (vote Nancy Pelosi into Speaker of the House?????), the better it will be for the US in 2008.

What happened is that a lot of voters got convinced to "hate Bush" by the partisan rhetoric that the Dems have preached for the last few years.

They didn't win this election on their own merits/agenda/plan.

They would do well to remember this for the next two years.

Unlike the GOP, who got elected on their merits/agenda/plan in 2004, forgot to get their message out in this election, and thus made themselves vulnerable to the hate-campaign of the Democrats.

 

[alphieb]

Constant partisanship like the "I Hate Bush" campaign strategy that the Dems ran on? Constant partisanship like the Democrat "leaders" insulting Bush every time there was a CNN mike in front of them?

I think the Democrats are overreacting to what happened yesterday. That's good. The faster America realizes what they just did (vote Nancy Pelosi into Speaker of the House?????), the better it will be for the US in 2008.

What happened is that a lot of voters got convinced to "hate Bush" by the partisan rhetoric that the Dems have preached for the last few years.

They didn't win this election on their own merits/agenda/plan.

They would do well to remember this for the next two years.

Unlike the GOP, who got elected on their merits/agenda/plan in 2004, forgot to get their message out in this election, and thus made themselves vulnerable to the hate-campaign of the Democrats.

The American people voted the Dems in themselves. Are you trying to say the Democrats brainwashed them into voting for them. HA What a joke.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

The country for the last 100 years has slowly and consistently became more socially liberal and more progressive. The pendulum swings back a little ways to the right some times, but it never swings as far to the right as it does to the left, and thus slowly but surely we always inch little by little toward the left.

Think about it, every single culture war the social conservatives have waged over the last 100 years, they eventually lost. Conversely, when you compare how much of their core agenda gets enacted while progressives are in power verses conservatives, progressives invariably make a much larger impact. One might disagree with that agenda, but nevertheless, they are generally more successful in getting it implemented. The two presidents who have made a bigger impact on our entire way of life than all other presidents combined were FDR and LBJ and essentially everything they enacted is more or less still in place even though Republicans have been in power for 12 years. If this country ever actually swung to the right ideologically, then why is it that virtually the entire progressive agenda of FDR, and the entire Great Society of LBJ is still completely in place? I am not saying that is good or bad, I am just pointing it out. Democrats holding power from the 1930s through the early 90s made a huge and lasting policy impact on this country. The Republicans for their 12 years in power essentially accomplished nothing for conservatives other than a tax cut.

If Democrats stay more toward the center, and keep the far left at bay, they will probably retain power for another 40 years or more. The only time they run into trouble is when they try to move the country to fast.

 

[FreeThinker]

Democrats holding power from the 1930s through the early 90s made a huge and lasting policy impact on this country.

There were no conservatives in power from 1930 to the mid 1990's?

 

[ALiberalModerate]

There were no conservatives in power from 1930 to the mid 1990's?

Sure, but they were the minority party. You can hold the Whitehouse, yet not hold congress, or the majority of the statehouses, and thus you are still the minority party.

The Republicans did not just loose congress yesterday, the lost all levels of government.

 

[FreeThinker]

The Republicans did not just loose congress yesterday, the lost all levels of government.

Did something happen with the supreme court and the executive that i'm not aware of?

 

[Iriemon]

One major benefit of the Dems taking power now is that it puts a stop to Republicans making the Bush tax cuts permanent.

 

[jpwright]

Well, this would make sense. Except that the Democrats held the majority for a long time before this short period, and the Republicans have held it since 1994. I think it's virtually impossible that they would somehow lose again in 2008.