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Hear the hound
What does the GOP rebound on Tuesday mean?
Date published: 11/5/2009
IN THE STILLNESS of a dark, cold night, the distant barking of a single dog can be jarring. So, too, in this off-off election year, a handful of races delivered a message loud and clear: Don't get cocky, Democrats--Republicans are on the move. In a stunning turnaround, GOP candidates not only took all three top state jobs in the Old Dominion by double-digit margins, but also won the gubernatorial election in New Jersey. The numbers behind the numbers tell the story: In both states, suburban voters, who had leaned left in the 2008 presidential election, "righted" themselves, as did independents. Republican Bob McDonnell, who ran against both Democrat Creigh Deeds and The Washington Post in Northern Virginia, captured Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties, all of which Barack Obama last year won. Mr. McDonnell's statewide margin (58.6 percent of the vote versus Mr. Deeds' 41.2 percent) includes big leads in all but the most liberal pockets of the electorate--e.g., Alexandria, Arlington, and Charlottesville. He lost in Fredericksburg, 48-50, but won handily in all of the surrounding counties. Likewise in New Jersey, where Republican Chris Christie defeated incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine, tax-plastered suburbs moved heavily toward the GOP. Nearly a third of Virginia and New Jersey voters polled called themselves independents. Solidly Democratic in the 2006 and 2008 elections, these voters on Tuesday shifted allegiance, preferring Mr. McDonnell 2-to-1 over Mr. Deeds, and Mr. Christie over Mr. Corzine likewise. Exit polls revealed, unsurprisingly, that economic issues weighed heaviest on voters' minds. THE NATIONAL SCENE Looking at the numbers, Democratic pollster Pat Caddell extrapolates to the national scene. He says that from the 1996 election onward, affluent counties in the East, Midwest, and West have trended Democratic, in part because of antipathy toward religious and cultural conservatives. Now, however, with economic issues taking center stage, there's a reversal of that trend. And that just may be the takeaway for the Republican Party. In Virginia, Mr. McDonnell ran a classic campaign, focusing on jobs, the economy, and transportation--issues of clear and present concern to virtually every Virginian. Every few days, McDonnell press releases would outline a new plan--to fix transportation, create jobs, improve education he had a plan for just about everything but walking Virginians' dogs.
Date published: 11/5/2009
It means, Dems: "Hit the Road"
(posted by
tpifos
, Nov. 5, 2009 10:26 pm)
Maybe a few of them need to see what it's like to stand in the
unemployment line. Pelosi might have to pay taxes on those
millions she has since the only people who seem to get away
with tax dodging are the politicians. She'll be the next to get
the boot.
Its the economy stupid!
(posted by
rightone
, Nov. 5, 2009 3:56 pm)
Let's see Reagan won in 80, in 82 the dems had a big year. Why? Unemployment was hitting new highs. Clinton won in 92, Rep had a big year in 94. There is nothing new here - don't run as the incumbent party when the economy is bad. If it stays bad, Rep will trounce dems in 10, if it gets better, Dems will hold majorities. If it is good 12 Obama wins if bad, not. This is not brain surgery, we almost always turn out the party in power when the economy is bad and reelect it when it is good.
Fewer Votes
(posted by
PolishFalcon
, Nov. 5, 2009 11:46 am)
McDonnell got half million fewer votes than bush (2004) and McCain (2008). How does this translate into conservative dominance? McDonnell was able to move to the middle, the thesis release actually helped him prove his conservative bonafides w/o ads. NY23 and CA10 showed that liberal Dems can win in even strongly Rep districts. There are now only two Rep representatives from the NE, and they may be in danger. Va Reps now have a few months to create jobs, fix trans, and keep taxes low. Tough job.
More like run over Obama...
(posted by
AtackDuck
, Nov. 5, 2009 8:17 am)
We’ll see if the Republicans belly up to the trough or hold to their promises. The independents of Virginia and NJ gagged on the liberal bent of the Democrats, so the pendulum now swings the other way. Whether the either party learns from this election or not will soon show. UsefulIdiot, those T-baggers just threw the liberal party out of the VA & NJ governors’ mansions. The NY 23rd district? I think you are having a Pelosi moment.
Wishful Thinking
(posted by
patrick4hp
, Nov. 5, 2009 7:27 am)
28 years ago, in 1981, Virginia elected Chuck Robb with Ronald Reagan in the White House and 3 democrats after
wards with Republicans in the White House. This editorial has to be written by the carpet bagger editor from Alabama who just doesn't know Virginia history. Back then conservatives tried to get rid of PBS funding too. As the 23rd district in NY shows, moderates still rule. It's just that the carpet baggers want to make VA independents into conservatives, sorry, but they aren't.
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