Term 2 - Post 5 - Midterm Election Results
The midterms are over and now the debate has begun...what do these results mean? Answer ONE of the following set of questions:
Option One:
- What do the Democrats think these election results mean?
- What do the Republicans think these election results mean?
- What do you think these election results mean? Do you agree or disagree with the major parties "spinning" of this election? However you don't need to just focus on the parties. You can also address what these results mean for the Tea Party.
Option Two:
- What will this election mean for the second half of Obama's term?
- What advice do you have for the Republicans and Democrats for the next two years for dealing with our new divided government? (Specifically consider what issues should they deal with and how? Are there issues they should avoid? And what role do you think the major parties should do with the newly elected members of the Tea Party?)
Post due by Friday, 11/12.
Labels: divided government, midterm elections
posted by maby-keirstead @ 8:28 AM
31 Comments:
Last week's midterm elections made it painfully obvious what the American people expect of their government: they want two win two wars, they want unemployment to drop by about 4%, they want the economy to grow at a rate not seen since the 1920s, they want the burst of the real estate bubble to just go away, they want the companies responsible for the economic meltdown to be regulated, and when said companies are regulated, they want less government involvement. And, oh yeah, they want it all done in two years.
The election, therefore, means that Obama is an abject failure who deserves to be impeached, because, as it turns out, he was not able to magically make everything better in two years. On a more serious note, though, the results of this election will be a disaster for President Obama and the Democrats, because among all of the dire problems still pressing the nation, the new wave of Republicans, led by John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, are more interested in making Obama a one-term president than they are in actually solving the problems at hand (1). For Democrats, this election is not good news, because with a Republican-controlled House and 47 Republican seats in the Senate, they now have almost no chance of accomplishing any of their lofty goals. Even though the campaigns of some Republican candidates this year may have burned some bridges, the Democrats need to make every attempt to be truly bipartisan in their actions, which will require votes across party lines from Senators and Representatives in both parties.
To Republicans, this election is the Divine Mandate from The People that it is okay to be irresponsible in action as long as you are responsible in theory. Everyone knows that every single Republican who won office last week did so by campaigning on the notion that the government needs to spend less. What they fail to realize is that they cannot possibly fulfill their promises of both tax cuts across the board as well as a balanced budget. Our budget deficit far exceeds nonmilitary discretionary spending ($1.17 trillion deficit, $704 billion nonmilitary discretionary spending) (2). For the second post in a row, I apologize for citing Wikipedia as a source, but I trust the Weirdos who update Wikipedia Pages have the correct information on this topic.
Republicans plan to freeze spending, and Rand Paul seeks to downsize federal employment by about 10% and cutting wages for remaining federal employees (3). The economic plan for the Republicans could go either way, as it will either result in 2012 being the year of the Divine Mandate of the People to have Democrats in power after they discover that Republicans won't be able to fix this mess in two years either, or the 2012 elections will see even more GOP gains, as voters do not seem to understand that spending cuts alone cannot fix our deficit problem, nor do they understand that decreasing taxes at a greater rate than decreasing spending will cause a bigger budget deficit.
Like I mentioned earlier, this election is obviously proof that Obama's leftist, socialist agenda will not be tolerated by the American people. From looking at the Credit Card Bill of Rights, which holds credit card companies accountable to their customers (4), cutting taxes for about 95% of working families with the Socialist Stimulus Bill (5), reforming health insurance practices so consumers can't be denied coverage for preexisting conditions (6), and expanding Medicaid to all individuals up to 65 with incomes up to 133% of the poverty level (7), it is obvious that Obama is a socialist dictator who hates America, so this election was a referendum on his liberal policies, which, by the way, are destroying the Constitution. Because the makeup of Congress has shifted from Democrats to Republicans in 1994, back to Democrats in 2006, and now back to Republicans in 2010 (8), I think this election is irrelevant to both parties in the long run because decreasing party loyalty has caused a never ending back-and-forth seesaw that is the balance of power in our government. If/when the party in power cannot create solutions to our problems that pander to the short attention spans of voters, the other party will be voted into power. This works for and against both parties, because by 2012 or 2014, the Democrats will be back in power, but in the now, the GOP has a chance to redeem itself.
Sources
(1) http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep-john-boehner-president-obama-denial/story?id=12056138
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_United_States_federal_budget
(3) http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/07/gop-message-revenue-problem-spending/
(4) http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/08/23/your-credit-card-bill-rights-now-full-effect
(5) http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2010/jan/28/barack-obama/tax-cut-95-percent-stimulus-made-it-so/
(6) http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html
(7) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/your-money/health-insurance/22consumer.html?_r=2&ref=policy
(8) http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774721.html
Post #1 for term 2, #5 in all!!
Option 2
With the midterm elections past, the people of the United States are adjusting to a change in government. Thought some seats have yet to be determined (ahem, the recount for the governors race in Minnesota!) it is clear that the Republicans scored big time in this recent election. The GOP currently has a net gain of 60 seats and is likely to gain at least 3 more seats (1). The House of Representatives has seen the largest shift from one party to another since 1938 (1). In all, the GOP controls the greatest amount of seats in the House since 1948 (1).
With the clear win for Republicans across the country, President Obama will most likely find that his time in office wont be as easy as was when Congress was controlled by the Democrats. As Jules Witcover frankly stated, “demands already are being heard that he [Obama] set aside his celebrated coolness and wake up to the fact that his political pants are on fire” (2). Indeed, his ‘political pants are on fire’ with Republicans in Congress. Many of Obama’s ideal plans, such as the health care bill, are in danger. Many of the states that Obama won in the 2008 election went to the Republicans in the recent midterm election, and if he plans to run again in 2012 he will need to gain all the states he won in 2008 to have any success (3). What this means for Obama is that he needs to bounce back from this defeat for the Democrats if he has any plans for running and ultimately winning a reelection. Granted, the 2012 presidential election is two years away and much can change in that amount of time. Some have compared this midterm election with the 1994 midterm election. When the Republicans took over Congress in the middle of President Clinton’s term, the future of his administration was questioned. None-the-less, he was reelected in 1996 (4). Only time will tell if history will repeat itself, but it is important to realize that a the outcome of the 2010 midterm elections doesn’t guarantee a poor future for the Obama administration. Regardless, with a primarily Republican filled Congress, Obama is going to find getting things done is going to be more difficult.
The advice I give to the Republican’s in the aftermath of this election is to stay as true to their word as possible. Although it is Obama’s belief that the turnout of the election was a result of the economy, Republicans find that statement void, instead being of the opinion that the election results turned out as they did because the people really want small government (4). If this is what they believe the people want, they should first ensure that it is what is wanted, and then go through with the actions to the best of their ability. None the less, the Republicans need to realize that making their policy ideas a reality isn’t going to happen just like that. With a Democratic President as well as a Democrat majority in the Senate, compromise is key. Some political scientists suggest that the 112th Congress will not be very successful, especially compared to the legislative victories of the 111th Congress including the Health Care bill (5). This makes sense, seeing that the 111th Congress has a Democratic majority in both Houses and in the 112th, Republicans will control the House.
Advice that I give to the Democrats is to work on compromising skills as well. The Democrats enjoyed a brief period of majority’s in both Houses during the 110th and 111th Congress, and found it very easy to get the policies they wished for passed. When the 112th Congress takes session of January 5, 2011, they will have to understand that in some cases, compromise will be the only logical way to move forward to avoid policy gridlock. Political analyst Morton Kondracke described an extreme case of such gridlock when he stated that a congressional battle over the health care bill between President Obama and the Republicans could lead to government shutdown (4). I don’t necessarily think this could happen but it is a good example of the possible problems that the 112th Congress will face.
As far as the issues, I don’t think they should avoid any. Issues like the health care bill can’t just be put to the side because of the fear of policy gridlock as well as others. They need to be addressed in Congress. True, some issues will cause rifts between the parties, but a well working legislator should be able to compromise on issues. Whether our legislator is well working isn’t the point; rather, I’m trying to stress that what Congress should do is compromise. It’s not necessarily going to happen, but I think an effective government shouldn’t avoid the issues, even if they will cause a split in party beliefs. In regards to the Tea Party members, Congress should be careful. Tea Party members are generally more Conservative than an average Republican, and Tea Party members in Congress such as Rand Paul are most likely to vote extreme on the Conservative side than other members of the Republican Party. Because of this, Congress needs to be aware that Tea Party members have the possibility of making pressing issues more difficult to come to conclusions. Compromising with a more extreme group in Congress will be more difficult as well. Many political analysts suggest that neither party in Congress will want to compromise as it is (4).
All in all, the 2010 midterm elections was a pleasant surprise for Republicans across the country. Despite this, after the last few years with a Democrat majority in Congress, and prior to that a Republican majority, the 112th Congress and President Obama will need to recognize the importance of compromise if they wish to accomplish much in the next two years.
(1)http://dailycaller.com/2010/11/09/lcg-monitor-midterm-election-result-was-more-than-a-wave/
(2) http://staugustine.com/opinions/2010-11-09/obamas-midterm-challenge-revealed
(3)http://www.startribune.com/politics/106977783.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
(4) http://lincolntribune.com/?p=841
(5)http://www.fredonialeader.com/news/the-2010-midterm-election-republican-gains-1.1768137
Option 2
With the midterm elections over and done with, there is a definite change in which party rules the government. The Republicans now control the House of Representatives since they have gained at least 60 seats, this was the biggest swing since 1948 Harry Truman elections (1). Not only that but the Republican Party also took at least six seats in the Senate, but the Democrats still remain in the control of the Senate (1).
But what does this massive Republican swept mean to the Democratic President? President Obama is quoting saying that he thought the election was all about the economy, while the Republicans on the other hang say that it was almost all about the President, himself (2). Though, the Republican Party does not want to admit that they had a very strong backing of voters who were angry about the economy and the where the country as a whole was headed. And the Democratic Party did not want acknowledge the obvious larger-growing voter dissatisfaction with the Democratic polices (2). Because of the combination of the economy and great voter dissatisfaction it has led to the spilt government we have now. It is a known fact that it will be very difficult for President Obama to get anything done since the Republican members of Congress are most likely to not like anything pass. But there might be some light at the end of this tunnel for President Obama because in a recent CBS Poll it states that 72% of Americans want the Republicans in Congress should make trade-offs in order to get things accomplished, leaving a mere 21% saying that they want the Republicans to stick to their positions, even if that means they hardly get anything accomplished (3).
I think that the Republicans should just stick to their ideas, and policies as best as they can because even the though the public wants there to be compromise. But as Greg Sargent at the Washington Post says “people don’t give leaders points of occupying some sort of precious high ground that comes with being more compromising than the other side” (4). Not only that but the public hasn’t really define that the “things” are in how the “two parties should work together to get things done” (4). The Republicans should just keep to their own word.
For the Democrats I think that they should just continue to try to fight for what they want, and they should try to appease to the public more. Those would be the best plan for the Democrats who are clearly trying get back on their feet after that major lost from the midterm elections.
1.http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2010/11/11/Opinions/Midterm.Elections.Call.Young.Liberals.To.Action-3957479.shtml
2. http://dailycaller.com/2010/11/09/lcg-monitor-midterm-election-result-was-more-than-a-wave/
3.http://www.wctv.tv/APNews/headlines/CBS_Poll_After_the_Midterm_Election_107241613.html
4. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/11/compromise.html
Option 1
Democrats think that the midterm election results mean that the American people are unhappy with the economic situation(1). Obama accepted part of the blame. He said that although his policies are setting the country on the right track, they are not working fast enough for American citizens or for him. The President believes that if his policies had been more successful, voters would have supported Democrats more. Obama also said that this midterms showed how he has gotten out of touch with voters(2). Obama wants to focus on tax cuts, more unemployment benefits, and the issue of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the next part of the term(1). The President also said that, although it would be difficult, he would try to work with both major parties to get things done(2). Nancy Pelosi stated, “The outcome of the election does not diminish the work that we have done for the American people.” She also said both parties should try to find common ground to move the nation forward(2).
Republicans believe that the results of the midterm elections showed the American public’s clear opposition to the Democrats and their policies. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the midterms “clearly a referendum on the administration and the Democratic majority here in Congress” (2). Republicans think “the American people want a smaller, less costly and more accountable government.” They say that voters vindicated their attempts at blocking President Obama’s agenda. Republicans pledged to do everything they can to repeal the Health Care Bill(2). The Republican party believes that if the Democrats do not change and work with them, Democrats will face even tougher consequences in 2012(2).
I think that the midterm elections portray Americans’ frustration with the current situation of our country and the way that the government is handling it. It is the public’s attempt to change what is going on. I believe that the results reflect the bad economy more than the public’s ideology. I don’t necessarily think having a different party in control of the House will make much of a difference, but at least it sends a signal to the government.
I think that both parties have the right general ideas of what the results mean. However, I think that the Republicans’ spin is a little off. Just because Republicans gained a lot of seats does not mean that Americans are giving them permission to oppose every one of Obama’s policies. American’s want a change, but they don’t want all legislation to stop completely in a stand-off between parties. I think that Obama was right when he said that the results were due in large part to the state of the economy. If the economy was better than it is now, people would be happier with the government. A lot of people just blame everything bad thing on the party in charge, but I don’t think that it is that simple.
1. http://obama.net/2010-midterm-election-results-in-republicans-top-democrats-obama-reacts/
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207506.html
We now have an officially divided government. The Republican party now controls the House of Representatives, where they had 179 members in the House before, they now have 239. However, Democrats, and President Obama, retain control of the Senate by a slim margin, 53 members (1). Though it is difficult even now for Congress and the President to get things done, it will be even harder with the divided government. The gridlock that this will cause will make it nearly impossible for our government to pass anything. The public is already upset with Congress for their poor results. A recent telephone survey found that 12% of Likely U.S. Voters think that Congress is doing a good or excellent job, and 61% rate their performance as poor (3).
I'm afraid that because of this new divided government, President Obama's second term will be even more unproductive. He can lobby all he want, but the Republicans in Congress won't listen. They have their eyes out for his blood, and won't stop until they get their reward. President Obama's term will most likely be filled with more loss of faith in our president. A recent poll showed only 25% of Americans who Strongly Approve of how President Obama is doing, while 45% Strongly Disapprove (2).
The only advice I have for those returning to Congress, or entering Congress for the first time, is for them to WORK TOGETHER for once. The best way for that to happen is to stick to their promises, however that doesn't always pan out. In that case, I think that the they should stick to important issues that don't cross the line of personal ideologies. Economic and other issues important for getting our country out of this slump must take precedent over social injustices (even though I hate to admit it.) Concerning the Tea Party, I think that the major parties need to show the Tea Party members whose boss. They need to prove that there is no room for uncooperative and radical ideas in Congress right now.
(1)http://www.cbsnews.com/election2010/
(2)http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
(3)http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_performance/
After all the anticipation, Americans are now left with mixed emotions about the results of the 2010 Midterm Elections. Though a few more seats are still to be determined, Americans already have seen the shift in direction our nation has taken. The election left a majority of the Democrats unhappy, and Republicans rejoicing. Results show “the worst Democratic midterm election defeat in 70 years” (1). Republicans strived to gain control of both chambers of Congress. As predicted, they took over the House of Representatives by gaining 60 seats. However, they fell short and only gained 6 seats in the Senate leaving the Democrats still in control (2). The new divided government will potentially lead to some wanted and unwanted changes in the United States.
Unfortunately, the Democrats weren’t as successful in this election. They think the election results mean that they have to work harder and fight. They know that they no longer have a majority pushing their agenda. President Obama said, in a press conference that, "the election ... underscores for me that I've got to do a better job, just like everybody else in Washington does” (1). President Obama took responsibility for the loss the Democrats suffered. He finally realized that the people believe America is headed in the wrong direction. Democrats think that they need to fix that. They need to work to get the Independent vote back. Doing so might require the Democratic Party to become more moderate on some issues (3). They also have to work at the increasing unemployment rate and the economic turmoil, which also had a significant effect on their downfall. The Democratic Party needs to fight against the Republicans to regain their seats. The results show that obviously what the Democratic Party is doing isn’t pleasing to the majority of Americans.
On the other hand, Republicans are overjoyed with their winnings. The criticism that President Obama is facing is helping Republicans. For example, people actually began to support Sarah Palin when she said “the last two years have not been good for our country” (4). The Republicans think that the election results mean that their party will have more of a say, and they can stop the Democrats from pushing their agenda. It means that not as many people are in agreement with President Obama’s policies. It doesn’t mean that Democrats are turning into Republicans, but that Democrats aren’t necessarily satisfied with the way the President is governing. The results show the Republicans what the Democrats and other people aren’t interested in.
I think that the election results show that the Democrats especially President Obama will be less naïve and realize that what they are doing aren’t pleasing to the majority anymore. The results were a real eye-opener. I think the new divided government will make it more difficult for policy to be passed. However, I don’t believe that any policy will change dramatically as a result of the divided government. It just shows the different levels and especially the Democrats that the majority of American’s feelings have changed over the past two years. I agree with the “spinning” the major parties have with this election. The Democrats now know how the public feels, and they can get back on track. The Republicans know what the elections mean for them also, but they need to remember that many of the Democrats voted Republican not necessarily because they like their policy more and switched sides, but more because they dislike the direction their party is going right now and wanted to send that message to their leaders.
1.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/03/barack-obama-midterms-better-job?intcmp=239%27
2.http://www.cbsnews.com/election2010/
3.http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/nov/03/midterm-election-results-obama-faces-fight
4.http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/11/03/2010-11-03_voters_speak_loudly_against_obamas_ways.html#ixzz151DYkvth
I chose option 1
Option One:
The Election results have just come in. For the Democrats it has been bad news. The Republican side, meanwhile, is looking a little brighter and hopeful.
First off, for the Democrats, this was a big loss. The Democrats lost at least 60 seats. The Republicans still have the potential to gain 3 more, too (1). A writer to the Washington Post said that it seemed between 2008 and 2010 the Democrats had a tough time rallying everyone in the party together on certain issues and voting on those issues. The writer used the examples of blue dogs, progressives and centrists to back up this point (2.) In response to this writer and reader of the Washington Post, Eugene Robinson, the Political Blogger for the post, said that he agreed. He told the reader that he believed what was going to happen was that the Democrats in the House would be much more focused and unified, because so many of their party members, particularly Blue dogs, lost. He commented that however more focused Democrats would be would still not change the fact that losing seats made them weaker (2). I think that to some extent Democrats know that this is true. Democrats know that it is going to be harder to pass their legislation, especially in the House, now that they have lost control. Eugene Robinson is also a liberal, and has very important Democratic points of view. He points out that if the economy starts to improve, Obama may have a good chance of getting reelected. The main point that he states is that if times are easier over the next two years and Democrats have faith in their candidates, many feel that he can get reelected as president. One more thing is that Democrats think that the election means that the economy is in a slump and that they need to enact working policies to get it out of the slump that it is in. As my third source shows, Democrats even felt the economy was a threat to their campaign before the election (3). They did not want to take the blame for the bad economy but they feel that the Obama administration and liberal viewpoints have been hit hard.
For Republicans this election is a huge success. They have gotten control over the House and gained more seats all around. This means to Republicans that they will play a bigger role in policymaking and legislation. They will have a stronger presence overall in our government. For the Republicans it also shows that they are regaining more women back to the conservative side. The reasons for the shift are because women make buying decisions in over 75% of American households. These particular women rejected the policies of the Pelosi Congress which “stimulates more debt than job growth…by allowing Bust tax cuts to expire…just when the American people most need tax relief (4).” Also, Republicans see the election results as proof that the Obama White House and Pelosi Congress have failed (4). The think this is their chance to enact tax cuts and legislation. In short, they see this as an opportunity.
To me, I feel that the election results mean that there are increased opportunities for Republicans. Also, I believe that it means that the Democrats failed in enacting tax cuts when the economy needed it most. I think the increase in the Budget deficit and debt in the past few years have been a direct result of overspending. As a result, the economy has been spiraling downwards and has directly affected the elections. I am more conservative in my viewpoints and agree with a more Republican take on things, although I do agree on one issue with the Democrats. The issue I agree on with the Democrats is that the economy has had a bad outcome for them. I don’t necessarily think the party in power is always responsible for something that is somewhat external like the Economy. However, I do believe that the Democrats are responsible for worsening our economy. Spending is soaring, and expenditures need to be brought down. This is how their election has suffered. I believe more in the Republican side that this is a huge opportunity. I also feel that Republicans have more pressure on them now. Now that people are looking to more Republicans in government to execute laws and make key decisions, the pressure is on to make the public happy. I believe that for the Democrats these seats were a huge loss, and for the Republicans all I can say is…good luck You’re dealing with politics.
(1)http://dailycaller.com/2010/11/09/lcg-monitor-midterm-election-result-was-more-than-a-wave/
2.) http://live.washingtonpost.com/eugene-robinson-11-09.html
3.)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/04/nations-economic-woes-jeo_n_705800.html
4.) http://www.gop.com/index.php/rnc_women/comments/a_seismic_shift
Option One:
The United States citizens had a split reaction when they found out the results of the midterm elections. They were split because both the Democrats and the Republicans won, thus, causing us to have a divided government. The Democrats have remained in control of the Senate, but the Republicans gained the majority in the house.
For Democrats these election results mean that they will need to compromise and battle hard for their bills to get passed. It will be meant that the Republicans will filibuster and that they will be very nitpicky with their bills that they are creating. Many of the Democrats do however believe that we need to work with the Republicans to get things passed (1) they feel that this will be the best thing for them to do because it will be a quality compromise between the two. Many of the Democrats were very stunned at the findings of the results, and they were actually surprised by how much they lost by (2). I was very surprised, but usually when people are in economic times people tend to vote Republican, because Republicans tend to try to stimulate the economy.
For the Republicans, they were very pleased with the results that came out of the midterm elections this year. They were very surprised, but extremely excited when they found out that they pummeled the Democrats in the House. Back to my main point, Republicans help stimulate the economy; right after the election the stock market had a large surge in share prices (3). Also according to some political scientists, “"I've been through a lot of election nights, I can't remember one when the experts weren't surprised by a dozen or more races” (4). This just shows that often time political scientists can’t predict the right thing that is going to happen in elections, but they always have good stories to write about after they figure who the winner or loser is. In the coming years, Republicans will fight for their bills to get passed, and they will try and pick apart the bills in the senate that they don’t want to get passed.
I personally believe that the reason for the takeover in the House is due to the economic times. Many people lean on the Republicans to stimulate economy because they don’t increase the spending. They focus on the other possible ways to increase economic output.
Sources:
1.http://people-press.org/report/675/
2.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-midterm-elections-2010
3.http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0226235020101103
4.http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/Republicans-Eye-Big-Gains-in-Midterm-Elections_34278995
Answering Option #1
“It was obviously a brutal night for Democrats, there is no sugarcoating the fact that it was bad” one democrat strategist stated (5). While the Democrats lost seats they think that these results show a lot of hope, and also what they can improve upon in the next election. The Democrats lost a lot of white (by 23 points), and older voters (by 21 points) in the election and were also hit hard in the “Rust Belt” (area ranging from upstate New York to Minnesota) (1). They feel that they were hit hardest in this region because the Midwest economy is an amplified version of the current economy (1). With so many factory workers and farmers, the Midwest has been hit especially hard by the recession. While the Democrats lost votes from the two most prominent groups they gained votes from Latinos and young people (1). While these gains may not guarantee victory in 2012, as of now, things are looking bright for 2050 and beyond when the US could potentially be a majority-minority nation (1). This is far in the future, but it is something for the Democrats to look forward to. Even though the Democrats lost the House, this means that it is now the Republicans turn to take responsibility(2). If things do not improve over the next two years not only will President Obama’s neck be on the chopping block, but so will all the Republican leaders in Congress who promised to make things happen. These bright spots were overshadowed by the overwhelming opinion that the Obama administration is not doing enough to improve the economy.
Republican leaders think that the results show that the public is dissatisfied with President Obama’s policies (2). Incoming speaker of the House John Boehner even went as far as stating that “There seems to be some denial on the part of the President” (2). While I personally disagree with this statement, I can understand the populations anger with the “lack” of change. The Republican’s want to extend Bush era tax cuts, repeal and replace health care reform legislation, and reduce spending (2). They also want to create party unity, which is evidenced by the FreedomWorks retreat that aims to refocus Republican’s on tea party goals (4). The Republican party appears united and armed, a deadly combination that will play out interestingly in the coming months.
I think that the Democrats are searching for ways to turn this election positive. They lost a lot in the House, but maintained control of the Senate which is important. As the campaigns for 2012 begin in the coming months I think that it is important for the Democrats to remain positive and focus on the negatives of the Republican House. I think that in some ways the Republicans are being a little cocky and this could potentially come back and bite them. There are clear divides in the Republican Party, as shown in the rise of the Tea Party, and the Democrats need to exploit these differences. Also, it is important to note that the Democrats picked up votes from the Latinos and young people who will turn out in greater numbers in the general election (1). I really liked the quote that I found on CNN that stated "The problem is real -- the solution is painful -- There's no easy way out -- Everything must be on the table -- and Washington must lead" (3). I feel like no matter what happens in the next couple of years the majority of the American public will be dissatisfied. The only way to cut the deficit is to raise taxes or cut federal spending which is not what anyone wants. We need bold leadership and not career politicians.
I think that both parties are trying to look for the positives in the election. The Democrats need to show that they are willing to change and are open to Republican policies. The Republican’s need to show that they are completely opposite of President Obama and that they are not going to do the same things that the Republican Congress did during Bush’s presidency. I think that how the parties are spinning their information is effective for the majority of the public who is not going to spend time solidifying claims by each party. However, the informed citizen knows what’s up. The Democrats lost, the Republicans won. We are in for a couple of years of policy gridlock. While all involved say they want major change the chances of this happening is slim to none.
(1)http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/10/the-democrats-2012-rust-belt-problem.html
(2)http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2030744,00.html
(3)http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/11/borger.leadership.budget/index.html
(4)http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/11/AR2010111103512.html?hpid=topnews
(5)http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/us/politics/10dems.html?_r=1&ref=politics
OPTION #1:
There were some important changes in the composition of the federal government last Tuesday. Although the Democrats maintained the majority in the Senate by a slim margin, they lost the House to the Republicans. The Republicans also had key victories in state and local races throughout the country, even in traditionally democratic areas. While the Republicans couldn’t have asked for much better results, the Democrats have learned that they’ll need to change what they’re doing if they want to get back on top.
The Democrats think these election results mean that Americans are dissatisfied with the state of the economy, rather than the decisions they and president Obama have made [6]. The biggest impact they think the increase in the number of Republicans will have is that they will find it far greater to pass their ideal legislation. The president has made it clear that he knows he will not be able to pass the exact kind of legislation he might have been able to pass when there were more Democrats in Congress. He has said that there will need to be more bipartisanship to deal with the economy and is willing to make compromises. With a Republican majority in the House, President Obama has said that he would “consider extending Bush-era tax cuts even for upper income Americans for a year or two [3].” Democrats are trying to stay positive and win back the votes of moderates they recently lost. Exit polls show that Republicans are no more popular than Democrats in general, so they are hopeful that the Republicans will do enough damage in the next two years to bring the people back to the Democrats [4]. People think Obama should be concerned on the impact this will have on his reelection, but history has shown that incumbent presidents win by a ratio of two to one, and the midterms have not stopped the incumbent from being reelected in the past century [4].
Some people are suggesting that the Democrats should take a new direction to try to win back public support. One solution they had was to prevent Nancy Pelosi from becoming the House minority leader [1]. They argue that because of their poor performance in the elections, they cannot continue to keep doing things the same and they need to make major changes, including their leaders [1]. There is conflict as to whether this change should be in the right or left direction. Some think that because the US is a more conservative country, the Democrats should lean right to capture more moderate votes [2]. Others say they should take stronger, more liberal positions because it will more clearly set them apart from the Republicans, whom they expect the public will disapprove of in the next two years just as the Democrats have become unfavored in the past two years[2].
The Republicans think these election results have brought the right types of leaders into power and they are eager to use this power to make the changes they find necessary to boost the economy. They are certain that they have the support of the people in their beliefs and positions and know that Americans are unhappy with the Obama administration. They consider this a mandate to introduce and, they hope, pass new legislation that is much different from what the Democrats have done in the past two years [5]. They also think that their overwhelming popularity with the public will last until the next elections, where they hope to win the presidency and control of the Senate [5]. Unlike Obama, many of them are unwilling to compromise and think it is their job to oppose Obama’s policies. They think they have enough support to take strong positions on things like taxes and the repeal of health care reform [6]. They know that if they don’t perform well and help the economy grow, they could have the same fate that the Democrats just had, so they are going to work hard [6].
I think that the flood of Republicans into Congress will have a decent-sized impact on the type of legislation that is passed, but I don’t think it will be revolutionary. The Republicans are very confident, but they still don’t have the control of the Senate, so I don’t think they will be able to repeal the health care reform. I think that the reason Americans elected so many Republicans was partly because they opposed the Democrats’ policies and partly because of the state of the economy. I think that the Republicans will have a harder time than they expect fixing the economy and passing their bills. I don’t think these elections will have a big impact on the presidential elections. Because there is a divided government, both Obama and the Republicans will be responsible for the state of the economy, so whether it improves or becomes worse, neither party will be favored over another because of the economy.
1) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131226272
2) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131240237
3) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123070898
4)http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/09/democrats.look.ahead/index.html?iref=allsearch
5) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131023838
6) http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/07/election.post.mortem/index.html
Option 2
In the midterm elections lot of new candidates have been elected to seats and some seats are yet to be determined. As the new reign begins with the new elected officials it is going to have a big change in government. The Republicans won a lot of offices in the midterm elections, which was expected due to President Obama administration not getting things done and the bad economy. The Republican Party has won lot of offices resulting in a newly divided government. The new control gain by republicans is going to cause a hard time for President Obama in office rather that democrats controlling congress which was before the elections. Obama and the Democrats plans are going to be in danger because republicans are going to keep putting pressure on issues like the health care bill. Obama has also lost support from states which are usually democrats. Obama needs to do lot more in office in the next two years and get things done even in the divided government if he wants to be reelected to President in 2012. The Obama administration is going to have a hard time but they need to step it up and get things done to help the democrats regain power in 2012 elections. Democrats need to do a lot of work in order to step in up. The Republicans are in a good position and they need to stick to their agenda. It is going to a hard time in the government politics because I don’t think anything is going to get done due to divided government and both parties are just going to keep arguing about issues and go back and fourth on them which wouldn’t benefit the country in any way. Both parties should focus on the economy in the next two years because the economy is down the drain and it could be worse, both parties working together to create a good decisions on the economy would benefit the country a lot and it would help the people as well. Divided government is not good for America in a time when the country is at war, and each party arguing about things would get matters even worse I think both parties should just focus on what is best for the country. Members of the tea party are conservatives and they would vote strongly conservative on issues and it would be difficult for congress to resolve difficult issues.
Sources:
http://www.startribune.com/politics/106977783.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207506.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/us/politics/10dems.html?_r=2&ref=politics
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The 2010 midterm elections were a watershed election in which Republicans saw unprecedented gain in Congress. The elections also displayed a stunning change in the people voted compared to the 2008 elections. President Obama seemed to be the only elected politician who was saves on election night. The midterms were important in determining the way President Obama will handle the second half of his first term. The Democrats and Republicans must also deal with the new divided government with the House becoming a Republican majority and in the senate the Democrat majority being cut.
We won’t know how President Obama will respond to the challenges of the next two years until he responds to Republican requests. Obama says the elections would have been different if the economy was doing better and voter’s actions were not about his policies. (1) This could be a dangerous way of think seeing the shellacking Democrats took in the midterms. The economy shows no signs of significantly improving in the next two years. This could be crippling to Obama’s hope of a second term if the economy is not rolling again. Obama has talked about changing the culture of Washington since his presidential campaign began. Obama has rededicated himself to this goal since the election, in hopes of making compromise with Republicans easier. (1) Obama has always been quick to blame George Bush for the mess he inherited when he took office. Obama avoided bashing Bush in his press conference after the election. (1) This is a much different approach to the tactics used by President Obama in his first two years in office and could signal a change in Obama.
Democrats and Republicans will both have to deal with the divided government. Bill Clinton and Ronald Regan both had to deal with the issue of divided government and both succeeded in passing some of their polices. Clinton worked with a Republican congress to pass welfare reform. Regan worked with Ted Kennedy and Newt Gingrich to deregulate the economy and change the tax code. (2) There is ample historical evidence that a divided government does not lead to a government in gridlock. One wrinkle to this is the election of Tea Party member such as Rand Paul. Paul does not seem to think gridlock is a bad think and has little desire to cooperate with Republicans; he sees a divided government working in favor of policies he supports. (3) The Tea Party will be the wild card of the next two years they could work with Republicans or they could play lone wolfs in Congress. We will not know the answer to this question until January.
When Democrats and Republicans meet in January they will be forced to compromise because they will both have a vest interest in government functions. The compromises will force Congress to become more moderate on issues. When moderate policies are created people in the center feel like they are being listened to. (4) Most Americans are moderates so these next two years could be to there liking. Divided government is not without its share of conflicts though, but it is the only way to bring bipartisanship that can last.
(1) The Post-Midterm Obama
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/11/the-post-midterm-obama/66265/
(2) Divided Government does not ensure gridlock
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/04/divided-government-does-not-ensure-gridlock/
(3) Rand Paul: Divided Government is not a bad thing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/03/AR2010110302352.html
(4) Divided We Thrive
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/opinion/07rauch.html?_r=1
Option 2
In the biggest party turn over in Congress since the Great Depression (3), President Obama could actually benefit from the divided government. Having a Republican majority in the House seems to have softened some of the public’s criticisms of President Obama. In the few days after the midterm elections, Obama’s approval rating has increased slightly to 47% (2). President Obama’s prospects for re-election in 2012 remain steady, as incumbent Presidents are generally successful when seeking re-election, even when facing a divided government (1). In the next two years, President Obama can expect to face intense opposition from the Republicans over legislation concerning taxes and the economy (4).
The public has shown their displeasure with the Democrats and are expecting the Republicans to make changes, however it will be hard for the Republican majority in the House and the Democratic majority in the Senate to make compromises and enact campaign promises. The Republicans made big campaign promises regarding the budget and taxes (5) but they are likely to face strong opposition from the Democrats. It would be nice if the House and Senate could set aside their strong partisan ideals and compromise, but the chances of that are low. Legislation over the housing market and the budget are likely to cause tension in Congress, and while these topics should be discussed, it is likely that little progress will be made because of the strong separations between the parties’ ideologies (4). The Republicans are not likely to repeal the healthcare and financial regulatory reform laws, but there is likely be heated debates over spending bills for healthcare (6). The Democrats will need to get some Republican support to pass some legislation (3) and that support is unlikely to come from the elected officials from the Tea Party. The Tea Party has strong opposition against the Democrat’s spending bills, so the Democrats will have to focus on less partisan legislation.
1) http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2010/11/11/131247051/obama-s-a-one-termer-not-necessarily-political-scientists
2) http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272635866.shtml
3) http://news.myjoyonline.com/features/201011/55737.asp
4) http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\11\12\story_12-11-2010_pg3_2
5)http://media.www.umdstatesman.com/media/storage/paper1351/news/2010/11/10/Opinion/Election.Results.2010.What.Is.In.Our.Future-3956893-page2.shtml
6) http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=4f7aec6a-3c28-4551-b32d-6ea3f1d54d0b
Democrats were upset at the midterm results. They voters that they had during the 2008 presidential election. The democrats were hit the hardest in the Midwest regions, this they are contributing to the “Rust belt problem”. [1] The region has been struggling with de-industrialization, and this recession has hit this area very hard. Another reason that the Democrats believe they lost the election according to “both President Obama and Speaker-to-go Nancy Pelosi have said that the message of the voters in the election was that they wanted jobs.”[2] Their problems seemed to generate in 2009 with the passing of the cap- and-trade bill and with the passing of the healthcare bill exacerbated their problem.[2]
Republicans are very excited about the results of this past election. To the Republicans this means that their pro-business philosophy is popular with the American people. [2] Also the tea party movement has help not only bring the Republicans into the medias spotlight, but has also helped grow their support base.[3] Republicans will also do what they can to repeal healthcare. [3]
I think this should tell the democrats that these elections that their ideas about healthcare and the stimulus of the economy are not popular with the public opinion. I also think this tell the Republicans that they better deliver what they promise, or they will be out of office just as quickly as they got there. I do not agree with some of the Democratic spin that people will soon find that they will not like the policies that the Republican candidates will implement. Because if these policies are creating jobs people will be happy. Furthermore, I think these results should only encourage the Tea Party to keep after there main points of interest, because it obviously appeals to the American people.
[1] http://www.newsweek.com/2010/11/10/the-democrats-2012-rust-belt-problem.html
[2] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703805004575606750168419176.html
[3] http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/79064/voters-are-about-be-disillusioned-the-gop
The Democrats are trying to take this blow with grace. They are emphasizing their willingness to compromise with the Republicans and to make the best of the situation. The Democrats also acknowledge that their losses reflect the public's sentiment that Obama is not working fast enough to relieve the budget deficit (4).
The Republicans view their success in the midterm election as a revolution. They are emphasizing the power of young conservative leaders, referring to them as "freshmen" who have the power to "shake up the system" (1). The RNC's new "Young Guns" organization is aimed toward mobilizing a new, young generation of conservatives to take the Republican party in a new direction (2). This young conservative revolution has been made apparent by objections to the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner's circumspect personality. A congressional source commented that "Boehner could have a management problem with the upstart, freshmen class" (1). Some observers wondered if the election was a blow to the super-conservative Tea Party, citing Michelle Bachmann's withdrawal from the race, but most conservatives note that most of the new Republican leaders are in fact very conservative and will actually serve to represent the Tea Party very well (3).
There isn't much for the Democrats to spin, so I guess agree with their take on the election, as it is the most realistic. They lost. End of story. I think that this new generation of conservatives will cause disputes within the Republican party between "Young Guns" (especially Tea Partiers) and older, more moderate conservatives such as John Boehner, who has a more cautious approach. The Republicans also seem to be getting revved up for a possible Tea Party president in 2012. I think this is pretty unrealistic and probably won't happen. If it does, I'll really lose my faith in this country.
1.http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/11/house-under-new-management-we-wont-get-fooled-again
2. http://www.gopyoungguns.com/
3. http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/11/bachmann-withdrawal-blow-tea-party
4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/03/barack-obama-midterms-compromise
Option 2
The 2010-midterm elections brought about change in the House and the Senate that will significantly affect President Obama’s second part of his term. With the surge of Republican representation in both the House and the Senate, it will be much harder for Obama’s policies to be heard and accepted in Congress. The Republican leaders said they have vowed to downsize the federal government and will attempt to block Obama’s agenda(1). This means that for the rest of Obama’s term he will have to do a lot more compromising. Also, with public policy leaning toward wanting a much smaller government (shown from the increase of Republicans being voted into Congress) Obama will have to go along with that view in order to keep popularity from dropping.
My advice to our divided government is for them to try to work together as much as possible. With this divided government, compromise will be essential, and as a result, more moderate legislation will be passed, which is a positive thing, because the majority of Americans are centrists. One issue that I highly suggest the government addresses is education. This is an issue that everyone, no matter what party you support, should be very concerned with. We need to collaborate the Republican’s views of locally organized schools with the Democrat’s view of more government involvement to create a school system that benefits the students and gives them the best opportunity possible to succeed(2). One issue that I think would be a very difficult issue to bring up in our divided government is gay marriage. I strongly believe that it is an important issue, but each side has such strong definite views on the matter, we would just have gridlock and problems. However it is a subject that needs to be addressed sometime in the future.
I think the Republican Party should use the new Tea Party members in Congress to their advantage. With more people having farther right views, it will be even easier for legislation in their favor to be passed. The Republican’s major role is to make the Tea Party members “look good” in order for the Republicans to retain their majority in the next election. For the Democrats the Tea Party plays a key role in whether they will be elected or not next term. If the Tea Party craze stays up, many Democrats will be elected because many people will still view the Tea Party candidates as way too radical, and that will take votes away from the Republicans(3).
Sources:
(1)http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/may/04/education-big-issues-new-government
(2)http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110207506.html
(3)http://www.salon.com/news/politics/2010_elections/index.html
With the crazy week of mid-term elections behind us, it’s time to analyze what happened and what went wrong:
Democrats barely hung on to the majority of the Senate in the election and did end up losing the majority of the House. I think the Democrats re looking at the results and feeling extremely frustrated; not only will Senate be controlled by gridlock, but they have also lost a stronghold in the house. Many Democrats feel that the election reflects the public opinion of the president, not necessarily the Democrats themselves (1).
At the same time, though, Republicans are feeling great because A. They have the majority and B. The public (according to recent polls conducted by what looks like an un-biased People to Press) feels that the Republicans will have a better approach than Obama on taxes, the budget deficit, and jobs and economic growth (2). When it comes to hot topics like Social Security and health care, neither side’s approach is favored. I think they are realizing how much power they have to unravel what has been accomplished by Democrats (from when they took majority).
Personally, I think these election results are very unfortunate for the Democratic Party. I am frustrated because I think that many people voted Republican just to “spite” Obama and the Democrats [due to the fact that we haven’t seen a ton of change in the way our country is run]. I think that the Republicans needs to be careful with the way they spin the results because it could be very dangerous if they start to change/undo all the progress that has been made by Democrats in the House.
1. http://obama.net/2010-midterm-election-results-in-republicans-top-democrats-obama-reacts/
2. http://people-press.org/report/675/
Option One:
This year's midterm elections made is very clear what the American population want to happen. The Democrats think that this means that both sides will have to compromise more that Congress is Republican and the Presidency is Democratic. On November 3rd, President Obama talked about the need for patience, humility, and bipartisanship (1). This came after the Democrats crushing losses but until 2012 is probably the best idea that could be acted upon. This also means that the Democrats won't be able to get their agenda finished before 2012. Now that the House if divided 239-R and 188-D, and the Senate divided 46-R, 51-D, and 2-I, it will be extremely hard for them to get just about anything done (2).
With the crushing defeat of the Democrats, the Republicans now have a chance to stop the Democrats from advancing their agenda too far. What these results mean to the Republicans is that they can now push their agenda against the Democrats with a greater chance of victory. The new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, says that the Republican party can now push for better fiscal responsibilty within Washington and put an end to the deficit spending (1). But he goes on to say that even though the Republicans have this new power, they can't just put a stop to everything that they might not agree with (1). He talks about how in 1994, the Republicans won both Houses of Congress but lost the 1996 election because they showed too much hostility and obstructionism towards the president.
I think these midterm elections meant that there will be a standstill between the Democrats and the Republicans. I think this because even though both sides talk about compromise (1), there usually isn't nearly enough on either side. This midterms elections mean a great victory for the Tea Party because the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, said he would back them up on their quest for more fiscal responsibility and smaller government (1). Another thing these midterm elections mean is that the American population isn't as pleased with President Obama as they thought they would be. They thought that there everything would be magically fixed by now and blame President Obama and the Democrats for the bad economic situation and bad unemployment rate.
(1)http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8109466/Midterm-elections-2010-Angry-voters-have-left-America-at-a-crossroads.html
(2)http://www.cbsnews.com/election2010/
(3)http://www.mlive.com/michigan-job-search/index.ssf/2010/09/americans_have_dismal_view_of_economy_ac.html
After the 2010 midterm election, Democrats in government interpreted the election results as a clear message from the people. While the House of Representatives shifted to a Republican majority, Democrats narrowly preserved their lead in the Senate [1]. President Obama justified the election through his understanding of people's discontent. He even said of the election's results that, “This is something that I think every president needs to go through,” although he later stated, “Now, I'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like I did last night [2].” Democrats braced for this result and saw it coming for the most part. Now they are simply feeling the reverberations and seeing what to do next.
Republican leaders took the election results as a message from the American public, but it was a different message than the Democrats heard. On election night, Kentucky's senator-elect Rand Paul said at the podium, “We've come to take our government back!” Republicans seem to be energized but not entirely happy with the election's results, as they believed they would likely take the Senate also. Before the election, Democrats were reported to likely lose the Senate, but Republicans back-peddled on election night as results rolled in [3]. Still though, the sudden influx of passionate Republicans promise to hold Democrats and the Obama administration accountable and responsible for their policies creating a new, somewhat unpredictable dynamic [4].
Personally as a liberal, I agree with the Democrats in how they received the results of the election. I believe that the majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the Administration's ability to help our struggling economy and job situation. Since the majority of American voters are increasingly independent, they voted Republicans into office in reaction to their negative sentiment towards the current administration and seeked a change. Now both parties are left with a result that they aren't too happy with. It will be interesting and important to see how President Obama and the new Majority Leader in the House John Boehner will interact and whether or not they can get anything done.
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/ [1]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H06D36suRIk [2]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/nov/03/us-midterm-elections-2010-usa1 [3]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od8TCHavnWM [4]
The 2010 midterm elections played into an established pattern in terms of how modern midterm elections go: the party opposing the President won handily, with a majority of the Congressional seats up for election going to the Republicans (1). In addition, roughly 40% of the states now have Democratic governors (2). Exit polls revealed that as many as 4/10 voters voted Republican because of Democratic candidates’ association with President Obama and former Speaker of the House Pelosi (3). But what does this mean about the political landscape facing the country? Already the talk of gridlock has surfaced, and it’s undeniable that this is a real fear. Gridlock, which is when separate branches of one policymaking power disagree and refuse to compromise as such, is basically inevitable in some senses. Nowhere is this clearer than the thoughts and words of some Republican members of Congress. After the immense success of the Republican party in the elections, Indiana Representative Pence said “I’m going to tell them that we have to rise to the challenge with principle and conviction and not with this attitude that you saw coming from the White House yesterday and from some other quarters on the establishment left in Washington which was that somehow the message of the election was that they want Democrats and Republicans to work better together, to get along” (4). Representative Pence’s words echo the private thoughts of many a Republican politician, and why shouldn’t they? Not only could the President’s promise to work with Republicans (5) be seen as a necessity rather than actual humility, but, in the long run, the Republicans really have no need to support the President’s efforts to work better together (I’ll talk about this more a little later). However, it won’t be complete gridlock. This is because of the fact that Democrats, such as the President, don’t share the mindset of the Republicans; many Democrats do actually plan to work with the Republicans in the interest of policymaking. The policies that come out of these collaborative efforts, though, will certainly be more representative of the Republican plans than the Democrat plans for various issues. This means little financial reform (regarding things such as business regulation and taxes of high income individuals) in the coming years is highly likely (6).
In terms of advice for the parties, it’s easy to decipher what the Republicans should do: stop everything. This will work for them on a multitude of fronts. For one, come 2012, when they are blamed for not doing anything in these 2 years, they can simply blame Obama, which the general population will eat up. They also get to hamper the progress Democrats were trying to make in the past 2 years. They can feel free to compromise with the Democrats on some issues, but only if it’s clearly much more affiliated with them.
For the Democrats, this is a much harder question. Obviously they should want to get things they want done, but it’s basically a complete pipedream with a divided Congress. However, if they compromise with the Republicans too much, they risk alienating their base and having an even harder time getting Democrats elected in 2012. Honestly, there is no good answer for what the Democrats should do, but the closest thing to one is that they should try to make it highly known what the Democrats are trying to do and how the Republicans are playing into the equation. Come 2012, it’s undeniable that the blame for the gridlocked Congress will be placed on Obama, and the only real way to combat this is to try and educate people on the reality of the situation as much as possible. This won’t win them many supporters from the Republican side, but it should hopefully keep most of the supporters they currently have. In terms of one specific piece of advice, though, absolutely hammer home the plans Republicans have for Social Security (that is, they plan to enormously cut the benefits, even up to 50%) (7). This will win them many seniors in the future and is the only surefire way to add to their base.
The future looks uncertain for the policymaking entity of our country, and it looks to only get less certain.
1. http://www.politico.com/2010/maps/#/undefined/2010
2. http://www.electionprojection.com/index.php
3. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39990920/ns/politics-decision_2010
4. http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/04/pence-democrats-gop-work-together/
5. http://www.kansas.com/2010/11/04/1572340/obama-pledges-to-work-with-republicans.html
6. http://adage.com/article?article_id=146855
7. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/10/gop-plan-dramatically-cut-social-security-benefits-actuary-finds/
option 2:
As the president himself said, “Over the past two years we have made progress. But, clearly, too many Americans haven’t felt that progress yet, and they told us that...” (1). Agreeably, there have been many controversial pieces of legislation that were passed during the two year period of united government, as would be expected. However, many of these focused more on the citizens of the country as a whole, and I believe that because of this, many Americans felt that they were not getting the individual specialized treatment that they had gotten in past years. If people feel like they are just part of the masses obviously they are not going to be very happy. President Obama has already said several times that he is now willing to negotiate over certain parts of big issues like tax cuts (including ones for the wealthy) as well as green house gas emissions. To me, it sounds like the president is going to be compromising some of his ‘lesser’ values in order for things to get done. Although Democrats still have majority control in the Senate which will be very helpful to them in shooting down some ideas coming from the House, ultimately they do still have to listen to the Republicans, and undoubtedly there will be some legislation passed or almost passed that the Democrats will be appalled by. That’s the way of divided government.
While both parties need to avoid gridlock at this point, Republicans also have some important issues of their own they need to fix in order to be able to push legislation through in Congress. Republicans need to pull themselves together (2). Since the Tea Party has been taking members from them in the past few months, the party will need to find common ground for its members to work off of to present a united front in both chambers of Congress in order for them to be successful. After they do this, the GOP will be able to once more be an effective, functioning part of politics that they haven't exactly been for several months now. One thing that would be vital for them to do is to focus on smaller victories instead of huge ones, like repealing the health care bill (3). Both parties need to figure out a way to compromise on certain issues and maybe just avoid altogether the issues that cannot or absolutely would not be resolved easily or effectively. One thing that both parties can agree on is trade. There is a decent chance that the free trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia would pass (2). What the Democrats faced was pretty much expected, if the public is not happy, they are willing to elect anyone else to see how and if the new person can fix the problems. While the DFL made substantial progress in the two years it had, it will need to alter its strategy a bit for the next two. Something important to note is that 76% of the electorate in 2008 was moderate to conservative, and wasn’t exactly pushing for leftist reform measures- which could be one reason that so many Republicans won seats in Congress for the mid-term elections (4). A more moderate approach to controversial issues would indeed be an effective way to prevent this from happening again. The main thing that both parties need to keep in mind is helping the economy, and not adding to government spending.
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/us/politics/04elect.html?scp=2&sq=midterm%20election%20results&st=cse
2. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/11/03/can-the-republicans-avoid-gridlock/gridlock-as-the-dominant-theme
3. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2010/11/03/can-the-republicans-avoid-gridlock/aim-for-modest-goals
4. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/opinion/03bayh.html?ref=politics
With the midterm elections, there is now a change in government control. Thought the Republicans took more then 6 seats in the Senate the Democrats still hold control. However, the republican’s now have control of the House of Representatives, they gained more then 60 seats which hasn‘t happened since 1948.(1) This now makes our government divided. Which will make it even harder for things to be passes. It was hard enough for the government to agree when they weren’t divided. This gridlock could make it difficult for President Obama to be productive.(2) My advice for congress is obvious. Work together. This will probably never happened though because Democrats and Republicans have proven they can’t and won’t work together. I don’t think the elected Tea Party members will really be a problem there are so many Democrats and Republicans in Congress that they won’t make a big difference.
(1).http://media.www.smithsophian.com/media/storage/paper587/news/2010/11/11/Opinions/Midterm.Elections.Call.Young.Liberals.To.Action-3957479.shtml
(2)http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll
This year's midterm election shook up the government like no election has in a long time. With the Republicans taking over control of the House, this was a bad election year for the Democrats. This will have a strong effect on the remainder of President Obama’s term in office. The outcome of the election really makes the rest of Obama’s term look pretty grim. Republicans have said that they will not allow Obama any wins for the rest of his term (1). The Republicans are determined to win back the Presidency. That is their primary goal for the next couple of years, so they will do their utmost to keep the Democrats from being able to do pretty much anything.
The new divided government poses problems for both parties. The biggest piece of advice I can give, and it is for both parties, is COMPROMISE. If either party is unwilling to compromise, absolutely nothing will get done the next couple of years and everyone will pay in the House and Presidential elections. However, if the parties are willing to work together and compromise they will maybe be able to retain favor in the eyes of the public. The issues that the divided government should focus on are any upon which they might be able to compromise. They need to make sure to avoid topics that many of them are very passionate about however, such as social issues. Issues like abortion are ones that people are generally pretty unwilling to change their opinions about. The parties probably won’t really need to do too much to deal with the members of the Tea Party. There aren’t very many of them to deal with right now, and the parties each hold their respective majorities in the different houses of Congress with or without the Tea Partiers.
1. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131167214
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