President Barack Obama and the Democrats have an up-hill battle on their hands in an attempt to keep the White House in 2012.
By Danny R. Johnson
WASHINGTON–In his November 3, 2010 press conference, President Barack Obama stated he got the message from voters after the “shellacking” he received at the hands of the Republicans, and that he will attempt to reach out to congressional Republicans to find common ground and compromise on a host of issues.
The November 2 midterm election, and the record-shattering amount of money outside groups spent to boot Democrats incumbents, is just a warm-up to the 2012 presidential race, political analysts say.
For those of you who have just woke up from your Rip Van Winkle sleep over the past week, here are the results of the political tsunami that has everyone talking:
* The Grand Old Party picked up 60 seats to secure the majority in the House.
* Democrats have a narrow majority of 51 seats in the Senate.
* Republicans have a slim 46 seats in the Senate.
* Republicans control 29 state legislatures – the most since 1928.
The political reality for Democrats is that they were outspent by a 2-1 ratio by Republican leaning conservative groups, who spent over $187 million, up from $19 million in 2006’s midterm election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The huge increase in election money going to Republicans and Democrats is directly attributed to the U.S. Supreme Court decision (Citizens United v Federal Trade Commission) in January 2010 that opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate and union spending on election ads.
The RNC and Republican Governors Association led the charge
On June 24, 2009, Mississippi Governor, Haley Barbour, was elected the new Chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) following the resignation of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford as its leader after disclosure that he was having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. Late in the summer of 2009, Barbour, who also held the position of Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 1993-1997, met with big Republican donors, RNC officials, including RNC chair, Michael Steele, and immediately began strategizing how Republicans can take over the House and Senate.
RNC officials and Barbour knew that in order to defeat the Democrats in Congress and in state legislatures across the south and Midwest, they needed a comprehensive set of talking points and cooperation from political insiders in the Republican Party. Long time Republican activist and consultant, Ralph Reed, was solicited to galvanize support from the evangelical community in addition to former adviser to President George W. Bush, Karl Rove. Dick Armey, former Republican Majority Leader of the House, who in 2003, became co-chairman of Citizens for a Sound Economy, which in 2004 merged with Empower America to become Freedom Works, was brought on board. Freedom Works core principles states that it is dedicated to advancing a “Freedom Agenda” of “lower taxes, less government, and more freedom,” which fitted perfectly with the Republican agenda.
Armey made a pact with Barbour and the RNC to co-opt the Tea Party to help get Tea Party members and Republicans elected to Congress.
In late spring 2009, the RNC and Freedom Works launched a campaign against health care reform proposals, accusing the Obama Administration of attempting to “socialize medicine”. Major media outlets at the time reported on one of the strategies of Freedom Works was the dissemination of a manual by a Freedom Works volunteer which explained “best practices” including “inflate your numbers”, describing how one group succeeded in dominating a group of 150 voters in which only 30 opposed healthcare reform.
The strategy proved to be very effective in shutting down any reasonable debate on the merits of the health care bill that was making its way through Congress. Democratic congressional leaders found it extremely difficult to hold public meetings without having to be subjected to boisterous Tea Party volunteers talking over them. In the meantime, while the Democrats were busy trying to sell the American people on the merits of the healthcare legislation, Barbour, the RNC and the RGA, were busy using the newsreels of the Tea Party’s opposition to “Obamacare,” and planted the seeds of “big government is out to take over” in newspaper, Internet, radio, and TV ads.
The Republican machine convinced voters to fear Democrats
There is an old saying that has been around since the beginning of the 20th Century that goes something like this: “If you repeat a lie many times, people are bound to start believing it.” Democrats and the mainstream media believe this is exactly what the Republicans have managed to pull off. Here are seven of the so-called propaganda issues (lies) liberal critics such as Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Progressive media feel the Republicans were able to successfully persuade a sizable number of the American electorate to believe:
* President Obama is a closeted Muslim and is not a Christian.
* President Obama is not a true American because his birth certificate is a forgery.
* President Obama and the Democratic Congress are Socialists.
* The Congress and the president are trying to force big government down our throats; thereby, hindering big corporations and banks from investing in expansion and hiring.
* President Obama and the Democrats are out of touch with the common person (working and middle class folks); and big banks, oil companies, and corporations knows what is best for American workers.
* The White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant people are on the brink of extinction, and we must restore our heritage, culture, and defense of the U.S. Constitution.
* President Obama and the Democrats have a secret plan to privatize Social Security; and they compromised the stability of Medicare by enacting Obamacare.
According to Progressive media pundits, by using these seven core propaganda issues, Republicans were able to “de-legitimize” the presidency of Barrack Obama, and by constantly attacking his administration on every front, the majority of voters who voted for the president and his party in 2008, switched to the Republicans out of frustration, fear, and anxiety over the economy.
Can President Obama and the Democrats keep the White House in 2012?
The Republicans will remember November 2, 2010 with fond memories and exuberance for many years to come, and rightfully so. The question for Democrats is quite simple: Can they retain the White House, regain a sizeable majority in the House, and add additional seats in the Senate in 2012? The answer to this daunting question lies with President Obama.
On his November 7, 2010 show, Roland Martin, host of TV One’s “Washington Watch,” gave an interesting perspective of President Obama’s challenges. Here are some abbreviated excerpts from his commentary:
“…Well, in many ways, I believe the first half of President Obama’s term is like the first half of a basketball game, the president’s favorite sport. Some things good, some bad, at times leading, but now clearly losing at the half. And like any smart team leader, his job is to now go into the locker room and make some pivotal halftime adjustments. Here are the four adjustments I think the president must make to regain his footing, get back in the game and lead his team to victory.
First off, team communication is a must. When a team, folks, is defending against the pick-and-roll, each player must communicate to know what the other is doing. That’s basketball. Poor communication also hurts in politics.
By your own admission, Mr. President, you and your team have done a poor job of communicating what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what it will mean for the American people. You said on Jon Stewart’s show that the American people don’t know a lot of the things you have done. Well, that’s not their problem; that’s your problem. You have to make it clear and cut throughout. Frankly, your communications team has been weak since you’ve been in the White House. They have missed or flubbed opportunities to make your case to the American people.
Mr. President, you giving a great speech is one thing, but your communications team speaking persuasively to the American people on a daily basis is another, and that must improve.
Second issue, Mr. President, and that’s simpler. You have got to pass the ball. We often hear from your aides that no one is better at communicating the issues than you. That may very well be true, but just like in basketball; you cannot play all five positions. In order for a team to win, that means every player must play their role and do their job. The business community has complained that your administration is anti-business. So, where is Gary Locke, the Commerce secretary? Jobs – issue number one. So, where is Labor Secretary Hilda Solís? This was the first time she appeared on our show, today. Her appearance on this show, folks, was needed a long time ago in other shows.
We have a foreclosure epidemic in the country. So, where is Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan? We’ve said it on this show before – that Attorney General Eric Holder has had the straitjacket placed on him. Discussions about energy policy. I never see Energy Secretary Steven Chu. We rarely see EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. It seems that the only cabinet members who have free rein to speak out are Arne Duncan at Education; Hillary Clinton at State; Bob Gates at Defense; and, to some degree, Kathleen Sebelius at Health and Human Services.
Mr. President, those may be your starters, but you need to play the bench also. Let them engage, take some fire, deliver some blows, and show folks that they are in this battle with you. There simply is no way one player taking – take – can take on an opposing team all by himself.
Number three. You‘ve got to go, Mr. President, on the offensive. What I mean by going on the offensive – that means a running team knows when to push the ball up-court, hoping to put their opponent on their heels and run them out of the gym. There has been a passive attitude emanating from your administration. When the other team continues to drive the lane and score on you, Mr. President, sometimes you have to deliver a few hard fouls to get their attention and send a strong signal you won’t tolerate it. You have to do the same in politics. Your opposition is emboldened by ripping you to shreds. Only rarely has your team engaged in the kind of fighting that can get your opponents’ attention quickly. This is not time to keep taking hits and act as if they won’t stick.
Mr. President, those body blows have stuck, and your White House is holding back the Democratic National Committee. It is time to let it go. Let them foul. Let them hit hard and be aggressive. If you don’t, your opponents will do whatever they want with you, and you will be on the losing side in two years.
Number four: you’ve got to be, sir, the true team leader, like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Hakeem Olajuwan, Oscar Robertson, Kobe Bryant. When times got tough, their teammates looked to them for inspiration, energy and guidance.
Right now, Mr. President, your teammates – the broad coalition of millions who put you into office – are confused by the conflicting messages sent out by your administration.
In many ways, this movement has been abandoned. As I have said, it has become a moment. Young folks, African-Americans, Hispanics, and so many others are waiting to be engaged, to be put to work to work with you to achieve victory. But if you’re standoffish and not talking to them on a regular basis, don’t inspire them, your agenda will never resonate with them; and you’ll have a team in disarray, not knowing what to do and what you want them to do, to be a transformational figure like Ronald Reagan.
But that means, sir, leading your movement and keeping them involved; keeping them active; telling them where to go, what to do and when you want them to do it.
Now, look. All sports fans – and, President Obama, you know this – no game is won in the first or second quarter. Yes, you can fall behind and look seemingly out of it, but until the clock reads 00:00:0[0], there is always time to rebound. Mr. President, I get the question all the time from folks around the country as to whether you will win a second term. Frankly, we do not know what is going to happen in 2012. But what I do know is that right now, you are behind and in desperate need of a second half comeback to have any shot in 2012.”
Martin and the majority of Progressives strongly disagree with former U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) and other moderate and conservative Democrats, who believe “it is clear that Democrats over-interpreted their mandate and talk of a realignment and new progressives era is wishful thinking,” as stated in a November 3, 2010 Politico article. Ed Gresser, of the Democratic Leadership Council, said in that same article, “Democrats lost the middle.”
President Harry S. Truman took office in 1945 after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A year later, his Democrats lost the majority: However, President Truman had the last laugh – when he and the Democrats won big in 1948.
The Democrats face an up-hill battle in their attempt to regain the House and retain the White House. There is no guarantee that President Obama will be able to pull off an up-set as President Truman did in 1948 – especially with all the seven Republican propaganda issues currently in force against him. Nevertheless, some words of advice President Truman left for Progressive Democrats is definitely worth heeding. President Truman counseled against compromise with the Republicans on key Democratic issues, explaining: “Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for a real Republican all the time.”
Danny R. Johnson is a freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C.
