Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Election Wrapup

Concise and insightful.

posted by Unknown @ 7:36:00 PM 0 comments

For Whom the Ballots Poll

"Change is good."

When voters view the current leadership with impatience, disgust, or anger, it is easy to turn out current leaders on their collective ears and replace them with new leaders. Whether a legitimate reaction or not, the loss of current Republican leaders like Senator Rick Santorum, (R) Pennsylvania, and Mike DeWine, (R) Ohio, means that Republicans cannot simply continue to inject "terrorist" and the necessity of the Iraq war and expect to win. However, it is impossible to ignore several disheartening and politically damaging developments leading up to the midterm elections.

The Foley Scandal. An October nightmare removed an otherwise popular, charismatic and seemingly upwardly mobile Floridian Congressman out of the running and threw the Republican damage control operations into high gear. Foley's disgusting and illegal conduct, apparently unchallenged by the leadership of a party supposedly dedicated to conservative and family values, hit the vital conservative electorate below the Bible belt. Was the scandal merely an "inside the Beltway" flap that didn't distract Florida voters? Whether or not this scandal affected voter turnout remains to be seen. However, for many who counted on their party leaders to enforce the values of the so-called "Moral Majority," it might have been enough to further dampen the fires of Republican support and further cast doubt on the party's ability to lead and clean its own House.

Corruption. Speaking of cleaning the House, the damage done by Jack Abramoff is likely still fresh on the minds of voters, though it is difficult to gauge which voters were affected more by the corruption. No doubt the guilty pleas of Robert W. Ney, a Republican Congressman from Ohio, to conspiracy and making false statements in relation to the Abramoff scandal galvanized Ohio Democrats who sought to make Ohio the 2006 vanguard for a 2008 referendum on Republicans. Thus far, it seems that the issue of corruption is a key one, as CNN's exit poll estimates show that at least 42% of voters did indeed care about corruption as a national issue, followed by terrorism at 40%, the economy at 39%, and Iraq at 37%. Indeed, a CNN news story
reported that corruption was the number one issue this election.

Democrats, however, are themselves not immune from charges of corruption. Republican strategists will likely fire back and remind America of the antics of Democratic Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson, who gave new meaning to the phrase "cold cash" when he chose to store $90,000 of alleged bribe money in his freezer. Jefferson is currently under investigation for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribe money to help a small technology company win federal contracts and to help it with business deals in Africa, according to court documents cited by the Washington Post.

The Iraq War. An issue that needs no introduction, Democrats have trumpeted the administration's troubles in securing peace and stability in the Middle East. The Shiite-Sunni provocations, unresolved (and uncontrolled) tribal tensions, the daily deaths of America's bravest, and the lack of a firm timeline for progress in Iraq has proven to be an albatross of sorts for President Bush and his administration. The issues are very complex and have taxed both political minds and military planners. With several high-ranking officers airing their criticisms of the Administration's handling of the war effort and the President's depressed public approval ratings, Democrats who have voiced their opposition to the war and to the President's policies are riding high. Voters seem to be more willing to invite alternative views to the situation in Iraq in the hopes that newly elected challengers will invite a quicker resolution.

However, one wonders how, despite the higher than usual turnout for a midterm election, Republicans were not more successful in forcing Democrats to articulate their plans for turning around U.S. efforts in Iraq. It is one thing for candidates to say they are running to ensure new direction, fresh perspective, and fewer deaths in Iraq. It is quite another to tell the American people how they will accomplish that.

For diehard Republicans, Democrats in leadership mean backing down against the threat of terrorism. The party line "better to fight terrorists in Baghdad than in New York" resonates, and the spectre of a Democratic Congress means that America's military footing will be reduced. Many conservative commentators like Laura Ingram have elicited examples of Democrats denigrating military service personnel, while Democrats with war records like 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry respond that their wartime service confirms their unimpeachable support of the military. However, even war-weary Republicans who now seek a withdrawal from Iraq and wary Democrats condemned Mr. Kerry's "badly formed joke" which perhaps was a bit too telling of his real opinions.

Democrats seem to be faring well and have utilized the criticism of failures in Iraq (and the public's growing discontent with the seemingly stalled progress) to ride the tide to control of the House.

The Economy. Surprisingly, this time it wasn't "the economy, stupid." Reports put together by people smarter than I am have indicated that although the national economy is not all that bad for business, the growing deficit (overseen by a Republican president and Congress) and growing joblessness (and the lack of new job creation) have added to Republican woes.

In sum, these issues seemed to weigh heavily on voters' minds as they headed to the ballot box. CNN's William Schneider reported that national issues outweighed local issues by 62% to 33%. Will the Democrat's regaining control of the House from Republicans mean victory in 2008? Time will tell. Yet Republicans can be hopeful that the stinging defeat of several of their veterans may result in firing up their base, refocusing the party's direction, and holding Congressional Republicans' feet to the fire on issues such as fiscal discipline and anti-corruption measures.

The Bad and the Ugly
  1. From the Gateway Pundit: "The US Attorney's office in Newark has sent monitors to two locations following a complaint from the Republican State Commitee that some voters went into the voting booth and discovered that Democratic candidates had been pre-selected on the machine. The complaints involve Patterson, Old Bridge, Scotts Plains and Camden. Civil Rights prosecutors have gathered affidavits from some voters who claim this occurred and now those officials are trying to replicate the problem. The DOJ is not identifying which locations the monitors are visiting."
  2. ACORN tries to plant rotten ballots. All is not well in the "Show Me" State. Kansas City, Missouri, was the epicenter of yet another attempt at voter fraud by employees of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. "Investigators said about 35,000 questionable registration forms for new voters were collected by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a group that works to improve minority and low-income communities." Link. There are also allegations that somehow Claire McCaskill, Democrat running against Republican Jim Talent for Missouri Senator, is tied to the ACORN fraud.
  3. Deceptive phone calls intended to misdirect voters to incorrect precinct locations in New Mexico and Ohio.
  4. Electronic voting machine smashed by an Allentown, Pennsylvania voter. Guess he wanted to see if the Diebold machine was diehard...
  5. Lies, damned lies. Missouri Democratic Senatorial candidate Claire McCaskill pulled the ads, nay propaganda, put out by Josh Lansdale after his lies about delays in receiving medical care for injuries supposedly sustained while on duty in Iraq. A cloud of suspicion surrounded his allegations and his help was not wanted by the McCaskill campaign. Reports indicate that his injuries turned out to be a "busted ankle from an intense volleyball match. " Josh blamed Senator Talent for waits he endured at a VA Hospital. When asked, however, to justify those claims with appointment records, Josh became indignant and disappeared." Link.
Firsts
  1. Democrats regain control of the House, making Nancy Pelosi the first female Speaker of the House.
  2. Minnesota voters elected Keith Ellison, a 43 year old lawyer, state representative and a black Democrat as the first Muslim in Congress. Link.
Overall
John Podhoretz made an insightful observation. Despite the results of the election, more people voted in this midterm election than in any in recent memory.


posted by Unknown @ 12:59:00 AM 0 comments