The initial response from many Republicans to President Obama's second inaugural address was faux disappointment -- they told reporters they hoped Obama would be "conciliatory" to the right and do "outreach" to the GOP in his speech, and the president did neither.
But yesterday, the message shifted a bit. As media coverage of the address focused on Obama's unapologetic defense of progressive ideals, the Republican talking points moved to take advantage of the analysis.
This video was released yesterday by Karl Rove's attack operation, Crossroad GPS. If you turned the 44-second clip into a drinking game, and took a shot with every reference to the word "liberal," you might find yourself in the hospital.
Soon after, we heard arguments like these from GOP leaders.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) responded to President Obama's "disappointing" second inaugural address by declaring, "The era of liberalism is back."
Senate Republicans bashed the president's remarks one day after he delivered them, calling them far-left remarks that are out of touch with the American people.
McConnell added that the president's address was "unabashedly far left of center," presenting a "liberal agenda" to a country that Republicans "still believe is center-right."
I don't imagine this was the point McConnell intended to make, but his declaration that the "era of liberalism is back" may have been more appropriate than he realized.
To be sure, the Senate Minority Leader no doubt hoped for the phrase to be mockery. Though McConnell and his allies have long accused President Obama of being a radical leftist hell bent on destroying capitalism, after hearing his inaugural address, McConnell is now effectively saying those labels are suddenly true.
It's as if the speech inspired Republicans to say, "A ha! We knew Obama's a liberal! Now we have proof! "
And that's fine, as far as it goes, but it should also lead to some introspection among the president's conservative detractors. Because at this point, the news isn't that the president is prepared to champion progressive principles, but rather, that those progressive principles enjoy broad public support.
Or put another way, while trying to expose Obama as out of touch, it's Republicans who suddenly find themselves outside the American mainstream looking in.
NBC's Mark Murray noted yesterday that "many of the policies and viewpoints Obama articulated in his inaugural address are supported by majorities of Americans."
Take Obama's advocacy for gay rights, for example. ("Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law," Obama said in his speech yesterday). As it turns out, per the Dec. 2012 NBC/WSJ poll, a majority of Americans -- 51% -- favor gay marriage. That's up from a mere 30% in 2004.
There's also immigration reform. ("Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity.") The Jan. 2013 NBC/WSJ found another majority -- 52% -- supporting giving illegal immigrants the ability to apply for legal status.
And then there's his defense of entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. ("These things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.") Polls overwhelmingly find that Americans support these programs. [...]
[It's] hard to argue that these "liberal" ideas and policies are somehow far outside the political mainstream.
Quite right. For all of the efforts on the right to suggest Obama's vision lacks public support, the exact opposite is true -- on nearly every major issue of the day, the American mainstream and the president's positions are one and the same.
If the "era of liberalism is back," this should cause great consternation among Republicans, not relief. After all, most Americans in their "center-right" nation support gay marriage, higher taxes on the wealthy, a system of universal background checks before gun purchases, abortion rights, comprehensive immigration reform, efforts to combat climate change, protections for social-insurance programs like Medicare and Social Security, and greater public investments in education and infrastructure.
The question isn't why Obama supports this progressive agenda; the question is why McConnell and his party don't.
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The Republicans are afraid the country is being dragged back to the political center thereby defeating their efforts to bring the country to the far right. This is happening just when the Republicans were ready to pounce on and destroy every Dem achievement of the 20th century, labor laws, unions, Social Security and Medicare. The Republicans were getting ready to sell the country on the idea that the Dem party and its policies were the great failure. But instead, these ideas have made a rebound and we are moving forward into the 21st century rather than regressing to the 19th century.
They still fully mean to try but I think they are shifting tactics to the State level and attacking piecemeal rather than trying to take on liberalism and progressive policies as a whole.
The problem with that of course is that it puts the nation back to where we were at our founding with some States effectively being "Free" and some "Slave" and evidently they don't remember how that turned out...
Finally, acceptance. Too bad they skipped bargaining.
All I can say, is THANK GOD (strong coming from an atheist)! The country has lacked for years a leader who cared about the people struggling to get ahead. it has been for too long about the "haves"! The reason we are in a financial crisis. the "haves" partied with those in charge and wrote the rules to protect THEIR money.
Here's hoping the "haves" pay thier fair share!
McConnell's response does raise one important question:
Is it possible to donate to Ashley Judd's campaign yet?
The era of taking other people's inventory instead of concentrating on your own is apparently back as well. Actually, it never went away! Hooray! Dirty Liberals!
I listen and watch the Rachel Maddow Show, I live in Canada and this last year I have watch the American Political system and I know I do not understand a lot of it. My statement is to me very simple. When it comes to what we call a Federal election to run the next Canadian Government, our election system is very simple in the fact that no matter where you live in Canada the election system is the same all over Canada, before the election date you get a card with all your information on it, as well where to go to vote, one goes to the voting station, they take your card, and then they tell you what booth to go to, you put a very simple X by the party you want to represent the area that you live in, you go back to the person that you gave your card to and put the ballot in the box and walk out of the building. For me on average takes about 20 minutes from the beginning to the end. Why is there son many different ways to vote in the USA, it seems to me that your federal government could make one and only one way to vote no matter where you live in the states. The American voting system makes you good entertainment for us who need a good laugh. Keep up the good entertainment everyone needs something.