Democrats in Congress voted against the wishes of their own President in in opposing the free trade bill, which has advanced thanks only to Republicans. Meanwhile, the socialist Bernie Sanders has all but caught up with Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and Iowa, attracting some of the biggest crowds of any candidate so far.
Political columnist Dana Milbank says that President Obama and Hillary Clinton may be “on the wrong side of history” (an old Marxist line often used by the president, the assumption being that “history” is inexorably headed to the socialist utopia).
Mr. Milbank also says that the country itself is trending to the left, out of revulsion for conservatives. Do you think that is true? Or would a far-left Democratic platform–assuming Mrs. Clinton goes there to fend off her primary challengers–would be the best hope for a Republican victory?
From Dana Milbank, Clinton and Obama are on the wrong side of history – The Washington Post:
Scenes from an insurrection:
In Madison, Wis., on Wednesday, 10,000 people show up to rally for long-shot presidential candidate Bernie Sanders — giving the self-declared “democratic socialist” the largest crowd any candidate has had in this election cycle. Sanders, running on a shoestring and a prayer, has closed to within single digits of Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire and is surging in Iowa.
In New York on Tuesday, populist Mayor Bill de Blasio lashes out in vitriolic terms at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a a fellow Democrat, accusing him of “games” and politically motivated “revenge.” De Blasio and other Democrats blast Cuomo’s handling of housing, immigration, the minimum wage and education.
In Washington last month, an overwhelming majority of Democrats — 158 of 186 in the House and 31 of 44 in the Senate — oppose President Obama on free-trade legislation. Obama prevails in the vote after failing in a similar vote earlier in the month, but the episode leaves the president attempting to repair a deep rift with his fellow Democrats by championing overtime rules favored by unions.
These are not isolated events. Together, they show anew how the populist movement is ascendant within the Democratic Party, and they confirm that the balance of power has shifted. Clinton, who reports raising $45 million since launching her campaign in April, will almost certainly beat the upstart 73-year-old with the crazy white hair. Obama won on trade. But Clinton and Obama are, to borrow a favorite phrase of the president, on the wrong side of history. As I’ve noted, the country is trending in a more liberal direction, and a growing proportion of Democrats are hard-core liberals.
There are various causes, but the change is likely in part a reaction to the tea party and to the Republican Party’s swing to the right.
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