Republicans who backed Obama say they may vote for him again

[babylonsister]

Republicans who backed Obama say they may vote for him again
By Hannah Brenton and Hayleigh Colombo - 10/28/10 05:00 PM ET


Republicans who supported Barack Obama in the 2008 election say they have few regrets.

The Hill contacted 17 prominent Republicans and members of “Republicans for Obama” groups that launched across the country two years ago. Most of them defended the president and indicated they might vote for him again in two years.

snip//

In 2008, Obama secured the support of a broad coalition of independent and Republican voters, propelling him to the presidency. Nine percent of registered Republicans voted for him, a 3 percent improvement from Sen. John Kerry’s (D-Mass.) campaign four years earlier.

Despite Obama’s push to pass partisan bills through Congress, such as the stimulus package and healthcare reform, GOP officials are sticking by their choice.

Charles Fried, who served as solicitor general under President Reagan, said he doesn’t second-guess his vote for Obama.

“It’s very hard to get political credit for the terrible things that you’ve averted,” said Fried, a Harvard law professor. “{President George W.} Bush got no credit for there not being another attack on American soil, and Obama deserves it for avoiding an economic catastrophe.”

“It had to be done, and it’s tough to do,” said former Rep. Harris Fawell (R-Ill.) of the stimulus. “He inherited terrible economic circumstances. Republicans blame Obama for having brought this economic fiasco. I hate to say it, but the Republicans just blew the budget to smithereens.”

Former Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) echoed Fawell.

“We had to do something,” Pressler said. “If it was a different president with a different name, it would still be the same problem.”

more...

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/126421-republicans-who-backed-obama-say-they-may-vote-for-him-again

[Vogon_Glory]

1. An Under-reported Story Likely to Be Repeated

I suspect that the numbers of Republicans who are voting more and more often for Democrats are increasing, and that the mainstream corporate media will continue to under-report this development.

The TEA Party hoopla may seem sexier to news editors and to the suits, but the saner elements in the Republican Party are finding that they have less and less in common with the Republican Party's leadership in terms of policies and also in terms of ideology.

The reign of Bush wasn't just a victory of the Far Right over older, more moderate conservatives. It was also a victory for the greedy, crony-capitalist politics of Delay, Cheney, and other connected outfits using the taxpayers' money to line their pockets, and a loss for those Republicans who still held to the "good government" philosophy.

That latter group is walking away from the Republican Party. I suspect that many of them are finding that we're their best hope for a better America.

:dem:

:patriot:

[Proud Liberal Dem]

2. That's good news to be sure

I thought that maybe some of them might've started moving back to the Republican Party once they no longer had to be concerned about McCain's fitness/stability to be POTUS nor about Palin becoming VP. I'm glad to hear that most of them seem to continue to support and defend him and will likely stay with him in 2012. These are the kind of Republicans whom Obama and other Democrats are really talking about being able to work with- though there's certainly not many of them currently in Congress, however.

I do, however take exception to the stimulus package and healthcare reform being referred to "partisan bills" in this article, particularly since the stimulus package DID ultimately pick up three Republican votes after some BIPARTISAN agreements/changes were made by President Obama and congressional Democrats.
Also, the health care reform bill, though it ultimately received NO Republican votes, was modeled (in some ways) after previous Republican health care proposals, most notably former Republican Governor and Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's health care reform implemented in Massachusetts. My understanding is that former Republican Senator Bob Dole also proposed similar legislation in response to Clinton's health care reform proposal back in 1993-1994.

[vaberella]

3. Something I might add..it would seem that Dems are less loyal than Repubs. n/t

[ProSense]

4. Some people are busy

making the case against the President, completely ignoring the fact that a Republican win this year will likely have no impact on 2012.