Republicans are surging today as they captured Democratic seats in Arkansas and West Virginia. They look like they are going to get control of the U.S. Senate and getting more numbers in the House. Obama might be the best talking point for Republlcans this election. I don't see a Democrat winning the presidential election . . . unless Rick Perry is the Republican candidate.
C'mon, there are plenty of R's who'd lose. Bachman, Palin, anyone named or potentially related to Bush...
OK . . . your list actually makes Perry look like a good candidate. Next presidential election is the Republican party's to win or lose. Come up with just a decent candidate and they should win the election. No matter who the democratic candidate is, they will have a hard time shaking the Obama effect.
Obama isn't on the ballot, nor is his eventual successor. In this election he matters only to voters who are too lazy or too stupid to think for themselves. All incumbents and both major parties have turned against Real Americans and need to be sent packing. Choosing to bounce back and forth between 2 different ass rapers every 4, 6 or 8 years is pretty sad. Calling this progress or change suggests an inability to grasp the obvious.
I believe it's called "a voice of the people". Obviously our Democratic President failed to convince the people that the democrats are positive at this point. Keep in mind that a lot of those Senators and reps voted in favor of Obama policies; which shot themselves in the foot
Listening to some of the punditry, it seems as if in many states the R's didn't run necessarily on issues, but on "that D guy messed up over the last 6 years". One of the national R candidates who didn't was Gillespie in VA against Mark Warner...it's being reported that he ran on issues, and didn't even participate in "smears", other than one ad run during the Redskins MNF game that: That was Oct. 28. With something like 92% of the vote in, Warner's down 50-48. Hopefully it gets candidates advertising to the voters back on issues, rather than PC-ness, social experimentation and boogiemen.
The next two years, after the lame duck session bound to occur, will be a very different ride. Let's see how the economy does in time for 2016 elections.
My analysis is that this election is certainly a reflection on progressive policies and how Obama has governed. In a big way, it's a rejection of the "I'm going to fix (whatever) by Executive Order and skip congress" sort of thinking. It is unfortunate that republicans were elected, but it seems people don't realize it's really a means of picking one's poison. First off, republicans now have to govern. It's easy to let your opponent fall on his own sword and point it out to everyone. It's not so easy to have to effect good policy (good policy, there's an oxymoron!). Ultimately, Obama has a chance to get some of the things he wants done passed through a republican congress. Here's my reasoning. With republicans controlling both chambers, they will almost certainly pass a lot of legislation that will reach the president's desk. The House and Senate have both passed lots, just not the same bills or agenda. What the House passed, the Senate under Harry Reid refused to even consider. And vice-versa. A republican senate will consider bills passed by a republican house, and vice-versa. You know. But the senate has historically been a sort of filter against the more absurd bills passed by the house, so not everything will be rubber stamped. Republicans do not have a veto-proof majority in the senate, so Obama will have the ability to block any and all legislation passed using his veto pen. I believe republicans will want some of their bills to be signed and Obama can barter non-vetoes for legislation he wants. Or he can use the veto threat to influence congress to tweak bills more to his liking. Obama is going to have to be willing to change his view of governing, though. He is not going to be able to go on vacation and let the congress gridlock while whining about the gridlock. This new congress isn't going to gridlock and he'll be forced to veto a lot of actually popular legislation. Popular legislation like the Keystone Pipeline. If he engages with congress, he may be able to trade a favorable immigration bill for allowing a keystone pipeline bill. The real question is what congress' objectives will be. If it is to govern and to give the People reason to vote for them again in 2 years, they will need to work with Obama. If it is to pass a lot of popular legislation that they know Obama will veto so they can run on democratic president obstruction, then 2016 will be a lot more interesting.
I don't think the voting public is that smart. I think this election more than anything was a reflection of the power of Fox News.
I disagree. The republican candidates, as Brian wrote, ran gazillions of ads in the local markets with the "vote us in because Obama sucks" message. This made it a referendum on Obama and progressive polices proposed and enacted. Fox News didn't have anything to do with those ads resonating with the public. The public did vote in Obama, Reid, and Pelosi in the first place, so you do have a point tho.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...df6f7a-62c7-11e4-bb14-4cfea1e742d5_story.html From the outset of the campaign, Republicans had a simple plan: Don’t make mistakes, and make it all about Obama, Obama, Obama. Every new White House crisis would bring a new Republican ad. And every Democratic incumbent would be attacked relentlessly for voting with the president 97 or 98 or 99 percent of the time.
I tend to agree with most of the other stuff you wrote. But why is the keystone pipeline popular? what's the point, when oil is going to get to 70$/barrel and tarsands is only cost effective at 80$/barrel?
A fair analysis but I dont see it working out this way. I see the republicans trying to take the presidency starting today, which means they will push through a ton of BS legislation that will force Obama to veto, then run on the grounds that Obama veto's everything and he is the obstructionist.
Both Reagan and GHW Bush had numerous vetoes with Democratic congresses. Bush did not win reelection. I remember congress would pass every bill with a tax hike of some kind in it. A poison pill of sorts, since Bush did his "no new taxes" pledge and democrats were intent on making him a liar (or break that promise). He eventually relented and lost, which may be a blueprint for Obama to avoid.