States Rightward

For those wondering when President Obama's efforts at changing the direction of the country would prove to be absolutely fruitless, the suspense has ended with his meetings with the National Governors' Association. Three out of five state governors are Republicans, and they are hell-bent on resisting every policy initiative that comes out of Washington aimed at moving the country forward, no matter how flawed or watered-down it may be (like health care). Republican governors would rather cut spending, emphasize local sovereignty, and generally frustrate the President and deny him any meaningful accomplishments on which to run for re-election.

Obama came into office hoping to expand public amenities and the middle class's standing in the country. Now his signature health care reform law is being blocked from implementation in several states, rail transit projects that would give mobility to more people are being canceled (with some glee), and collective bargaining rights for public employees are under assault in Wisconsin and elsewhere while the middle class remains stuck in neutral. Obama is doing well in the polls right now, but with Republicans holding the upper hand on spending issues, the Democratic Senate in danger of falling in 2012, and freshly elected Republican governors in office until at least January 2015 taking a sledgehammer to eighty years of social progress, it seems likely that the country will move ever more rightward and eventually over the cliff. The Democrats are just as likely to fall and not be able to get up.

And Obama will be extending a hand of friendship to the Grand Old Patriarchs all the way down.