Thank you.
All during the 2012 primary I tried to tell people that if we elected 'our' liberal, he'd be the de facto leader of the Republican party, and that they'd roll over for the same agenda he pushed in Massachusetts. The Dems would have gleefully joined in, as well.
With Obama in the White House, that natural alliance doesn't exist, therefore, there's at least some push-back against his agenda. With Romney in the White House, there would have been little, if any.
Sucks, but that is the dynamic we faced, and the one which is playing out now.