Why Obama's 'Coalition of the Ascendant' Crashed

That "coalition of the ascendant" that the Democrats thought they had assembled only seems to exist in years that are divisible by four. The rising number of nonwhite voters, decreased churchgoing and liberalism among college-educated professionals may over time make the country more Democratic. But for now, the coalition is intermittent and unstable.

Warning signs were there months after President Barack Obama's election. Support for the president dropped steadily through 2013. The most telling setbackcame when Senate Democrats balked at some of his proposals to regulate guns. Another came when many Democrats parted ways with him on energy issues such as the Keystone pipeline and coal regulation. Democrats had a Senate majority because many of them had been elected in states that also went for Mitt Romney and John McCain in presidential contests. They could not afford to be as liberal as Obama on issues with a cultural dimension.