Remember that the Howard Government would have been seen as rabid Socialists in the US and the Fraser Government would have been seen as fanatical Communists. The Democratic Party is a centre-right party as that’s about as left-wing as the mainstream can stomach.
After dealing with the GFC, Obama prioritised Obamacare and there’s a fair argument he was right to do so. It withstood a concerted attempt by the Republicans under Trump to repeal it and it has remained pretty popular. It has also been a shining symbol of how the Democrats in Congress can improve life for Americans.
Getting Obamacare passed was a slugfest. The Republicans opposed it fanatically, dreaming up such things as Death Panels to attack it. In the end, 36 Democrats in the House voted against it and the Democrats were only able to pass it in the Senate because the 60 Democrat Senators were able to defeat the filibuster. The Senate passed the Bill at the end of 2009, but in January 2010 a Republican won a special election to replace the deceased Senator Ted Kennedy and the Democrats would never again have the 60 votes needed to defeat the filibuster. Given Mitch McConnell was implementing a policy of opposing everything Obama wanted there was never any chance that a Bill to codify Roe v Wade would pass in the Senate. (The Democrats could have killed the filibuster with a simple majority but they chose not to do so out of fear that McConnell would kill the filibuster when he was next in power, but he did that anyway.)
It was amazing that Obama and Pelosi were able to push it through given that they were asking many Democrats to commit career suicide. The Tea Party candidates were able to capitalise and the GOP took control of the House and flipped a few seats in the Senate.
After dealing with the GFC, Obama prioritised Obamacare and there’s a fair argument he was right to do so. It withstood a concerted attempt by the Republicans under Trump to repeal it and it has remained pretty popular. It has also been a shining symbol of how the Democrats in Congress can improve life for Americans.
Getting Obamacare passed was a slugfest. The Republicans opposed it fanatically, dreaming up such things as Death Panels to attack it. In the end, 36 Democrats in the House voted against it and the Democrats were only able to pass it in the Senate because the 60 Democrat Senators were able to defeat the filibuster. The Senate passed the Bill at the end of 2009, but in January 2010 a Republican won a special election to replace the deceased Senator Ted Kennedy and the Democrats would never again have the 60 votes needed to defeat the filibuster. Given Mitch McConnell was implementing a policy of opposing everything Obama wanted there was never any chance that a Bill to codify Roe v Wade would pass in the Senate. (The Democrats could have killed the filibuster with a simple majority but they chose not to do so out of fear that McConnell would kill the filibuster when he was next in power, but he did that anyway.)
It was amazing that Obama and Pelosi were able to push it through given that they were asking many Democrats to commit career suicide. The Tea Party candidates were able to capitalise and the GOP took control of the House and flipped a few seats in the Senate.