Stand back. Observe. Watch the republicans eat their own.
It's fun to watch and fun to laugh and joke about the way the republicans are going after each other. About the purity test that even Reagan would flunk. What a hoot when people in S. Carolina wanted to impeach Lindsay Graham for daring to work with a democrat....
However, if you look closer you see that they are acting exactly like democrats. They trash the very people who can get them to where they want to go but, because it is not 100 percent Ivory soap pure, is fraught with compromise and even working with the other side, then, they are rejected.
The fact is that we love to shoot ourselves in the foot and are in the process of destroying the best thing that has happened to our party in decades with having Barack Obama as our president.
In 1980 I was despondent over the election of the radical Reagan. Many people were nervous because Reagan did seem so radical. The country was as far to the left back then as it is to the right today.
An example is the free clinics that are traveling around today. Back then those were around in every city. Free medical care for those who could not afford it was common.
The idea of communities helping out and taking care of the less fortunate was not radical. It was how it was until then. Everyone knew it was strength with a strong community. And our country survived by caring for its own and shoring those who were down up until they could stand on their own.
Being a good neighbor.
Everyone knew to have good and viable school and to educate our children and keep up with the world took money. So we paid taxes for schools and parks and infrastructure.
The thought of being as far right and to have the selfish and 'not on my dime' mindset would be scandalous.
Reagan could never do the kinds of legislation that Bush has pushed through.
Or what is seen as conventional wisdom and common thought or the normal way.
Huge tax breaks for the rich and welfare reform, people protesting against universal health care and seeing it as evil, completely deregulating the banking and other industries would be unthinkable.
By today's standards, Reagan is a moderate.
Back in 1980 he was a radical and the people were leery. nervous. Reagan had to do somethings differently to jump start a bad recession and our economy. People felt it was outrageous and he was looking very one term.
But, it eventually worked after 2 years of dealing with the stubborn recession. Thankfully, for him, his supporters stuck with him even if they thought it was not exactly what they envisioned.
Reagan also had alot of various groups in his coalition and he had to govern the whole country and not just the coalition.
So, he did not do wholesale conservative change. He knew it took increments to get where he wanted to go but, he gave them the fuel to keep it going for 30 years, his supporters knew this as well and stuck with him in good and bad.
Obama, who by yesterday's standards is center right. By today's standards is a flaming socialist.
He inherited a country with a much worse mess then Reagan did. Obama also was staring at a worse depression then in the 1930s if he did not stop the sliding into the abyss.
A much weakened country, huge deficits, wars and loss of prestige. Those are things Reagan did not have to deal with. A somewhat weakened image due to Iran and the hostages but, little more then that.
Like Reagan, Obama knows that to move the country back to normal and away from the far right, you have to do the same thing. Move it over time. Especially with a population that is war weary, a economy that just about collapsed completely - accept for the things Obama and his economic team did (like it or them or not).
Unlike Reagan, Obama does not have the support of his coalition. His coalition flee at the drop of a hat.
He warned them it would take a long time to get there and yet, they are upset and throwing public tantrums, giving his enemies fuel, because they don't want to understand the reality and the warnings that Obama gave them.
Obama's coalition will not stand up for him, seeing it as being a bot and drinking kool aid. Funny how they picked up on the rightwing talking points and are quick to use against their own side.
But, then, most of Obama's coalition, unlike Reagan's, and why the conservative movement succeeded and the progressive one may not is that they are Fair Weather Supporters.
I am thankful we had the chance to see this man elected to office but, am sad to see that he is being most undermined by opportunists like Huffington and Firedoglake. And undermined by Fair Weather Supporters.