Political Climate

[Danzig]

he's not very liberal. it's why some of his fellow democrats are very unhappy with him. he's too liberal for any real conservative, but anyone who isn't to the right is 'too liberal' for them. if he was very liberal, then he would have already done away with don't ask, don't tell. he wouldnt' be asking for a spending freeze in most depts, while leaving defense alone.
this is why i shake my head when people start tossing out labels. generally, they are incorrect. just because obama is a democrat, doesn't mean he's liberal. the two don't necessarily go together. many credit clinton with the successes he had because he ruled from the center, which is where most people reside.
another example-the south generally has dems in local offices and congress-yet they generally vote republican in the national elections. kerry didn't win down here, and certainly neither did obama. folks here are pro-union (democrats lean that way) but they are for gun rights, and are generally anti-abortion and are religious. certainly aren't your 'typical' democrats. a democrat in massachusetts doesn't resemble one from california, and neither resemble one from here. it's why the two parties have such difficulty appealing to everyone-their agendas don't match everyone everywhere. yet they always expect their dems or reps to strictly vote party line-which engenders distrust and voting the opposite party in when they get angry-such as in mass. truly, independents rule these days-they aren't beholden to either party and don't vote just because 'well, i'm a dem, and he/she's a dem, so there's my vote'. i've voted for more democrats over the years than republicans, yet those on the left (such as scuds) accuse me of being a rep, while those on the far right say i'm too liberal. 'they' both get angry because i'm not on either ones side.-but don't realize that's true for many.