Day: November 6, 2014
But Not Cheaply
Florida opted for four more years of Rick Scott,
Despite the havoc his first four wrought.
We proved it in 2010
And we just proved it again —
The governorship of Florida can be bought.
Midterms Don’t Predict What 2016 Will Bring
Historically, midterm results, which are typically unfavorable to the president’s party, tell us relatively little about the coming presidential election… The record shows that the president’s party can rebound from major losses to win at the polls in two years. Bill Clinton, for instance, bounced back from the 1994 Republican landslide to easily win re-election in 1996. Similarly, President Obama, whose party suffered major losses in 2010, went on to defeat Mitt Romney in 2012, and George Bush won the 1988 election after Republicans suffered major losses in 1986, President Reagan’s sixth year in office.
— Brendan Nyhan writes in the New York Times.
GOP Dubious of Obama’s Intentions
I don’t believe a thing he says.
— RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, in a CNN interview, on President Obama urging compromise.
White Men Were Deciding Factor in Midterms
37%
Of the midterms electorate was white men (up from 34% in 2012), and they broke for Republicans 64%-33% (compared with Romney’s 62%-35% margin in ’12), according to NBC News’ First Read. The question for Democrats is if this is simply a midterm phenomenon, or if it’s a longer-term challenge for the Democratic Party — being able to talk to white male voters.”
One of Pres. Obama’s Policies on Midterm Ballots Won Big in Red States
In early October, Pres. Obama was criticized for causing difficulties for red-state Democrats running for the Senate when he said, “I am not on the ballot this fall. Michelle’s pretty happy about that. But make no mistake: These policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them.”
Despite the flack he took for that rhetoric, one of his policies — raising the minimum wage — was in fact on the ballot in five states, all but one of which, Illinois, were dark red. All five ballot measures ” target=”_blank”>passed handily:
