General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: An open letter to folks like myself who cannot in good conscience vote for Obama [View all]stevenleser
(32,886 posts)you think he could have done more or gone farther. I don't think so. I think the Republican reaction, and the support the Republican response has gotten, to the Affordable Care Act, the stimulus and the attempts to promote green energy sources show how easy it is for the Republicans to provoke a strong backlash to attempts at progressive legislation among the populace.
And that is just in the short term.
Sometimes the backlash to progressive legislation and progressive movements builds slowly over time and festers. IMHO, the 1960's movements by the left and the great society provoked the Nixon and Reagan Presidencies as a backlash. In fact, had Nixon not done watergate and had to resign in a disgrace that tarnished the Republican party, I wonder how long it would have taken for us to elect another Democratic President after Nixon.