You knew they were going to get clobbered. And you probably felt in your heart of hearts that they deserved it. Those Obama deniers. They thought they could get elected by “distancing” themselves from the President. They were wrong.
They’re the kind of Democrats who ruined his first term. The Democrats who dragged their feet on health care reform and other key components of his progressive agenda. They were worried that the folks back home in those red states weren’t ready for a new America. I call them Democrats in Name Only.
In the midterms, the DINOs looked at President Obama’s approval rating and shunned him. Their craven strategy backfired.
In Kentucky, Allison Lundergan Grimes wouldn’t even say whether she voted for President Obama. Mitch McConnell whupped her soundly. So much for the Democratic strategists who were predicting the Turtle’s demise.
In Georgia, Michelle Nunn also refused to admit she voted for the President. She denounced his policies and even tried to link herself to the Bush patriarch, George the First.
The deniers included Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Begich of Alaska and Natalie Tennant of West Virginia.
North Carolina’s Kay Hagan wouldn’t appear publicly with Obama. Neither would Colorado’s Mark Udall.
Losers all.
By abandoning President Obama, they lost his ability to get out the vote. And in a country as polarized as America is today, getting out the vote is what counts.
Yahoo’s Matt Bai observes in an article explaining why so much of the Democratic base didn’t vote:
The biggest reason for the disappearance of the new Democratic map is that the Obama surge never actually belonged to Democrats in the first place. It belonged to Obama — to his celebrity and his ironic detachment and his inspiring story.
And Peniel E. Joseph writes in The Root:
Rather than join forces and extol the president’s leadership on domestic issues, especially with regard to unemployment, health care and the environment, Democrats abandoned the president and, in the process, allowed Republicans to successfully shape this year’s message.
Those Democratic candidates didn’t count on voters’ loyalty because they aren’t loyal themselves. And a lot of us are loyal to Barack Obama. The latest approval rating I saw is about 40 percent. That’s not great but it’s a far cry from “dismal,” despite what the pundits say. It’s a solid chunk of this country’s divided electorate. You should see what “dismal” ratings the Republicans get!
The Republicans won because they stuck to their guns. They had the guts to stand up for the ideals their supporters believe in. Yes, I know, you and I think those ideals are bizarre, even dangerous, but that’s what the Republican base believe in their hearts and souls.
Did the Democratic candidates proudly proclaim their allegiance to the ideals you and I hold dear? Well, some did but many didn’t. They declined to have the President stump for them. They criticized his policies. They slithered farther and farther to the right.
The ones that did that got whupped. And I say good riddance.
