A Midterm Postmortem

Mark Mellman performed the autopsy:

History said there should be a red wave.

…. on average, in the 19 midterms between the end of World War II and this one, the White House party lost 27 House seats, and four in the Senate.

The president’s approval rating was one of the lowest on record…

Models based on those fundamentals predicted a loss of 45 Democratic seats.

[T]he exit polls found 60 percent of voters favored legal abortion, and they gave Democrats a margin of nearly 50 points.

Trump made certain he was the clear, singular symbol of the opposition…

Of course, Trump is widely disliked.​

[T]he former president foisted a series of deeply flawed candidates on his party, and it hurt.

Nevada Republican Adam Laxalt… suffered the indignity of having 14 members of his family write an open letter imploring Nevadans not to vote for their relative. (Not as damning as Herschel Walker’s son. GOP "Family values" doncha know?)

New Hampshire’s Don Bolduc (R) spent the final days of his campaign talking about children in his state’s schools using the bathroom in kitty litter, a charge the state’s Republican governor labeled “nonsense.”

The reel of ridiculous statements made by GOP candidates, up and down the ballot, would be nearly endless.

Crazy doesn’t sell so well. Neither does Trump, nor outlawing abortion. ​

https://thehill.com/opinion/3737248-mellman-why-no-red-wave/​

Savvy Republican Governor Sununu also noted Republicans’ attacks on Social Security and Medicare contributed to their self-immolation.

Republicans Plan To Cut Social Security​

 

Yea, but your side found John Fetterman and got him elected. Part of the problem was a great many people had voted before they saw the debate. Another part of the problem, some people vote the party no matter how bad the candidate is. Fetterman was the worst candidate for national office in 2022 that was offered by both parties.

I'd say the country is headed left, much to its detriment. It will get worse after Chuck Schumer sees to it that the illegal aliens now crossing the border become citizens and start voting Democrat. They are too ignorant to know that they will be voting for the same kind of government that they are fleeing.

 

Losers' excuses abound, no doubt.

Were there potential Republican candidates in Pennsylvania who could have defeated the state's Lieutenant Governor? That's quite possible.

The GOP still has potential, but it must abandon its radical authoritarian agenda, hyper-partisan vendetta fixation, and delouse itself of trumpery.

Sign of the Times: Rightwing media mogul who shamelessly hyped Trump has had enough.

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.......


“Trump Shocks the World by Nearly Putting Us to Sleep,” said the RedState blog.

“Old Mar-a-Lago Man Yells at Cloud,” said the American Conservative.

“Donnie, Time to Go Away,” said Blue State Conservative.

“Trump 3.0 is a Changed Man. He's a Loser,” said the Washington Examiner.​

 

I suppose that democrats are rejoicing that their version of voter fraud didn't get stopped this time. The mail in ballot BS has to be stopped. We must demand that we have both transparency and traceability in our elections going forward. This idea that ballots are the commodity and not voters has to get stopped. Simple stuff.

 

"Radical authoritarian agenda?" Let me get off the floor. The only thing the Democrats let you do is get abortions and smoke pot. So far as their economy is concerned, they want to control human behavior as much as possible.

 

You may be upset because Americans loathe statist womb control.

The GOP's radical shift from libertarianism to authoritarianism has had a predictable reaction from lovers of liberty.




We'll see if DeSantis dictating to medicine, science, education, business, and local communities is marketable nationally.

 

Nah, the debate didn't matter. What mattered was the people of Pennsylvania realized a vote for Oz meant that republicans could sway the country towards their more extremist positions. And more of them didn't want that. So, they voted for Fetterman. Plus, Oz was beholden to Trump. No one is a fan of that outside of the primaries.

As for your concern about the country headed left, relax. The GOP won the house, so they can stop your supposed worry. Illegal aliens have no real means to become citizens in this country, so another unfounded fear. They are too ignorant? Who made you the arbiter of whose ignorant? You can't even see why you didn't win as you thought you would. Ignorant and arrogant is far worse than just ignorant. Your using the same old tired story, the voters were just too dumb to see what I see. Well, maybe what you see is the dumb thing...it's worth some self-reflection at least.

 

If by voter fraud you mean, being extreme right wingers didn't win as many votes as living in reality, then sure, call it what you like. You have no proof that mail in voting is problem. In fact, it was used in states where republicans won those same elections. If you keep claiming voter fraud happens via mail, you will keep losing/underperforming. But keep digging in with that whole voter fraud thing! It worked well for you...

 

It's funny because once again, there's nothing to back your statements up and yet the notion that republicans want control over women's wombs no matter what it costs, including life, can actually be found.

Influencing economic choices via government policy is not controlling human behavior. People still have a choice. Oh, and republicans do it too and you don't seem to mind it then.

 

The churlish, hyper-partisan sniveling does not comport with the disposition of Americans as registered in quite a number of state elections.

Much of the celebration has been over Democrats retaining control of the Senate and incurring far fewer losses in the House than was anticipated or is customary in a midterm election for a Party controlling all branches of national government, especially when the President has low approval.

The showing on the state level is every bit as impressive, if not more so, as FiveThirtyEight reports:

For the first time in years, more Americans will live in a state fully controlled by Democrats than in one fully controlled by Republicans. Thanks to their wins in gubernatorial or state-legislative elections, Democrats took complete control of three new state governments in the 2022 elections: Michigan, Minnesota and Vermont.

They also kept full control of state government in four of the five states where they were in danger of losing it.

Republicans, on the other hand, didn’t flip a single legislative chamber from blue to red. This is the first midterm election since at least 1934 that the president’s party hasn’t lost a state-legislative chamber.

Democrats flipped the Maryland and Massachusetts governorships and maybe the Pennsylvania state House.

Democrats’ most significant win was probably Michigan. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was reelected, and Democrats took control of the state House for the first time since 2011 and the state Senate for the first time since 1984.

In Minnesota, Democrats kept the governor’s office and state House and flipped the state Senate from red to blue, gaining complete control of state government for the first time since 2013.

In Vermont, Democrats and Progressives, a liberal third party, now control a supermajority of vote in the State House… They already had a supermajority in the state Senate, so they can now override vetoes from Republican Gov. Phil Scott.

Democrats didn’t take complete control of state government in Pennsylvania (as expected, they fell short in the state Senate). Still, they set themselves up to do so in 2024 by gaining at least 11 seats in the state House — which they are on the verge of flipping. As of Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. Eastern, Democrats had won 101 House seats, and Republicans had won 100. Control of the chamber will be determined by the outcomes of the two races that are still to close to call.

Democrats lost total control of just one state government this year. In Nevada, Republican Joe Lombardo defeated Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in the gubernatorial race. But, notably, Democrats kept their grip on Colorado, Maine, New Mexico and Oregon after winning the governorship and state legislature in each.

[https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/2022-governor-state-government/]

​

 

Sununu did say that Trump was "f*cking crazy" and he didn't endorse Balduc in the primary BUT he did endorse Kitty litter Balduc in the election,
Sununu wants it both ways and you can't clean house and bitch about them destroying the GOP by putting these wackos in office.

Nikki Haley and Tulsi Gabbard campaigned in NH for Balduc..
Tulsi was on Joe Rogan the day the claimed there were kitty litter boxes in high school bathrooms, the 2 discussed it and Tulsi believed it to be true..lol

 

I was not aware of that.

Lies are, apparently, irresistible to some folks when partisan politics nullifies their respect for truth.

 

While Fetterman was an idiot's choice for a Senator, he was not the worst candidate in history. About a decade ago. California elected a mentally ill person to the Congress. He served less then a year then had to leave office to go into a mental health facility.

Everyone knows what is going to happen here. Right after Fetterman is sworn in, he will resign his position stating health reasons. The Governor of Pennsylvania will then appoint his wife to fill the position. The GOP might issue request an emergency stay from the SCOTUS. They will claim that the election was a sham due to the fact that the President stated that MRS. Fetterman was going to be a good addition to the Senate. That means that the election was not held in good faith. Of course that challenge will not work. The 17th Amendment gives states the right to have a Governor to appoint a resigning Senator's replacement, or to have a special election. Pennsylvania is one of 45 states that have elected to allow the Governor to appoint a replacement that will fill the position for the remaining term. In other words, Mrs Fetterman will be Senator Fetterman for the entire six years. So, the election cost the DNC nothing, and secured the DNC another Sock Puppet to fill a Senator seat.

 

That would be quite a feat. That way Mr. Fetterman can collect a congressional pension while Mrs. Fetterman can collect a congressional pay check. Double dipping at its finest. Something I would expect someone that mootched off his parents would do.

 

You are right there was only a red ripple not the expected Red Wave. But the results are the same as actually realistically could have been expected. It was questionable at best that the GOP would take back the Senate. But it did turn out that the GOP did take the house. There are currently 218 seats that the GOP has, and they will gain more in the coming weeks. When all is said and done, there will be a very slim GOP lead in the Congress. The question will be will they play obstructionist, or at least attempt to work with the other side. Personally, I believe the DNC is going to force them to play obstructionist. The Senate, who bills are not supposed to originate within, will send every radical left-wing agenda bill they can concoct. The Congress will vote them down, or gut them into something they could accept. At the same time, the Congress will use the same tactics that Pelosi used to pass her radicalized agenda, to pass bills to the Senate that actually will attempt to address issues that the American Public want addressed. Like more support for local police to combat the out of control crime in this country, border security, Gun laws that are designed to get illegal guns off the street instead of punishing the law abiding citizens. The list could go on forever. Yet, at every turn, Schumer will block everything. Keep the GOP agenda from ever coming up for a vote. The Media will blame the GOP, but will the American People recognize what is really going on? What will the President do? Will he take a page from Clinton or Obama? Clinton learned to work with the GOP, and Obama unconstitutionally enacted laws by EO, So, in the end, we can expect another two years of nothing getting done in Washington, DC and each side blaming the other. Oh well, there is always 2024!

 

This is why I'm leaning towards the Republicans going full steam ahead with investigations of democrat's corruption. They will not get bipartisanship on any legislation they tried to pass, so they might as well take advantage of their control over committees.

 

Then the next time that we have a GOP President and a DNC Congress, they will play the investigation game on the GOP. As the Jan 6 committee has shown, spread enough horse dropping around, and you can make a desert look like a rose garden. But when there is no rain, the roses does. The DNC are not going to be there to urinate on the roses, and they are about to die. I say investigate the Family, but leave the cannoli in office alone.

 

The performers would thrive on vendettas, but House control is far too weak, and they won't be able to contrive credible pretexts. They might have to resort to legislating or bear the consequences in '24.

They'll blow gas to wee wee up the dregs, but no one will be indicted.

 

The Democrat's investigations over the last four years didn't hurt them. I figure what's good for the goose is good for the gandor.

 

If House Republicans want to televise hearings with over 50 Democratic officeholders and Biden regime insiders testifying under oath, that is what they should do.

 

I doubt they would draw much of a televised audience, but it shouldn't be about show boating. Fact finding doesn't need to be televised, like the 1/6 kangaroo court went for. It just needs to be reported.

 

The 50+ Republican officeholders and Trump regime insiders testifying under oath certainly exposed facts.

 

And?

 

I think you're right, we've gone left past the tipping point and like it or not here we go.

 

How many Democrat bills did McConnell block in the senate during the Trump years?