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Reagan did something different - he found areas of agreement. He worked for years patiently about it. And he told the American people what was up. Reagan didn't try to take stands on big areas of disagreement. The Cold War was there, he was a Cold Warrior, and the Democrats were all for that, too. He didn't take stands against welfare, medicare, social security (a mistake, in my view). He spent YEARS working at tax reform and building a coalition and got it done.
In that way, Reagan and Clinton were exceptional. They could politic. They could use the bully pulpit and do so gently.
[Reply]Obama had a friendly Senate for a fairly short period of time for non contiguous portions of the first 2 years. And he used that to get a version of health care reform passed
In that way, Reagan and Clinton were exceptional. They could politic. They could use the bully pulpit and do so gently.
[Reply]Obama had a friendly Senate for a fairly short period of time for non contiguous portions of the first 2 years. And he used that to get a version of health care reform passed
Right. The Congressional Democrats jammed it down the GOPs throats. Unstoppable. The GOP not only had no power to oppose it, but didn't even have time to read the bill to point out problems with it. NOTHING could have stopped the President and the Democrats from doing whatever the hell they wanted. If they could pass the ACA they could have closed Gitmo, ended DOMA, etc.
They didn't. Because they didn't want to.
My wife is hotter than your wife.
lawrocketReagan did something different - he found areas of agreement. He worked for years patiently about it. And he told the American people what was up. Reagan didn't try to take stands on big areas of disagreement. The Cold War was there, he was a Cold Warrior, and the Democrats were all for that, too. He didn't take stands against welfare, medicare, social security (a mistake, in my view). He spent YEARS working at tax reform and building a coalition and got it done.
In that way, Reagan and Clinton were exceptional. They could politic. They could use the bully pulpit and do so gently.
Clinton had just as little success with nearly 60 Senators as Obama did, floundering most of the first 2 years in office.
Reagan benefited greatly from the party imbalances of the early 80s.
[Reply]Obama had a friendly Senate for a fairly short period of time for non contiguous portions of the first 2 years. And he used that to get a version of health care reform passed
Right. The Congressional Democrats jammed it down the GOPs throats. Unstoppable. The GOP not only had no power to oppose it, but didn't even have time to read the bill to point out problems with it. NOTHING could have stopped the President and the Democrats from doing whatever the hell they wanted. If they could pass the ACA they could have closed Gitmo, ended DOMA, etc.
They didn't. Because they didn't want to.
Perhaps they didn't want to (particularly with Gitmo and Doma), but it's hardly accurate to say they could have done whatever they wanted. It took most of the window of opportunity to get ObamaCare passed, and it was left for dead on the first main push.
devildog 0
We have to pass it in order to find out what's in it!
You stop breathing for a few minutes and everyone jumps to conclusions.
quade 4
kelpdiverReagan benefited greatly from the party imbalances of the early 80s.
Reagan also didn't have to put up with this filibuster bullshit.
quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
The World's Most Boring Skydiver
quade***Reagan benefited greatly from the party imbalances of the early 80s.
Reagan also didn't have to put up with this filibuster bullshit.
it was present in his time. A bit more than half what Clinton saw, and a bit more than a quarter of what Obama has seen. But 40 per 2 year session is still something, and a lot more than was typical pre Watergate.
Reagan had a very friendly Senate for most of his 2 terms. And he had both Dixiecrats in the House along with the rest of the Democrats mindful of the damage done to the party by the Carter Administration.
Obama had a friendly Senate for a fairly short period of time for non contiguous portions of the first 2 years. And he used that to get a version of health care reform passed. In time that could prove to be as significant as the New Deal reforms of the 30s, or the Medicare/War on Poverty stuff of LBJ's time. Or it could just fizzle out.
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