DBWI: A Democrat Barack Obama

glenn67

What would have led Barack Obama to the Democrats rather than the Republican party ITTL? And if he did become a Democrat, would he still have had a successful political career?

Discuss among yourselves.
 

SiddFinch1

Well you would have to totally change his policies on everything from gun control, abortion and LGBT issues to tax policy and immigration. I mean he wasn't even a moderate Republican- he was a down the line conservative. He would have to move way left to be a democrat

He would need a different message for a different population of voters-- instead of criticizing W as a Rino liberal who ran up deficits and created the common core, he would have to argue for more spending and liberal ideas like universal health care. Instead of going on Hannity's show all the time he would have to appeal to the MSNBC crowd.
 
Aisha Clan-Clan

Aisha Clan-Clan

If Obama hadn't been constantly bullied for being half-white in his youth, he probably would have ended up a generic moderately liberal lawyer instead of his OTL self. Going by the gradual decline of the Reagan coalition OTL, the GOP would find another leader to lead it to de facto white identity politics. But who? The only example I can think of, the former host of the apprentice died back in 2014.
 
jhuro

jhuro

You also have to look at the political climate in Illinois as well. Ilinois swung a bit in the 60s and early 70s, but by 1980 Illinois became a pretty solid Republican state. Maybe if Illinois was a swing state or even a Democratic safe state, than Obama would've entered Illinois politics as a Democrat.

Any ideas on how to turn Illinois into a more Democratic-friendly state?
 
Jonathan

Jonathan

Maybe have him move to a liberal democratic state like Illinois, rather than the republican state he resided in.
 

Son of Sphinks

Add to this that Obama grew up in Kansas, with his grandparents helping his mother. Had he grown up in a more liberal environment, say out of the West Coast, we may have seen him emerge as a Democrat.
 

overoceans

His mentorship by that radical right-wing preacher also helped confirm his identity as GOP, I would think. Hard to forget the campaign controversy where the Dems dug up all of that preacher's old video clips("God DAMN America!" as his response to abortion rights), and Obama was expected to get up and admit that his old mentor had gone a little too far. But then he just holds that press conference where he says "Nope, I agree with everything he said."
 

DoubleOphicleide32

Banned
Can't see it working, personally. The Democrats would have been too keen on this New York liberal guy who owned a golf course in Florida, and he'd have beaten Obama and become President Integritas.
 
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