Barack Obama has won re-election, and right on cue the right wing is attempting to tamp down thoughts that Obama has won a mandate, has political capital, and can pursue the agenda that he campaigned (and won) on. But it's not just about the impressive scope of Obama's win, it's about the ideas behind the policies that Obama will pursue.
The argument that Obama doesn't have a mandate is silly. His 332-206 win over Romney was not only impressive, it was an electoral college landslide. Obama won the popular vote (at current counts) by over 3 million votes.
But it's not just that Obama has won the right the pursue the agenda that he campaigned on. It's that Obama's plan for the economy is has been historically, and now electorally, vindicated.
The right-wing ran on the idea that we should cut taxes on the wealthy as the major policy initiative for creating jobs. But that idea is bunk. If tax cuts for the wealthy resulted in the creation of jobs, then the Bush tax cuts, the largest tax cuts on the wealthy in history, should have resulted in unprecedented job growth. Did that happen? Of course not.
If tax cuts were the primary driver of job creation, then corporations wouldn't be sitting on about 5 trillion in cash reserves. They'd be using that cash to hire. If this idea had any merit, then Apple would be the largest employer in the country. They're not of course. They hire the number of employees they need to meet the demand for their products. In other words, supply and demand. Economics 101.
Facts do matter, and elections do have consequences. I'm going to enjoy watching the consequences of this election.
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