I don’t think they did. At the beginning of Obama’s first term, there were 55 Democratic Senators, and 2 Independents who caucused with the Democrats. There were 41 Republicans, and 1 vacancy. That’s a strong majority, but it’s definitely not a supermajority. A supermajority, with the filibuster, would be 60. With 41 votes, Republicans could always block any legislation they wanted to. And they did. Also, the Democratic Party has always included some conservatives like Manchin. We’re actually in a good place now where it’s just been two Democrats blocking shit. There used to be a lot more. Democrats have never been as good at falling in line behind the Party leadership as Republicans have been. And that’s both a strength and a weakness. Republicans like Liz Cheney criticize Trump a lot…and then vote for every damn thing he wants. Bill Burr said Trump is absolutely wrong about the 2020 election, basically got fired for that…and yet he says he’ll still vote for Trump if Trump is the nominee in 2024 because anything is better than a Democrat. Democrats just don’t do that. On the one hand, I’m glad we don’t do that, but it’s also why the Party can’t maintain a hold on power, in spite of policy positions that have overwhelming support among voters.
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