Why didn't the Democrats accomplish more right after the 2006 elections that gave them control of Congress? It wasn't just that they didn't have votes to override a presidential veto or block a filibuster. They didn't use their mandate to substantially change how the public--and the media-- thought about issues. They just tried to be rational, to devise programs to fit people's interests and the polls. Because there was little understanding of the brain, there was no campaign to change brains. Indeed, the very idea of "changing brains" sounds a little sinister to progressives-- a kind of Frankenstein image comes to mind. It sounds Machiavellian to liberals, like what the Republicans do. But "changing minds" in any deep way always requires changing brains. Once you understand a bit more about how brains work, you will understand that politics is very much about changing brains-- and that it can be highly moral and not the least bit sinister or underhanded. George Lakoff
About This Quote

Many people feel that if Obama had been a Republican he would have accomplished more. These people feel that the Democrats didn't use their political power to achieve their goals and they feel that Obama was too passive and not aggressive enough. The truth is that the Democrats didn't have any real power after the 2006 elections because the Republicans were well positioned to block everything that was proposed by the Democrats. The Republicans controlled almost everything in Washington and they used their control of Congress to control Obama's actions as well as the actions of anyone else who wanted to take action.

Source: The Political Mind: Why You Cant Understand 21Stcentury American Politics With An 18Thcentury Brain

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  2. Why didn't the Democrats accomplish more right after the 2006 elections that gave them control of Congress? It wasn't just that they didn't have votes to override a presidential veto or block a filibuster. They didn't use their mandate to substantially change how the public--and...
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