I encountered this “argument” at a party at my house by a Republican (I lean Democrat). I just casually made a jokey non-partisan remark about the election (something like, “I don’t know who to vote against”) without trying to get into a debate and this thread title was his reply.
I have heard this tagline from a lot of Republicans. So what horrible things have happened during Obama’s administration? OK, so the Republicans don’t like Obamacare. But other than the “He’s a Democrat” argument, what are the gawdawful things that Republicans would hate to be repeated in a Clinton administration?
I am fine with moving this to GD if it goes that direction.
I predict this thread will end up with everybody talking past each other. Republicans will list reasons they don’t want another Democrat in the White House. Democrats will alternately scoff, hand wave, and make accusations of racism, stupidity, cold heartedness, etc.
Even G.H.W. Bush wasn’t four more years of Reagan. Nixon (1960) wouldn’t have been four more years of Eisenhower (based on his actual presidential record). The argument is invalid, but the best response to it is “why not?”. Unless, of course, they’re talking about “Fantasy Obama” rather than “Actual Obama”.
I hate Obamacare and I’m a Democrat; and I know a fair number of other Democrats who don’t care for it. Some because it didn’t go far enough and some because it went too far; defining all that is more a debate.
Republicans don’t give our party enough credit for being as broad as it is. The Obama administration wasn’t very much like Bill Clinton’s and I expect Hillary is going to be a fair bit different from either of them. But that’s not what the average Republican wants to consider. Its enough for them to know its a Democrat to assume its going to be something they find objectionable.
But to be fair, we’re not all that different in that respect.
SCOTUS aside, Congressional Republicans are now not bothering to show up for hearings on ANY of Obama’s judicial nominees. They are even blocking nominees they themselves selected.
Journalists are saying “Oh, they’re waiting for Trump to become President.” Given that only the insane are expecting Trump to be elected in November, I have to wonder if they think Hillary will give them more acceptable choices, or that the main drive is to KEEP OBAMA FROM HAVING SUCCESS OF ANY KIND.
I hope Hillz digs up the moldy corpses of Marx, Lenin, Kropotkin, Goldman, and Sacco & Vanzetti and nominees them for the judiciary.
Just speaking for myself, Obama’s presidency has been a complete wash. I’ve made the best salary of my entire career over the past eight years, but that was almost entirely to do with fortuitous circumstance and little or nothing to do with who was President, except that he obviously didn’t massively screw up the entire economy. In pretty much every other way, my life is no different than it was before his Presidency (well, I’m older and fatter: thanks Obama!)
The anecdote about health care having gone up 400% was for a time period of 50 years, not just during the Obama Presidency, BTW.
In any event, so “we don’t want four more years of Obama”? Shit, I don’t want even six months of Trump.
If I had meant it as straight out humor, yes. As a sideways poke to Republicans who hate Obama and refuse to admit why, I think it has merit. I give myself a B-minus.
I don’t know, but if the all the Republicans are as bad at math as you are, I really don’t want them running the country.
The 400% number was from 1958 to 2012.
If future historians are honest, Obama will be recorded as one of the worst presidents ever. But not for any of the reasons that are being delineated by present-day Republicans, and certainly not for the imaginary claims being fostered in forwarded emails campaigns nor for any programs that are being labeled “Obama(blank)”.
But i doubt that there will be enough honest historians in the future to make a comprehensive empirical analysis of his asministration.