2 years, 2 months ago
Will you vote in this years mid-term elections? Do you typically vote in the mid-term?
In the off year, when there is no Presidential Election, we typically have a VERY poor turnout in these mid-term elections for Senate and House seats. Is the current political climate going to cause a better turnout.
If you're Dem - to keep the majority?
If you're Rep - to try and regain the majority?
If you're Dem - to keep the majority?
If you're Rep - to try and regain the majority?
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M$1 Answer
Personally, I try to vote in every election, be it mid-term or not. It is simply a matter of civic duty in my opinion, even if the likely result in my state will not change by my participation or lack thereof as it is a solidly blue state.
Usually mid-term elections result in losses for the party of the incumbent president, as they are the ones on the hook for getting things done and done well, so unless the electorate is very happy (which is hardly going to be the case now given the continuing economic downturn, the continuing deployment of troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the high unemployment rate) the ruling party will likely lose a few seats in Congress.
Especially given how hard the GOP has fought Obama on the healthcare reform bill, even going so far as stating that they want to make it his "waterloo" they are likely to be energized and do everything they can to get out the vote and kick out as many democratic senators and representatives as they can from Congress. The democrats may be energized by the success of Obama and the democratic party in finally ramming through the healthcare reform, and possibly even more by the upcoming rear-guard action the GOP will be mounting to delay and gum up the works as much as they can through procedural tricks in Congress, and through lawsuits challenging the new law in the US Supreme Court. These actions will likely be perceived by democratic supporters as evidence of the GOP being sore losers and doing anything and everything possible to prevent universal healthcare coverage, which may get more democratic voters to the polls this time than ordinarily is the case in mid-term elections.
Thus, unless things dramatically quiet down in the coming few months, which would surprise me, I expect the turnout this mid-term election will be higher than is usual for such elections. I further expect that the GOP will make some gains in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, making it that much more difficult for Obama to get things done on his legislative agenda.
Usually mid-term elections result in losses for the party of the incumbent president, as they are the ones on the hook for getting things done and done well, so unless the electorate is very happy (which is hardly going to be the case now given the continuing economic downturn, the continuing deployment of troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the high unemployment rate) the ruling party will likely lose a few seats in Congress.
Especially given how hard the GOP has fought Obama on the healthcare reform bill, even going so far as stating that they want to make it his "waterloo" they are likely to be energized and do everything they can to get out the vote and kick out as many democratic senators and representatives as they can from Congress. The democrats may be energized by the success of Obama and the democratic party in finally ramming through the healthcare reform, and possibly even more by the upcoming rear-guard action the GOP will be mounting to delay and gum up the works as much as they can through procedural tricks in Congress, and through lawsuits challenging the new law in the US Supreme Court. These actions will likely be perceived by democratic supporters as evidence of the GOP being sore losers and doing anything and everything possible to prevent universal healthcare coverage, which may get more democratic voters to the polls this time than ordinarily is the case in mid-term elections.
Thus, unless things dramatically quiet down in the coming few months, which would surprise me, I expect the turnout this mid-term election will be higher than is usual for such elections. I further expect that the GOP will make some gains in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, making it that much more difficult for Obama to get things done on his legislative agenda.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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