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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Irish Catholics deserting Obama -- Reagan Democrats will decide November election

Posted on Friday, October 15, 2010 at 01:30 AM

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Once again at election time it is the old Ronald Reagan coalition of working class Irish and other Catholic groups in the American Midwest region who will decide the election.

The Reagan Democrats came home to the Democratic Party in the Obama presidential election year, but this year,led by the Irish, it appears they are once again drifting back to the Republican slate.

Polls in the key states show the ethnic vote shifting drastically to Republican candidates.

It is a indictment of President Obama and his vice president Joe Biden who typifies the Reagan Democrat appeal, that they have lost touch to a large extent with this key voting block.

They have done an incredibly poor job of explaining the health care reform, the bank bailout and the need to spend billion on a stimulus package to a group that arguably stood to benefit most from such government largesse.

They have failed to point out that if tax cuts bring jobs then the Bush presidency would have been a runaway success, or that cutting earmarks to regions means that region actually loses jobs.

They have also failed to explain how the Republican plan espoused by Bush and even some candidates today to privatize social security would have left tens of millions of older Americans in dire circumstances after the market crash.

Instead they have let the Tea Party and the Republican opposition define the election. It is a spectacular failure. It was bad banks and brazen greed that landed America in this mess, it was no government oversight that facilitated it.

Yet reading the polls that it was all just the government’s fault.

Somehow Obama has not been able to get the message out, especially where it counts most with blue collar white ethnic Americans who are suffering the most in this downturn.

Republicans are masters at summing up issues on memorable sentences while Democrats take forever to try and explain.

There is every indication that Democratic candidates on the East Coast and West Coast will survive most of the tough races. Barbara Boxer in California, Party Murray in Washington both have narrow leads in the senate races and appear likely to prevail while on the East Coast republicans best chance went up in smoke in Delaware when they choose Christine O’Donnell to run.

Meanwhile the south will be reliably red after this election.

So the battle comes down to Pennsylvania and the Midwest. The New York Times has profiled a number of congressional races where Irish candidates, with names like Toomey, FitzPatrick, Murphy, and Donnelly are competing fiercely to swing the election into their political camp.

How those races will go will define the fate of the house and perhaps the senate. For Joe Biden in particular, it must be galling to contemplate that the control of the House and possibly the senate will slip away because of a failure to hold his own Catholic base

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bonjouryall | Oct 31, 2010, 10:43 AM EDT

I agree the lackey of Wall St. has done a terrible job of explaining his actions. Banks get bailout funds that some repay within months. Most recently, AIG bailout is allegedly expected to show a profit for the Govt-yea. Then they didn't need it to begin with! Obama wanted to create Obamacare but does nothing for Social Security! We're just now discovering taxes on real estate to pay for it-another hidden expense. Since the Dems and Republicans are both encouraging jobs overseas in return for cheap lead painted baby toys from China and Agent Orange talipia, I personally favor some kind of health care for younger workers who will not be able to afford much. But he did not explain or justify Obamacare to my satisfaction. Harry Reid telling the public the Dems would not compromise on important things like health care while Obama is saying the Republicans rebuffed his offer for compromise doesn't help. Neither does his several trips to Europe including Michelle Antoinette's trip so they can look pretty to the Europeans. He'll be okay though-many unmet promises but he'll probably win another Nobel Prize for his efforts.

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longislander1940 | Oct 24, 2010, 03:00 PM EDT

Its about time the Democratic Catholic Irishmen woke up. Our parents were Democrates but hopefully we are wiser and smarter in this generation. Vote republican

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maloney | Oct 22, 2010, 06:31 PM EDT

seano,,, hold the roo poo. Should we ever partake together, I'll put a pillow under your head & tuck you in after you hit the floor.

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seanomelbourne | Oct 21, 2010, 06:43 PM EDT

Roo steaks and a good red Maloney maybe you'll join me one day

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Irishjule | Oct 21, 2010, 03:21 PM EDT

I think Obama was elected in 2008 because people did not know who he really is; some still don't. He wants to change this country all right. He wants to make it into a Marxist/Communist country in which the government has control of health care, business, finances..everything we have and do. I am disheartened by the number of Catholcs who voted for him, knowing his stance on abortion. He also said, "If a baby should survive an abortion, it should not be treated but left to die." In fact, this happened when he was a senator for Illinois. He is so unscrupulous, so arrogant, so racist, so untruthful that it is hard to believe he is our president. To get an idea of his background, read "Dreams from My Father." You certainly won't get the truth from the major TV stations.

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Searlit | Oct 20, 2010, 08:50 PM EDT

Nastiness will get you nowhere.

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maloney | Oct 20, 2010, 07:57 PM EDT

What's the matter seano, lose your roo?

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seanomelbourne | Oct 20, 2010, 07:13 PM EDT

Baloney Maloney!!

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maloney | Oct 20, 2010, 11:22 AM EDT

obummer has no integrity. Truth seems to be another of his shortcomings.