In an online conversation this past weekend, someone reminded me of something I hadn’t thought about in years – the Reagan Presidential campaign of 1980. Some of the most effective campaign commercials used by the Reagan team during that election cycle were ones which utilized audio and video clips of Senator Ted Kennedy bashing incumbent President Jimmy Carter during his abortive primary challenge.
“Wanna know what the Democrats think about President Carter? Just listen to what a leading Democrat has to say.”
We all know what happened in the 1980 election. We’re still feeling the repercussions from the defection of the Reagan Democrats today. But, really, this goes back further.
After having spent the first two years of the Obama Administration, nit-picking, finding fault, gratuitously criticizing, and, when all else failed, inventing reasons to despair of the Democratic President, in the run-in to another general election, various people, pundits and politicians are still calling for this President to be primaried.
Some people making this plea may be very young and, therefore, wouldn’t be aware of what happens when a serving President is primaried, but others should know better. Here’s a quick recap: Lyndon Johnson was primaried by Eugene McCarthy in 1968. After coming close to losing in the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, Johnson decided he wouldn’t run for re-election, which opened up a race for the nomination between McCarthy and Bobby Kennedy. After Kennedy was assassinated, McCarthy and then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey duked it out all the way to the Chicago Convention. Humphrey won the nomination and lost the election to Richard Nixon.
In 1976, Gerald Ford was primaried by Ronald Reagan, then considered the scourge of the Right and far too conservative ever to be considered seriously. Ford retained the nomination and lost to Jimmy Carter, who was primaried, himself, by Ted Kennedy four years later, losing the election to Ronald Reagan. So much for being too far to the Right to be elected. Reagan got two terms.
Then, in 1992, George H W Bush was primaried by lovely, cuddly Pat Buchanan – he, who still wishes he were in the land of cotton, sitting on the verandah watching the slaves frolick in the fields. Buchanan wasn’t a joke. He came close enough in some primaries to make the Brahmin Poppy Bush distinctively uncomfortable. Result? Bush lost the chance of a second term.
I know. Someone’s bound to point out that whilst history is instructive, it’s in no way determinative; but it does have a rather unpleasant way of repeating itself, and if you scratch the surface of the history of primaried Presidents, you’ll uncover a pretty nasty truth: that when a Democratic President is primaried (and loses the subsequent election), the fallout is far worse than when a Republican is primaried and loses.
Look at 1968. That election gave us Richard Nixon, and although Nixon left in disgrace two years into his second administration, due to the Watergate scandal, he left us the legacy of Roger Ailes, Karl Rove and ratfucking – all of which are very much with us and causing grief today.
Now look at 1980. That election gave us trickledown, credit and financial deregulation, a serious defunding of the Department of Education, Reaganomics, and the first Gulf War. Now tell me every bit of that isn’t impeding upon our lives today.
It wasn’t enough that, from the getgo, we’ve had celebrity talking heads, the 21st Century equivalents of Tom Wolfe’s infamous radical chic, ranting that Obama was a corporate sell-out, that he was a traitor for not implementing single-payer health insurance (he never did), that he’s no different from Bush, that he doesn’t care about the Middle Classes, we had some of those selfsame people encourage voters to stay away from the Midterm polls in protest.
I think the recent events in Wisconsin, Ohio and Michigan bear proof of the perils of not voting.
Since the Midterms, we’ve had media voices, as well as Democratic politicians refer to the President, variously, as a quisling or a Nazi collaborator, regarding the temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts. We are still hearing from them how the President caved to the Republicans on this measure, never mind the fact that the Republicans had effectively shut the door to any negotiations regarding the repeal of DADT, or the passing of START or the First Responders’ Bill, until the tax cuts were extended. As things went, the so-called “cave-in” accomplished an entire year’s extension of unemployment benefits and a moratorium on payroll tax, amongst other things, as well as DADT being repealed and the other two bills enacted. Funny, how the Democrats and their well-heeled punditry neglect to mention the compromise which effectively bettered the plight of the working class.
But then, this Democratic party doesn’t even recognise the working class, per se.
And recently, pundits have stomped feet and demanded the President join the picket lines in Wisconsin, openly issuing a rhetorical threat that if the President wanted to see a second term, he’d better get his ass to Wisconsin. Since then, Congressman Anthony Weiner has gone on record as saying the President had no values, and Senator Bernie Sanders and perennial Presidential wannabe Dennis Kucinich have called for a primary challenger “to make the President stronger.”
Now, Kucinich is even calling for the President’s impeachment in view of the recent and very reluctant participation in the Libyan no-fly zone. Darrell Issa must be doing cartwheels.
Considering all this, Karl Rove and friends must have a virtual library of sound bytes and film clips stored up for whoever finally gets the Republican Presidential nomination.
More than any other President in my memory, and I was born midway through Eisenhower’s first term, I can’t remember any President so vilified, so de-legitimised and so excoriated by both sides of the political equation as this President.
Primary Obama, and he’ll still get the nomination; but he won’t be stronger, nor will the Democratic party. In case they haven’t noticed, there’s a very real chance they might lose the Senate, this time around. The sheeple on the Left, and some politicians from safe Democratic districts, seem to forget that the only thing, at this point in time, separating us from a Republican Armageddon, is four Senators and the President.
Primary Obama, and he will lose the general election. It doesn’t matter if his Republican opponent be Tim Pawlenty, Sarah Palin or Donald Trump, he’ll lose. A primary challenger to a serving President tells the voting public that the President and his party are weak, shallow, vapid, divided and unfit to govern; and whilst that might be true of the Democrats, in general, it’s not true of the President. He really is the only adult in the room.
The 1968 primary challenge brought us 8 years of Republican rule and a pardoned Richard Nixon. The 1980 challenge took 12 years to reconcile. Primary the President, and we’ll be well on the route to Karl Rove’s goal of an unbroken hegemony of Republican Presidents. Give up the Senate and the House, and the Democratic party, with union funds seriously depleted, risks becoming a non-entity, a token opposition.
Given the Citizens United decision and the Kochroaches crawling from the corporate woodwork, and Karl Rove’s unbroken hegemony takes on the distinct image of 21st Century fascism, imbeded in dominionist theocracy.
The irony of this peculiar situation will be the fact that many within the President’s own party willfully aided and abetted not only his downfall, but the political suicide of the Democratic Party, itself. Many of us are doing the Republicans’ work for them. I guess many of us really have moved that far to the Left, that we’ve now found ourselves on the Right.
U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon at the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Image from Wikipedia.
Careful. Correlation is not causation. Maybe the presidents who were challenged in the primaries lost because of those challenges. Then again, maybe those presidents were primaried because they were losers. People don’t tend to run against leaders who are doing a good job.
We’ll see who ends up in the general election, and I’ll decide whether to vote for president and for whom. But for now, I don’t see the value in re-electing a Democratic president who promotes Republican policies, accepts Republican arguments, and who spends all his energy appealing to Republican voters. Why not let Americans try the real (Republican) deal in 2012. Then when (if?) that doesn’t work out, maybe in 2016 people will be willing to allow the change they thought they were voting for in 2008.
Well, how can I argue with someone who so dogmatically knows it all and flies in the face of history. If you call repealing DADT, Lily Ledbetter and the Matthew Shepherd Hate Act Republican policies, you’re just effing sick. Go watch Bill Maher.
Should the Democrats Challenge President Obama? Let me answer it , I would not suggest they do that. Blacks have been the most loyal voters for the Democrats, when we didn’t get what we wanted we didn’t run to the other party, mainly because we felt they were racists and we we were not welcome. So I’m saying try it , and we shall see if Black America will support the Democrats. I know I won’t.I plan to vote for President Obama again in 2012. I don’t care how the economy is. Because I know the Republicans will not make things better for the middle class or poor. They only care about the rich. I realize the crisis this President inherited from GW Bush. I realize the Republicans have been sabotaging this economy in hopes of winning in 2012.They have not been working with this President, they have been working against him, hoping this economy will be in terrible shape. I hope the lesson was learn when voters put the Tea-Republicans in control of the House because they were not please with the economy. Well, what have those Republicans done? Where are their job bill? They are in control of the money now, what have Boehner done about jobs? Are things better because you put the Tea-Republicans in control. No it is not. If Pelosi were the Speaker, there would be a job bill to put people back to work. Like fixing the highways, railways, etc.,etc.So putting the Republicans in the White House will only make things better for the rich.Jobs will keep going overseas. Medicare will be destroy.
What are we going to do..I am ready to go to the streets..maybe I will ask for an invite to talk to the President..Of course I will have to walk there from Seattle because I have no job, no money, no car..
I am 77 years old but I can still walk and I am mad as hell..I believed in Obama..why can’t he stand for us after we elected him..Why?? Help
Were you looking for a magic Negro or a daddy? If you’ve got a problem with the best President to serve since Roosevelt, with more problems than Roosevelt inherited, then maybe you should vote Republican next time around. It’s not too late, and most of them are white.
No.. I voted for Obama and I am glad I did..I totally understand what that poor man has had to deal with..I could not understand how intelligent people would sit back and let Cheney and his water-boy Bush do the terrible things they were allowed to do in this country.
I did not think Barack could make everything right by waving a wand and I do resent the part you wrote about or referring to Obama as a magic Negro. I am not Racist but maybe you are.
We are supposed to be joining each other in support of the President not making nasty remarks to OLD LADIES
I was alive when FDR was in office and have a picture of him in my Baby book..that is how my parents felt about FDR.
You owe me an apology I do not have a racist bone in my body. I am sure as a Negro you have heard this quote “many of my best friends are Negros”
Well honey that is not me..my friends are from all ethnic backgounds and “colors”..I like gays too and fight the battle for them as well.
I would never vote Republican..they have done nothing for me and the biggest reason is they are hateful and rich. I will never be rich with money but I am with compassion.
I hope the reason you were so nasty to me so early in the morning is because you were having a bad day; but on the other hand wouldn’t you like to sit down with our Great First Black Intelligent President and ask his opinion on things..you read my post out of context.
Have a wonderful day and I would love to have you as my friend on facebook so you could learn what I am really about…later.
“I would never vote Republican..they have done nothing for me and the biggest reason is they are hateful and rich. I will never be rich with money but I am with compassion.”
There in lies the problem, they have done nothing for “me”. Envy is the real problem, and you have no right to what the “rich” have produced!
and one last thing that shouldn’t be overlooked…In 1980 and 1992, the economy was in the toilet (and it wasn’t great in 1976 either). If the economy is still bad in 2012, Obama doesn’t stand much of a chance of re-election, regardless of a primary challenger or not.
there are so many things wrong with this article its hard to know where to start.
1 – “Funny, how the Democrats and their well-heeled punditry neglect to mention the compromise which effectively bettered the plight of the working class.” WTF!?!? A tax cut deal that is forcing the issue of massive budget cuts on the poor and working class AND adding to the financial strain of social security betters the working class? This line alone is enough to discredit the entire piece. but that’s not all.
2 – The idea that Kucinich, considered a leftist weirdo by most people left and right, criticizing the President is akin to Ted Kennedy, one of the most powerful persons in the Democratic Party at the time, criticizing Pres Carter is patently absurd. Not to mention, Carter’s ineffectual handling of the oil crises and the economy, the firing of his entire staff, and apparent impotency at the hands of the Iranian kidnappers (complete with failed rescue attempt), all made his chances of re-election exactly ZERO. The Democrats would have been doing a disservice to themselves not to run somebody against him.
3 – Johnson’s decision not to run had as much to do with the potential of losing the nomination as it was the Vietnam War. He was losing a war that he saw no way out of and realized that public opinion was starting to turn on him. And to say this gave us Nixon ignores the elephant the author actually mentions in the same paragraph – the assassination of Bobby Kennedy! Kennedy might very well have won the nomination AND the Presidency.
4 – The comparison to Ford is equally specious. As an appointed VP after Spiro Agnew’s resignation, Ford was the only President in history to have not been elected to the office. After Watergate and the scandal that forced Agnew to resign, the chance of the Republicans winning the Presidency with Gerald Ford (a charismatic zero) were slim to none. A primary challenge was the only choice Republicans had.
5 – and finally, sheesh, Bush Sr didn’t lose the Presidency because of Pat Buchanan. There was a little guy name Ross Perot in that election as well who got 19% of the vote, mostly from the right!
There may be good reasons not to challenge Obama in the primaries, but this author hasn’t provided any.
The reason why the Dems might lose the Senate in 2012 is because Obama has done NOTHING to build the Democratic Party after June 2008. Since Rhambo disliked Howard Dean so much, Rhambo was hell-bent on tearing down anything Dean built up – like the Democratic Party.
Read Plouffe’s book – he likens Obama’s campaign to a nearly billion-dollar business. One which was competing with the Democratic Party, which is a national “business” with branches in all 50 states. In my state, Obama’s campaign started to interfere with our party-building activities starting in June 2008, and it hasn’t let up. Plouffe talked about deciding whether or not to incorporate the campaign with the DNC, or do it on their own. Roughly 20% of their volunteers who supported Obama wouldn’t have wanted to work for other Dems, so that was a factor in their decision. So if they knew that 20% of their vols weren’t Dems, what about the 80% who were Dems or might have gotten involved in the Democratic Party AFTER the election to build it up into a stronger party for the 2010 and 2012 elections HAD OBAMA ONLY ASKED THEM TO DO THIS?