Explain to me how the party with such a stellar record of results lost control of the U.S. Senate, had its position in the House of Representatives severely weakened, and currently sees its President at his lowest approval ratings?
Why did the Democrats lose so badly tonight?
Political Lesson #1.
Facts don’t matter. Issues don’t matter. Policies don’t matter.
In short, results do not matter.
How else to explain a nation which has experienced the following events within the past six years, the time since Democrats took control of the Presidency and the Congress in January 2009 (although the House of Representatives flipped back to the Republicans, in 2011):
THE DEMOCRATIC RECORD (2009 to Present)
— Inflation remains virtually non-existent
— Unemployment declined from 10 percent down to 6 percent
— An economic depression was averted thanks to government intervention (which most conservatives opposed)
— The national deficit was cut by two-thirds
— Illegal immigration has brought under control (more deportations under the current administration than any other in history)
— Osama bin Laden is dead
— No foreign attacks on U.S. soil since 9/11
— Wall Street stands at an all-time high
— Record profits for most businesses, especially corporations
— More Americans insured than at any time in history
— Disengagement from two phony unwinnable wars in the Middle East
Please explain to me how the party with that record, which is stellar by any non-partisan metric, somehow lost control of the U.S. Senate, had its position in the House of Representatives severely weakened, and currently sees its President at his lowest approval ratings?
Is this a WHAT THE FUCK moment, or what?
Back to Political Lesson #1.
In politics, perception matters most. Not results. Not low unemployment. Not bringing the troops home. All most voters really give a shit about is whether or not they like the candidate. That’s about it. Nothing else.
Forget the nonsense that “people are fed up with both parties.” That’s complete bullshit and I can prove it. Wherever they run, independents lose. Challengers lose 94 percent of the time. Two independents ran in this election against vulnerable incumbents. Both were massacred. Republicans won both races. So much for “throw the bums out.”
Goddamn, hypocrite voters.
But the real blame lies not with the ignorant and frightened masses, so eager to gobble up the misleading messages and campaign ads designed to warp fragile minds. The real blame belongs at the top — shared by the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, and the other phony liberals who have become the dysfunctional dragons of the progressive movement. People out there are saying, if those people are liberals, we don’t want that! And who can blame them?
Fact check: Those people are not real progressives. Try Bernie Sanders, Al Franken, or Elizabeth Warren if you want a true liberal test drive.
Yet even as repulsive as the Democratic leadership has become in recent years (and perhaps has been for a very long time), this election was mainly a referendum on President Obama and his policies. So, with a six-year record like his, how in the hell did his party fare so poorly?
Consider this: The President walked off the job and onto the golf course when he was desperately needed the most out there in the heartland of America. He spent too much time in Martha’s Vineyard and not enough time in Peoria. That’s my theory as to why the Democrats lost. He took off his uniform and left the field in the middle of the fourth quarter when the game on the line. The score was tied, and the quarterback said “no mas.”
How could anyone defend a President who played golf all summer while the Middle East was in flames? They can’t. And that’s precisely why many Democrats told President Obama to “stay away” these past three months of campaigning. Because his poll numbers plunged from over 50 percent approval down to the low 40s. That’s a ten percent drop, mostly among independents and swing voters — the very same voters who tilt every election. The President abandoned them in favor of a 3-wood.
Once the numbers plunged, candidates didn’t want the baggage of an increasingly unpopular albatross coming into their swing states and districts, dragging them down to defeat. No one wants a photo op with someone looked upon as lazy and indifferent. Would these Democratic candidates have lost anyway? Perhaps. But this time around President Obama not only lacked any coattails. He didn’t even own a coat. More like a golf sweater. There are no coattails on a golf sweater, Mr. President.
Perhaps had President Obama instead of playing golf by day and watching Sports Center at night used some of that special charm and those great communication skills we used to hear so much about, we might still have a majority party in power capable of accomplishing something. Then again, looking back to 2009-2010 when Democrats controlled both houses and the executive branch, they missed that flight. So, how can anyone trust them again?
President Obama just blew the last chance he had to be a transformational figure in American history. It looks more and more like he’ll now go down as a racial footnote. And that’s a real shame for an Administration with so many things to brag about and a bonafide record of accomplishment.
The President didn’t necessarily fail to deliver. He failed to deliver the message.
Dear President Obama: Here’s what working in the White House looks like.