George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in 2004 with a popular vote percentage of 51.244%, 62,040,606 votes to 59,029,808 votes. Democrats’ rallying cry after the 2004 election was “51 percent isn’t a mandate.” Democrats fought Bush and Republicans – hard.
Barack Hussein Obama defeated Mitt Romney on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, with a popular vote percentage of 51.385%, 62,156,980 votes to 58,805,060 votes. Now Obama, Axelrod, and the Democrats say Obama has a “mandate.” I guess it’s that 0.141% greater election margin Obama enjoys over Bush that causes Democrats to say Obama has a “mandate.”
To illustrate what hypocrites Democrats are, consider the following:
David Axelrod, on November 8, said that any talk of a mandate was “foolish” and “generally untrue.” Then, on November 11, Axelrod said that Obama did receive a mandate with regard to taxes.
Regarding ObamaCare, Jonathan Cohn wrote an article entitled, “Yes, Obama Won a Mandate” on November 7 for The New Republic. In the article, Cohn wrote: “The Affordable Care Act is here to stay.” Cohn says this despite the fact that voters who listed ObamaCare as a major factor were evenly split between Romney, 47%, and Obama, 46%. And today, November 13, 2012, 43% of Americans view the law favorably, while 39% view it unfavorably. Some mandate.
Regarding the environment, Richard Schiffman wrote an article entitled, “Obama’s Mandate to Tackle Climate Change” on November 12 for The Huffington Post: Blog. In the article, Schiffman says: “They [environmental activists] argue that voters have sent a clear signal that they want more aggressive action on the environment during the president’s second term.” Does 51.385% of the vote send a “clear signal” or a mandate?
In a World Net Dailyarticle entitled, “Obama’s mandate,” Bill Press, on November 9, wrote: “Who says you need to win by 15 points to have a mandate?” He then continued, in the same paragraph, to list reasons why Obama received a mandate.
Regarding the US, Joan Walsh wrote an article entitled, “Obama’s Mandate” on November 6 for AlterNet. In the article, Walsh says: “President Obama’s reelection represents a victory for the Democratic ideal of activist government and a mandate for more of it.”
Regarding taxes, Vice President Joe Biden said: “On the tax issue there was a clear, a clear sort of mandate about people coming much closer to our view about how to deal with tax policy.” He actually said that. VP Biden, please explain what a “clear sort of mandate” is. Or is it just another of his gaffs?
It seems that Democrats see a mandate when their candidate wins, but don’t seem to see one when an opponent wins. In fact, Democrats say, “51 percent isn’t a mandate.” But somehow that 51% transmorgrifies into a mandate when a Democrat wins! Hypocrisy at its best.