Liberalism Has Not Yet Triumphed in the US
The Obama Victory in US Elections is Not a Turn to the Left
If the Jackson presidential victory in 1828 was the “triumph of the common man,” Mr. Obama’s victory can rightly be called “the triumph of every man.” But this does not portend a trend toward an era of rising Liberalism in American politics and society and election results demonstrate this. Although the Republican Party will be forced to reinvent itself or perhaps even give way to a new party altogether, substantial support for some conservative elements will drive new political coalitions that address issues Americans value.
Gay Marriage Prohibitions
Although Barack Obama opposed California’s Proposition 8 and said so in an MTV interview days before the election, 70% of African American voters that cast their ballots for Obama in California voted for the state constitutional amendment banning same sex unions. In Florida, where Obama won with 51% of the vote, the Marriage Protection Amendment passed by over 60%. Similar prohibitions in Arizona and Arkansas also passed with wide margins although Obama only took 45% and 39% of those states respectively. Although same sex unions are not the ultimate litmus test for expanding Liberalism, these results indicate that voters are willing to elect a “liberal” to the presidency while clinging to conservative social views.
One Congressional Race Tells the Story
In North Carolina’s fifth district, two-term Representative Virginia Foxx defeated Democrat Roy Carter with 58% of the vote yet Senator Obama carried Forsyth County by 55% of the vote. This despite Congresswoman Foxx’s record of supporting Bush policies and being labeled a “Bush rubber stamp” in many letters to the editor in the Winston Salem Journal. Mrs. Foxx, however, is a fiscal conservative who twice voted against the recent government “bailout” package and received political heat for opposing a financial aid bill to help Katrina victims unless the legislation contained clear accountability measures. Such split-ticket voting may attest to the desire of voters to want national change yet reserve limitations on a complete liberal agenda.
Congressional “Blue Dogs”
The Blue Dog coalition represents 49 Congressional Democrats that are fiscally moderate to conservative. Since 1995 the coalition has sought to create bipartisan solutions amidst acrimonious debate. With Democrats controlling two branches of government and Republican presence in the House significantly diminished, the Blue Dogs may become the “coffee poured into the saucer to cool it” as George Washington defined the Senate for Thomas Jefferson. These representatives will attempt to curb increased government spending and may become a formidable block when the new president begins to push for expensive measures such as universal health care.
An Independent or Third Party
Writing in the New York Times February 28, 2008, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg advanced the idea of unity through an independence approach: “The changes needed in this country are straightforward enough, but there are always partisan reasons to take an easy way out.” The December 2007 meeting between Bloomberg and former senators Sam Nunn and David Boren may have been the first inclination toward an independent party supported by disenchanted Republicans, Democrats, and non-affiliated voters. Given some Republican reluctance to accept Sarah Palin on the McCain ticket, the move toward 2012 may involve a desire to retool the Republican Party or see it rise from the ashes as an entirely new entity. Unless there is substantial "house cleaning" at the RNC, it seems almost certain that the next election will feature a third party.
The 2008 election was a call for change and millions of Americans responded by accepting Barack Obama’s message that, “yes we can.” But it was not an endorsement of Liberalism by its contemporary definition. Far too many issues separate Americans and those differing views will force Congress and state legislatures to seek bipartisan solutions.
Yes We Can
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