My final word on the midterm elections

Question

You know the saying, and it has become an axiom in American politics:

It's the Economy, Stupid!

The results of the midterms are surprising, at best. The Republicans expected either a Red Wave or a Red Tsunami, but neither of those expectations have been realized.  They may squeak by with a thin majority in the House of Representatives (most expected a gain of 20-40 seats) but they may not gain a majority in the Senate (it might come down to the runoff election in Georgia on December 6, but there is a chance that the Democrats will hold on even without Georgia if the Nevada Senate race, still undecided, falls to the Democrats' side of the ledger).  The Republican races were filled with many election deniers and many extreme right-wing candidates, and most of those races went to the Democrats, with a few exceptions.  (The Arizona governor's race has yet to be called at the time of this writing, but the Democrat Katie Hobbs has held onto a slim lead over Republican election denier Kari Lake. This race will probably be called by Monday, I'm guessing.)

I suggest that this edit of the above axiom is appropriate to describe what happened:

It's the Economy--but we're not Stupid!

Answer 1

Well Media as you know I went on and on and on and on about Trump,  but only because it was him and what it could mean for the rest of us so i watched him very closely. I watched the city upon a hill lose its shimmer and watched as White Nationalist and Evangelical nutcases tried to bring down democracy and crown a king.

I'm not so into US politics now that the rest of you basically stuck your middle finger up to that crap.

It feels normal over this side of the pond, I know you all will have domestic issues but thanks to you all it looks like  normal services have resumed. So far.

I'll be watching though, there's only 2 years for the  nutters to get organised again.

BTW Jan 6th is my Birthday, what an epiphany that day was. 

Comments

I wish more people would pay attention by watching as closely as you have, Belle. Your answer actually inspired mine. To pay attention and to see things clearly, regardless of political affiliation, is key. 

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Belle, don't be so quick to relax.  The Republicans will have control of the House of Representatives, and they have vowed to create mayhem:  impeach Biden; impeach Harris; investigate Merrick Garland and the Justice Department for criminal conspiracies to punish political enemies; criminal investigation into the heinous offenses of Dr. Anthony Fauci; long, draw-out committee hearings to investigate Hunter Biden; block the spending of any money to assist Ukraine; stop all Democratic-sponsored legislation from being passed; and the list goes on.

At this point, there is no telling how much chaos they will create.  The only slight edge for sanity might be that the factious factions of the party won't be able to agree on what punishments they want to mete out and when.

Answer 2

Good information, Media.

May I add that Democracy only functions properly when the people trust that its essential mechanism (voting) is honest and true.

And that dependence on trust in elections (that vulnerability of all democracies) is exactly what Donald Trump and his fascist followers are aiming their weapons of mass deception at.

But Trump isn’t doing it alone he’s actually following a script that has played out in multiple countries over many tragic years and wars, and is now possible in America (and is spreading around the world) because of a decision a Republican campaign made in 1964. It amazes me how BLIND people are to history when it comes to our US/American politics, and other countries. So disappointing!

Answer 3

Regardless of who wins or loses our country is just about 50/50 split opinion wise on most issues.

In my opinion this is a huge opportunity for each “side” to unite our divided country.

Compromise is not a dirty word.

In my opinion, both groups have rejected extremism of political fervor.

A moderate candidate has the best chance of capturing 2024!

75% of the US believe we are going the wrong direction!

Both parties would benefit from legalization of the migrants that are playing by the rules paying taxes etc.

Democrats would benefit from tightening up high crime areas exacerbated by permissive DA’s!

Republicans would benefit not ignoring a cleaner environment.

Equal accountability under our laws will buy a lot of trust in the US government.

Election Day results on Election Day will go a long way dispelling mistrust in the eventual outcome.

Democrats need to address the failures at our Southern border with a huge influx of migrants and fentanyl.

Republicans need to acknowledge migrants claiming asylum.

Neither party can claim superiority on spending! Both need to tighten their belts when spending taxpayers money!

It’s clear most of the US are not  enamored with Biden or Trump!

The American people want our elected officials to solve problems not create new ones!

I pray for Biden every night, for if he succeeds,We the People succeed? Amen?

Comments

While there is great agreement on a number of issues that should be attended to, there are great divides when it comes to how to address those issues.  Everyone knows we have an immigration problem, particularly at our southern border, but Democrats and Republicans will not meet at the table to compromise on how to get the reform done.  But the belief that the largest number of "illegals" come into the United States through the southern border is not really accurate.  The  largest group of "illegal immigrants" is actually made up of Canadians who have stayed past their visas.  I would venture to say that most people don't know that.  

The "culture wars" issues are amplified by one party or the other, depending on whether you want to castigate someone for not being sensitive to a particular group of people or if you want to reject a particular group of people.  

Each party portrays the other as being too "extreme" and/or "dangerous."  The rhetoric has amped up over the past decade, and we are rapidly approaching a breaking point, in my opinion.

Lady, I wish that your outlook were shared universally on many of your points.  

There is an outstanding study called The Vanderbilt Unity Index, which was launched by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy.  The study looks at the "unity" of Americans over the past forty-plus years and tracks those times of our greatest unity and those times of our greatest division.  For example, the highest "unity score" for America was in 1991, in the second quarter of the year, as the country rallied around George W. Bush in the wake of the Persian Gulf War.  (We scored a 71.3 out of 100 on the VUI [Vanderbilt Unity Index.]  The lowest score was 35 in 2017.  The average score over the 40 years has been going down steadily, with peaks and valleys along the way.  

It is a fascinating study, and the Washington Post published a report on it in June of this year.  It's a good read:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/07/public-opinion-polarization-partisan-republicans-democrats/