Changes

In the doldrums after 2000, the party led by [[anti-war]] radicals roared back with major gains in 2006, which it expanded in 2008 to sweep control of the national government, and leave the GOP in a state of confusion and decline. The GOP bounced back in 2009, with near-unanimous opposition to contentious Democratic policies, especially stimulus spending and Obamacare. Polls show Obama's popularity began to erode after his [[Barack_Obama_approval_ratings#Declines_after_the_Gates_flap|anti-police stance]] became apparent in the summer of 2009.

In the doldrums after 2000, the party led by [[anti-war]] radicals roared back with major gains in 2006, which it expanded in 2008 to sweep control of the national government, and leave the GOP in a state of confusion and decline. The GOP bounced back in 2009, with near-unanimous opposition to contentious Democratic policies, especially stimulus spending and Obamacare. Polls show Obama's popularity began to erode after his [[Barack_Obama_approval_ratings#Declines_after_the_Gates_flap|anti-police stance]] became apparent in the summer of 2009.

For the first two Obama years, the Democrats controlled the White House and a veto proof Congress, ramming through unpopular legislation without bipartisan support such as [[Obamacare]]. In the 2010 midterm elections, the Republican party won decisive control of the House of Representatives; suburbs and rural areas are still more likely to be in Republican hands.<ref>[http://www.multistate.com/Site.nsf/Elections2006PostMaps?OpenPage Multistate.com] Post-Election 2006 Maps</ref> Fake news polls at the time showed 50% of voters identify themselves with the Democratic Party as opposed to 35% for the Republican Party.<ref>[http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=312 Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007] Pew Research Center, 22 March 2007</ref> Democrats won the popular vote for President in 2016 by 2.7 million votes largely from California, where Hillary Clinton won by a 4.2 million margin and illegal aliens are allowed to vote. However, because the Presidential election is decided by the Electoral College, Republicans won the White House as well as majority of House seats.

For the first two Obama years, the Democrats controlled the White House and a veto-proof Congress, ramming through unpopular legislation without bipartisan support such as [[Obamacare]]. In the 2010 midterm elections, the Republican party won decisive control of the House of Representatives; suburbs and rural areas are still more likely to be in Republican hands.<ref>[http://www.multistate.com/Site.nsf/Elections2006PostMaps?OpenPage Multistate.com] Post-Election 2006 Maps</ref> Fake news polls at the time showed 50% of voters identify themselves with the Democratic Party as opposed to 35% for the Republican Party.<ref>[http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=312 Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2007] Pew Research Center, 22 March 2007</ref> Democrats allegedly "won" the popular vote for President in 2016 by 2.7 million votes largely from California, where Hillary Clinton was claimed to have "won" by a 4.2 million margin and illegal aliens have been illegally "allowed" to vote, although that vote number is widely disputed due to accusations of vote fraud committed by the Democrats by having illegals, prisoners, multiple voters and "the dead" vote for them (because of this, the actual popular vote for Hillary is most likely well below that of Republican opponent [[Donald Trump]]). However, because the Presidential election is decided by the Electoral College, Republicans won the White House as well as majority of House seats.

==Policies and criticism==

==Policies and criticism==