Switching Political Parties

[Lord Orwell]

Bush ensured that one of them would be president.

if bush ensured the other party would be elected, then why did he get reelected?

[Psyrus]

The Republicans, in general, ensured that Dems would win. That backlash is happening at the state and local governments as well.

[Xanith]

The Republicans, in general, ensured that Dems would win. That backlash is happening at the state and local governments as well.

If Bush was so bad as everyone said he was then why was Obama only able to get 53% of the vote? I guess if you only watched the main stream media you would think the big O descended from on high with some kind of mandate or something.

And fear worked well in 2008 as well. Fear of the declining economy was used really well by the Dems in the election. McCain was actually winning in the polls before the economy hit the skids.

X

[Psyrus]

I never said Bush was bad. The Republicans in general were. That's the reason why the Dems are doing so well election wise. Perception is more powerful than reality. It doesn't matter how involved Dems were with the current economic problems. They succeeded in pushing the bulk of the blame on the Reps.

I also never said that Obama was god's gift either. Frankly I am tired of constantly being beat over the head with how great a man he is. He hasn't done anything yet. The media would have you believe that his election is the cure-all for everything that ills the country.

[Xanith]

Bush only had one positive; he kept the country safe, that is about it. His unfunded mandates like no child left behind, and his huge increase in government by instituting Medicare Part D (prescription drugs) set the country on the wrong path financially. Bush did nothing to shrink spending or the size of government and his willing accomplices in the Republican controlled congress just went along with this policies. This is why the Republicans were voted out.

So what did we get in its place? A democrat controlled congress and a democrat president. We now have a 1.8 trillion dollar deficit and a president who thinks cutting 18 billion from a 3.6 trillion dollar budget is a huge accomplishment. People are finally waking up to all this out of control government spending. Voters in California rejected any new taxes even in the face of threats from the governor of cutting police, fire, and letting prisoners roam the streets. I think now is the time we throw anyone out who will not get spending and taxes under control, regardless of what party they belong too. Throw them all out I say.

X

[Shaggy Hiker]

if bush ensured the other party would be elected, then why did he get reelected?

Fear worked well in 2004. You may remember that the threat level was bounced around every other week in the runup to the election, but then was elevated only once or twice in the following couple years. This country doesn't stay focused on anything for long (which is why American Idol is an annual show). Bush had lousy approval ratings prior to 9/11, then sky-high approval ratings for a time after 9/11, then attention drifted. By the 2004 elections, terrorism was still enough of an issue that people voted on security. After that, though, in the following years, gas prices soared, the economy tanked, and the blame was squarely on the Rs, right or wrong.

Neither Rs nor Ds make up enough of this country to elect anybody to the White House. The winner is the party that can swing enough of the undeclared middle to their side. In 2004, the Rs could make the claim that their party would keep the US safer, and security was kept on peoples minds (in case their attention had wandered). It was still a VERY close election. By 2008, the economy had trumped security, and the Rs received virtually ALL of the blame. Bush didn't cause that, he just handled it ineptly (not the economy, the blame). He actually had the tools to prevent the R collapse, he just didn't know how to use them.