This is interesting….
Via Washington Times:
President Obama’s smooth path to the Democratic nomination may have gotten rockier Monday, after a group of liberal leaders, including former presidential candidate Ralph Nader, announced plans to challenge the incumbent in primaries next year.The group said the goal is to offer up a handful of candidates from various fields and areas where the president either has failed to stake out a “progressive” position or where he has “drifted toward the corporatist right.”
“Without debates by challengers inside the Democratic Party’s presidential primaries, the liberal/majoritarian agenda will be muted and ignored,” Mr. Nader said in a news release. “The one-man Democratic primaries will be dull, repetitive, and draining of both voter enthusiasm and real bright lines between the two parties that excite voters.”
In search of candidates, Mr. Nader and the others sent out a letter, endorsed by 45 “distinguished leaders,”to elected officials, civic leaders, academics and members of the progressive community who specialize among other things in labor, poverty, military and foreign policy. The list, they said, also includes progressive Democrats who have held national and state office and have fought for progressive reforms.
But whatever for? Is he not the man of “Hope and Change?”
Perhaps not… This article from CNSNEWS explains why there will be a challenge from the left:
(CNSNews.com) – President Barack Obama’s job approval among liberals tied its all-time low in the Gallup poll last week, according to survey data released today.
In the seven-day period that ended on Sept. 18, only 68 percent of liberals told Gallup they approved of the way Obama was handling his job as president. The president’s job approval among liberals had previously dropped to 68 percent in the week that ended on Aug. 28. (However, it then rebounded slightly, rising to 71 percent in the week that ended on Sept. 4, before dropping to 69 percent in the week that ended on Sept. 11.)
As recently as the week that ended May 22, 2011, Obama’s approval in the Gallup poll had been at 81 percent among liberals.
Obama’s approval among liberals hit a high of 92 percent in the Gallup poll in the week that ended on May 10, 2009.
The fact of the matter is this; you cannot run a campaign, making all of the “Pie in the sky” promises that Obama made in 2008 and then turn around and get into office and break all of those promises. Obama said he would do “a 360” on all of Bush’s polices and he has continued to use those polices and even in some situations has increased Bush’s polices. Republicans, as in the formally registered kind and party supporters — tend to be very loyal people, for the most part. Democrats and Independents; and yes, even the American people in General — as I have wrote on here before — tend to be very fickle with their support. Most usually, Conservative Republicans tend to be very loyal, unless corruption is happening, as in the case of Nixon.
The new trend, however, with the advent of New Media, Social Media and so forth; is that people are much better and much more quickly informed on the goings on in politics. In other words, it is having the effect of keeping the people in Washington D.C. honest. Anthony Wiener being a perfect example. Another example is Detroit’s now former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Neither of those two scandals would have ever happened back in the 1980’s. That is because we did not have that sort of technology in those days. The effect it is having on the President is, that people know what is going on in Washington D.C. usually not long after it happens and it changes perceptions of the President rather quickly. Which makes, I’m told, pollsters want to pull their hair out!
So, in closing; Obama going to be challenged and his poll numbers are dropping. Whole New Media and Social Media might be a factor in causing that; the only person Obama can blame — is himself.