But history, as John Adams once said of facts, is a stubborn thing, and it tells us that Democratic presidents from FDR to JFK to LBJ to Carter to Clinton usually wind up moving farther right than they thought they ever would
JFK and Clinton? Sure
Carter? Maybe
LBJ? I have my doubts.
FDR? It seems to me that he moved to the left, comparing his campaign statements to his actual record during the 30s.
The terms we use in discussing politics and culture can be elusive and elastic.
Definitely true, although at times people don't seem to realize it, or ignore the fact.
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My opinion on the overall issue. -
The fact that Obama is likely to win is more about a rejection of Bush, than it is a broad based movement to the left. Of course with the Democrats gaining in both houses (possibly a filibuster proof majority in the senate) and with a new president who not only is a Democrat but isn't a centrist Democrat, the left will gain. This will be exacerbated by the current popular, although false, view that all the problems in banking and finance are because of a lack of regulation.
There most likely way to cause serious long term shift left is to create new federal programs, most particularly expanding government involvement in health care. And with solid majorities in both houses and the white house they may be able to do so.
But even with the most optimistic scenarios for the Dems gaining seats in congress, and even with some new entitlement or other expansion of government, Dems hoping for a movement (either in terms of durable majorities, or in terms of how much the size of government increased) like the "New Deal majority", will be seriously disappointed.
I'm pessimistic about current political trends, and even in a bit longer term I don't expect the gains for the left to just evaporate in 2012, but it isn't going to be a triumphal march to domination by the left. |
