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]], Democrats received a "shellacking" for defying their constituents. In 2009 [[Bluedog Democrat]]s boasted 44 [[centrist]]s but by 2011 it had only 8 members. A [[bi-partisan]] core in the House was destroyed by progressives who now dominated the party. Suburbs and rural areas remained in Republican hands.<ref>[http://www.multistate.com/Site.nsf/Elections2006PostMaps?OpenPage Multistate.com] Post-Election 2006 Maps</ref> Voters in 2010, 2014, and 2016 rejected Democratic Party candidates at the local, state and national levels in record-setting proportions. | 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]], Democrats received a "shellacking" for defying their constituents. In 2009 [[Bluedog Democrat]]s boasted 44 [[centrist]]s but by 2011 it had only 8 members. A [[bi-partisan]] core in the House was destroyed by progressives who now dominated the party. Suburbs and rural areas remained in Republican hands.<ref>[http://www.multistate.com/Site.nsf/Elections2006PostMaps?OpenPage Multistate.com] Post-Election 2006 Maps</ref> Voters in 2010, 2014, and 2016 rejected Democratic Party candidates at the local, state and national levels in record-setting proportions. |