Nov 5th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Times Change
The day before the election, Barack Obama was a socialist. The day after the election, he only won because he’s a centrist in line with the views of “center-right” America. Check out Amanda Terkel’s compilation:
The truth is that Obama ran to the progressive center left behind in the wake of conservatism’s catastrophic failures.
40 Responses to “Times Change”
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November 5th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Well, I guess than from their prospective socialism is a center-right doctrine.
Which, come to think of it, explains some things ….
November 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Fortunately, the voters don’t give a damn about all these labels. (And hopefully we’ve gotten away from voting for who we want to have a beer with….. tho’ I’d love to shoot hoops and have a beer with Barack.)
November 5th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
The day before the election, Barack Obama was a socialist. The day after the election, he only won because he’s a centrist in line with the views of “center-right” America.
This isn’t a contradiction. A central part of the “Obama’s a socialist!” talking point was the idea that Obama was hiding his true beliefs, that he was running as a centrist but secretly radical.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Apparently winning makes MattY even more idiotic than before. MattY assumes that because some people (whether those on the tape or not; I didn’t watch it) called BHO a socialist, that means that everyone did. Thankfully, that’s not the case. See the comments from me (”Our next desperate attempt”) here.
But, then of course, acknowledging that would require MattY to be intellectually honest, and that’s clearly something he’s not capable of.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I like how Bay Buchanan almost made a Freudian slip and listed “anti-immigrant” or “anti-immigration” as one of the core right-wing principles that Dems are embracing, before she corrected herself to “anti-illegal-immigration.”
November 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Here is one of the corner guy’s admitting that the US is moving to the center-left like europe:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OWJmMTAxMzc2NDRkMWEyODlhM2IwMzMzNDg3NWNhOGM=
November 5th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
There’s nothing so rich as a professional spammer and obfuscator talking about intellectual honesty.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
This isn’t a contradiction. A central part of the “Obama’s a socialist!” talking point was the idea that Obama was hiding his true beliefs, that he was running as a centrist but secretly radical.
As secretly radical as McCain was secretly the Manchurian Candidate.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
We should listen to Karl Rove, because he is a decent and honest person with a history of playing it straight, and who clearly has the best interests of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole at heart.
“MattY assumes that because some people (whether those on the tape or not; I didn’t watch it) called BHO a socialist, that means that everyone did.”
Where does it say that?!?
November 5th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Obama ran his campaign on these issues:
Middle class tax breaks, higher taxes for folks making over $250 grand, corporations that export jobs, and gas cos making outrageous profits; getting us out of Iraq in a timely fashion; creating some 10 year Apollo space-type green energy program to create jobs, retool the auto industry, and cut dependence on oil; instituting programs that lead to almost univeral health care availability. He said these things over and over and over. The center right and right said that was socialism, communism, etc. They lost. I don’t care if you call it upism or downism; the nation has a right to demand that Obama and the legislative branch work together to make those things happen.
The center-right and right wing spin is simply more of their narcissitic ostrich approach to reality. Get out of the way, if you can’t lend a hand, for the times, they are a-changin’.”
November 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Obama’s landslide victory proves that socialism sells.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Rove: “We have a Democrat candidate for President….”
Even in humiliating defeat, Karl just can’t stop being a sophomoric asshole.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
A center-left voter is just a center-right voter who has been mugged by an investment banker.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Ummm, he is a socialist, or worse. He’ll push for a tax cut just like Bill Clinton did. Riiiight. Run on it and forget it, the Democrat way. Remove 60% of the voters from the tax roles by stealing from the top 20% (who already pay the overwhelming share of taxes) and guarantee election for your party forever!
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
Thomas Jefferson
“The Government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.”
George Bernard Shaw
November 5th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
Thomas Jefferson
Yeah, that plan seemed to work for the GOP and GWB, just not in the direction TJ was thinking.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Socialism for the rich. Capitalism for the poor. Nothing that happened yesterday will change that.
November 5th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Ummm, he is a socialist, or worse
Oh. Is that why the right wing pundits are now claiming he’s a centrist? I think Jim didn’t quite get the point of this post.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:40 am
OK, this is ridiculous!!
Calling any country “center-right” or center-left” is false by definition. There is no fixed “right” or “left”. The country is a centrist nation, because thats just how a two party system works. Now, if you want to instead say this country is more progress or conservative that at least can be debated based on evidence.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:27 am
What Ben said. Why do we have to deal with this every election? One year it’s 52-48 or 53-47 one way, another year it’s 48-52 or 47-53. Drawing some grandiose conclusion about this nation being “center-right” or “center-left” is completely silly. It’s neither. The nation is divided on various issues, and the WTA system has the effect of dividing and equilibrating things towards 50-50 on average.
You can stop arguing against the whole “center-right nation” thing because that’s obviously silly, but also, stop trying to imply that it is (on the contrary) center-left, because that is equally silly.
November 8th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
We have to deal with it because for the last 20 years the religious right and all it’s affiliated republicans have managed to control the debate on all social issues, and to make being liberal something to fear. As you can see they will not give up easily, and will be attempting to continue to control the talking points for the media. They still blame the media for it’s liberal bias daily. Time has come for liberals and progressives to stand up and push back.
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