Americans usually exempt their particular representative from their normal disparagement of Congress. Today, however, with 62 percent saying the country is on the wrong track, the Wall Street Journal/NBC poll shows 57 percent want to elect a new representative, the highest total in 18 years. Peter Hart, a Democrat who helps conduct this poll, says voters “are just looking for change.” Change they can believe in?
A “wave” election is defined as one in which a party gains at least 20 House seats. The 2006 and 2008 elections were the first two consecutive waves since 1980–82. (There have not been three in a row since 1948, 1950, 1952.) Waves wash legislators into seats that, when normality is restored, are inhospitable to their occupants. Liberal waves give moderate Democrats tenuous holds on essentially Republican districts. Because most Democratic losses will be among the least liberal Democrats, next year Speaker Pelosi’s caucus will be even more at odds with an increasingly center-right country.
2 comments:
Both sides are obliged to either accept the wisdom of polling results or admit that most persons cannot name the last two vice-presidents.
If our grand experiment fails, it will be because 234 years on, we still don't have an educated electorate.
On an inflation adjusted basis, the S & P 500 is now trading at the December 1996 level. That's just a fact.
The "wave election" definition is wanting. Reagan lost 26 house seats in '82 - about the same that Obama will lose this year.
BTW - Schweikert predicts GOP picking up 42 in the House, 3 in the Senate. Baxter predicts 21 and 3 respectively.
Finally - I agree with ever word that Eric wrote in the first comment.
Post a Comment