you know anyone who thought dems would lose senate? I don't
On Nov 3, 2:31 pm, nominal9 <[email protected]> wrote: > Here's an interesting take.... Now, I'm not Democrat.... > Independent... and there are quite a few dems I can do without.... > (OreO, Dick the Blooming Asshole.... etc.) but the "strategy" seems > sound....you need a "majority" in office in order to get past the > gridlock.....Wonder if the voters will get the point and, if so, who > they'll vote for two years from now?..... > > http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Election-2010/2010/1103/In-all-blue-Cali... > Los Angeles > Democrats did something right, at least, in California. > > Skip to next paragraph Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) of Calif., gestures as > she speaks to supporters after being projected the winner in her > Senate race against Carly Fiorina, Nov. 2, in Los Angeles. > > Mark J. Terrill/AP > > Enlarge > Related Stories > California backs Jerry Brown, Barbara Boxer to reject rolling GOP tide > On historic night, Republicans sweep House Democrats from power Prop. > 19 in California: legalized marijuana goes up in smoke In the face of > a surging GOP elsewhere in the nation, California voters – who had > credible and interesting Republican candidates to choose from in two > big statewide races – elected to go with Democrats over Republicans, > long-time politicians over fresh faces, single-party control over > divided government, and, some would say, pragmatism over anger. > > Do the state's election results hold lessons for the Democratic Party? > Or is that bucking of the national trend nothing more than California > being California – living in its own la-la land? > > Not so, said some voters here. Their votes were born of experience, > including a gridlocked state government that is perennially unable to > grapple effectively with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit. > > IN PICTURES: Election Day > > “Elsewhere in America, people are angry and so they looked at the > president and voted the opposite party to make a statement," says > Megan Martinez, a 20-something emergency medical technician, at the > Sen. Barbara Boxer victory celebration. "Californians are angry but > took the time to really look at [Democratic gubernatorial candidate] > Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer versus [GOP competitors] Meg Whitman and > Carly Fiorina. They chose experience over fresh faces because we’re in > very tough times. We already tried a fresh face with [Gov.] Arnold > Schwarzenegger, and that didn’t work.” > > California election results mean that the state is one of the few to > remain all blue: Democrats will sit in the governor's office, hold > both US Senate seats, and control the state legislature. Even > Massachusetts has recently elected a Republican (Sen. Scott Brown in > January), and reliably blue New York isn't sure yet which party will > control the state Senate. > > Analysts credit an intense burst of support by longtime Democratic > allies – plus the party's edge among the many racial and ethnic > subgroups here – for turning out the Democratic vote. > > “Labor, the Democratic Party, and ethnic voters helped the Democrats > win and buck the national GOP tide,” says Hal Dash, president and CEO > of Cerrell & Accociates, a Democratic strategy consulting firm. > > California's relatively large shares of Latinos, Asians, Pacific > Islanders, and African-Americans tend to skew Democratic. That > contributes to the Democrats' advantage in voter registration: 44 > percent of voters register as Democrats, compared with 31 percent as > Republicans and 25 percent as third-party or decline-to-state. > > “Republicans in California just did not have the numbers or turnout > statewide to topple Boxer and beat Jerry Brown,” says Mr. Dash. > “Democratic enthusiasm started slow but finished strong, and that was > another key.” > > California's results are not just an aberration and may be a > bellwether of what's to come for the rest of the nation, argues > political scientist Barbara O'Connor. > > Page: 1 | 2 > “The rest of the country will learn these things pre-2012,” says Ms. > O'Connor, director of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at > California State University, Sacramento. “Women won't just > [automatically] vote for women. Personal wealth won't buy elections, > and the tea party values on social issues don't appeal to our one- > quarter independents. [We] already had a likable outsider [in Governor > Schwarzenegger] and aren't willing to try it again." > > Skip to next paragraph Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) of Calif., gestures as > she speaks to supporters after being projected the winner in her > Senate race against Carly Fiorina, Nov. 2, in Los Angeles. > > Mark J. Terrill/AP > > Enlarge > Related Stories > California backs Jerry Brown, Barbara Boxer to reject rolling GOP tide > On historic night, Republicans sweep House Democrats from power Prop. > 19 in California: legalized marijuana goes up in smoke Indeed, female > voters in California were instrumental in the Democratic wins on > Tuesday. Nationally, exit polls showed that women backed GOP > candidates by about 48 percent to 51 percent for Democrats, but in > California, 56 percent of women voters went for Mr. Brown and 40 > percent for Ms. Whitman, says Lara Brown, a political scientist at > Villanova University. In the Senate race, 56 percent of women went for > Boxer and 39 percent for Ms. Fiorina. “In short, women in California > chose to support the Democratic Party and not the anti-incumbent > sentiment, which moved other women in other states away from the > Democrats,” she says. > > Governor-elect Brown has been in California politics for 40 years, and > Barbara Boxer has served in the Senate for 28. The GOP's Whitman, a > successful steward of eBay, was stung by her handling of revelations > that she had employed an undocumented maid. Whitman’s avoidance of the > press and negative ads more than offset her perhaps-too-polished > responses in debates. She also managed to alienate the state’s fastest- > growing voter bloc: Latinos. > > “What this shows is that a hard line on immigration does not pay off > in places like California,” says Angelica Salas, executive director of > the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. After > Proposition 187 – the 1994 citizens' initiative to deny education and > health services to illegal immigrants –Latino voters in California > became much more politically savvy. Calling Whitman hypocritical to be > urging crackdowns on illegal immigrants even as she employed one, Ms. > Salas says, Latinos “can smell a putrid idea when they hear one.” > > A recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California, she > notes, showed that 70 percent of illegal immigrants in the state live > with someone who is a legal permanent resident or a US citizen. > > “When a politician chooses to attack an undocumented immigrant, entire > families feel attacked,” she says. > > With these two big wins in the state's highest-profile races, > Democrats should understand they must deliver or be thrown out, say > other Latino activists. > > “They need to turn the economy around and provide real jobs. > Otherwise, the anger and frustration will only get larger and larger, > and Barack Obama will be in serious trouble when his reelection comes > up,” says Randy Ertll, executive director of El Centro de Accion > Social, in Pasadena, Calif. “He will be blamed if the economy does not > recuperate and may in fact lose his reelection bid.” -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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