Recently, I’ve decided to look back at old rants for inspiration for new stuff, bad or good. In this spirit, back after the election I wrote:
So, coming soon to a Diehard Republican—and, I think even more likely, the sorely disappointed “bake sale bomber” type progressives when Obama fails to deliver on the impossible things they’ve projected onto him—near you: Obama Derangement Syndrome…[.]
You can read the rest here. So, let’s just say I was “pleased” to see this.
Maybe “unsurprised” is the right word. Whatever. Is anyone really surprised? Back during the recent period of Republican dominance the backbenchers got kept in line by Tom “The Hammer” DeLay, but Dems haven’t been so good at that kind of strongarm for quite some time.
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March 27, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Yet more on “the Angry Left”:
http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/03/hey_obama_yes_we_can.php
March 27, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Well, it’s a center-right country, in the end. As these figures show nicely from the 2008 election:
“Liberals are less central to the Democratic coalition than conservatives are to the Republican coalition,” says Andy Kohut, director of the non-partisan Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
…In cumulative Pew data for 2008, Kohut says, only one-third of self-identified Democrats described themselves as liberals; the rest identified as moderates or conservatives. For Republicans the proportions were reversed: two-thirds of Republicans considered themselves conservatives, while only one-third identified as moderates or liberals….
Looking at Obama’s actual vote in 2008 reinforces the story. According to the Edison/Mitofsky Election Day exit polls, liberals provided only 37% of Obama’s total votes. Moderates (50%) and conservatives (13%) provided far more. By contrast, conservatives provided almost three-fifths of John McCain’s votes, with moderates contributing only about one-third and liberals a negligible 5%.”
March 27, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Also, and I know others will disagree, I still maintain that the Left is, generally, far angrier than the Right. Not that there are not firebrands and hate-mongers on the right, but for both ideological and practical reasons, I think progressives are a lot more angry and inflexible than their conservative counterparts.
I’m willing to accept that a good chunk of this is the failure of large components of “the Revolution” and that this might change with years of progressive (or even center-left) rule. (Just as the John Birchers are largely gone from the right after years of moderate-right to conservative leadership.)
But I don’t think the Left is going to have time to get there…because their anger may well make Obama’s election the last hurrah of the progressive movement…
March 29, 2009 at 11:59 pm
AOC wrote:
Well, it’s a center-right country, in the end.
Assuming that you acknowledge that “center” moves around. My general view is that a given political movement tends to sow the seeds of its own demise and that things shift around when there’s a moment of weakness (like recently). Yes, that’s very Hegelian but he wasn’t totally nuts.
As to “the Angry Left”… well I have absolutely nothing but contempt for bake sale bomberism, of course, but I think a lot of the anger is the natural frustration of a party on the outs. As you say, given some time for governance, that may change. Of course if the conservatives are doing wilderness time you may see a Neo-Birch Society show up, too. I’d also point out that you perceive left anger more than right anger because of your own predilections (as would a relatively committed leftist the other way around).
Nonetheless, now is a very odd time as much is uncertain. If the Panic of ’08 resolves itself reasonably well in the next year or so and Obama manages to deliver on some of the more key things he’s mentioned, it may be a long time for the cons to get angry….
April 4, 2009 at 12:36 pm
More on the angry right:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=91103
When Chuck Norris raises the flag of insurrection, it’s time to look out.
March 3, 2010 at 1:09 pm
A quick survey of the prevailing market price of Viagra tablets will suggest that at this rate, only the elitist few will be afford a constant use of the little blue pills, an especially worrying trend.