Tuesday Election Recap

Written by Parcbench closeAuthor: Parcbench Name: Parcbench
Email: rob@parcbench.com
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About: See Authors Posts (64) on November 4, 2009

Election night 2009 once again proves correct that consummate political truth: nothing changes everything.  One year ago, it seemed as though the sky has forever fall on Republicans, having suffered crushing defeats in the presidential election and in both houses of Congress.  The pain was only magnified when months later Republicans also lost a special election in upstate New York’s 20th District, where Democrat Scott Murphy defeated Republican James Tedisco in a heavily Republican district.  And then in the ultimate insult to injury, Democrat Al Franken was declared the victor in Minnesota’s Senate race over Republican Norm Coleman, thus giving Democrats a filibuster proof majority.

Yet, any astute political observer knew that country was not as liberal as the latest elections indicated.  And the Obama administration’s massive government expansion and redistribution agenda has only increased the public’s weariness of Democrats.

That environment enabled Republicans to win two significant gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.  In both races, Republicans won by larger margins than expected, despite extensive campaigning by the Obama administration on behalf of Democratic candidates Creigh Deeds in Virginia and Jon Corzine in New Jersey.

At the same time, Republicans would be short-sighted to mistake the results as a complete change in the nation’s tenor.  Republicans also lost another upstate House special election in which the conservative candidate Doug Hoffman lost to Democrat Bill Owens.  That race, in which the liberal-Republican Dede Scozzafava, dropped out in the last weekend prior to the election and endorsed Democrat Owens, has been over-billed as a fight over the Republican Party.

Hoffman rightfully observed that there is plenty of room for moderate Republicans in the Party but that Scozzafava was to the far left of the Party.  And given her last minute endorsement of the Democrat, he appears correct.  Ultimately, the race represents an embarrassment to Republicans like Newt Gingrich and Michael Steele who initially endorsement Scozzafava, as much as it reflects anything else.  It is a race that Republicans should have won, demonstrating why the Party is still far from having figured it out.  Nonetheless, for one night in November, things look okay for the GOP.