E

E

A

C

H

E

E

A

C

H

E

E

A

C

H

E

E

A

C

H

·         intervention in the economy to promote growth, e.g. 2009 stimulus bill

·         federal provision of welfare, e.g. Affordable Care Act

·         rights of women, e.gg. Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, support for abortion rights, e.g. in reversal of ‘Mexico City’ policy

·         rights of gays and lesbians, e.g. repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’, support for same sex marriage

·         minority rights, e.g. Fair Sentencing Act reducing disparity between sentences for crack and powder cocaine, amicus brief supporting affirmative action in Fisher v Texas, support for Dream Act and then comprehensive immigration reform

·         support for gun control, e.g. programme announced January 2013 and support for Manchin-Toomey amendment

·         environmental protection, e.g. support for ‘cap and trade’ legislation and when this failed to be passed by Congress, regulations issued by the EPA to regulate CO2 emissions in 2014

Policies of the Obama presidency which could be considered unstereotypically Democratic include:

·         Afghanistan ‘surge’ in 2010

·         air strikes on Libya in 2011

·         retention of military commissions and indefinite detention

·         increased use of drones, including killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki, the first time since the 9/11 attacks that an American citizen was deliberately targeted and killed by American forces

·         mass NSA surveillance programme revealed by Edward Snowden

·         lukewarm relationship with organised labour, e.g. failure to push for Employee Free Choice Act, which died in Congress; tentative and belated support for Democratic candidate running against Scott Walker in Wisconsin recall election 2012; passage of free-trade agreements, e.g. with Panama, South Korea and Colombia; pay freeze on federal workers

·         ambivalence over Keystone pipeline, decision still not made