Republicans Should Keep Running Against Big Government & Higher Taxes

by Todd Beeton, Sun Nov 09, 2008 at 09:16:39 AM EST

View of Government
Should do more 51
Doing too much 43
Will your taxes go up if Obama wins?
Yes 71
No 27
Among voters making $200,000 or more
Obama 52
McCain 48

If this data from the exit polls doesn't scare the crap out of Republicans, I don't know what will. America has shifted toward the Democrats' view that government does have a proper role in making people's lives better and that responsible citizens should be ready and willing to pay for that. To a large degree, McCain didn't lose because he didn't get his message out, it's just he was running on an obsolete message. Welcome to the new America.

Tags: Barack Obama, exit polls, government, Republicans, Taxes (all tags)

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that is surprising

because I noticed in the Iowa statehouse races that the Republicans who ran on abortion did very poorly, but the Republicans who ran on taxes and/or unions did better (even if they were also anti-choice without making a big deal out of it).

In my state House district, which was a Republican-held open seat, both Dems and Republicans were expecting a Democratic pickup. But the Republican interest groups ran hard on taxes and ended up winning by 93 votes out of more than 16,000 cast.

Of course the tax issue wasn't the only problem for the Democrat--there was a huge drop-off between the Obama vote and the down-ticket vote.

by desmoinesdem 2008-11-09 09:22AM | 0 recs

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Does IA have straight-party voting?

Obama had huge coattails in NM, which does have straight-party voting.

by NM Ward Chair 2008-11-09 10:10AM | 0 recs

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Re: Does IA have straight-party voting?

Yes, it does.

by The Animal 2008-11-09 10:25AM | 0 recs

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Re: Republicans Should Keep Running Against Big Go

The idea that because Obama won this election by 7 points nationally (and in battleground states largely by 1-4 points) Americans have all changed and are now pro big government doesn't pass the flimsiest of tests... Americans are fundamentally against big government.. Anyone who has studied our history realizes that...

Having said that it is also true that in times of economic crisis people are willing to accept a more active government but to extend that to mean that people are pro big government is absolutely not the correct interpretation.

In any case, regardless of what some may think President Obama is far too smart to believe that he has a mandate for big intrusive government.

by obama4presidente 2008-11-09 10:09AM | 0 recs

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Re: Republicans Should Keep Running Against Big Go

I totally disagree with this assumption. The United States throughout its history has had very large amount and a very defined role for government intervention. Only those (mostly Republicans) who only want the intervention to assist them are against government assistance to people and to the private sector. Most big-wig Republican politicians who are for making government "smaller" are life-long employees of the government. Take our ex-Senator Phil Gramm (McCain's economics advisor), he got his education paid for because his father worked for the military. He then went to work as a public university professor who constantly echoed the Republican party line against "big government". He then got elected to Congress and then the Senate. He retired in 2001 on a fat pension because of his years of service in the government.
The government starting almost at the beginning in 1800, promoted building canals, building the railroads, building highways, etc. Its a big LIE that Americans oppose big government. It's a Republican scam. They only want government programs which benefit their fat-cat contributors. This person obama4presidente must have been in a isolated island the last 8 years. The Bushies have given through tax breaks not billions but TRILLIONS of dollars to their fat cats. The Iraq war had nothing to do with Democracy. Bush just turned over to 5 of his big oil company buddies the entire oil resources of Iraq. That must have made lots of friends over there. Big government is here to stay. But the middle class gets to fork over 45% of their money to the deserving Republican war profiteers.

by hddun2008 2008-11-09 01:06PM | 0 recs

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Re: Republicans Should Keep Running Against Big Go

Sure mac.. Americans are into big government and higher taxes..

Are you seriously arguing that??? You think thats what this election's outcome was about?? People voted for Obama because they wanted higher taxes and bigger government?

I think americans want limited government but they understand that government must do certain things and particularly in tough economic times must play a central role.

by obama4presidente 2008-11-09 01:25PM | 0 recs

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Re: Republicans Should Keep Running Against Big Go

this is a cycle.

The republicans screwed the pooch in overstepping all reasonableness with their greed and authoritarianism, or they could have retained power longer. And from day one they will be shrieking how liberally out of bounds Obama and the Democrats are even though they will at worst be center, and more likely center-right (America maybe center-left, but most politicians remain beholden to the moneyed, corporate interest.)

In this cycle, (which hopefully lasts at least a quarter century) if Democrats can implement a decent healthcare plan that eventually eliminates insurance companies from healthcare, and roll back some of the egregious totalitarian laws of the last 8 years, they will have accomplished much.

by gak 2008-11-09 11:58AM | 0 recs

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Re: Republicans Should Keep Running Against Big Go

The Wall Street meltdown made activist government believers out of the rich. Now, what that activist government should do, according to them, is still worlds away from progressive.

by antiHyde 2008-11-09 12:52PM | 0 recs