Sorry, Dems, 2008 Is So Last Year

Reports of a great liberal realignment are greatly exaggerated

(NEWSER) - The outcome of Tuesday's elections dispel the myth of a great political re-alignment supposedly heralded by the election of Barack Obama last year, writes Charles Krauthammer . Believers swore young and minority voters would establish a new liberal majority and bury the GOP. But Republican victories in Virginia and New Jersey show that Obama’s victory had more to do with his personal appeal, and the dissatisfaction with George Bush, than any great political shift. More»

Get ready for a permanent tea party as voters seek leaders

(NEWSER) - In the GOP upsets in Virginia and New Jersey, Daniel Henninger doesn't just see Obama backlash, he sees a voter rebellion from both parties, with independent Americans behaving like stampeding cattle. That independents would within one year swing from Obama enthusiasts to backing decent-to-weak Republicans in Virginia and New Jersey is “simply astonishing,” writes the Wall Street Journal opinion editor. “The American voter is absolutely, totally, unremittingly disgusted with both political parties.” More»

Deficits were the rallying cry for yesterday's winners

(NEWSER) - "Conservatives have supposedly gotten their groove back," Peter Beinart writes about the results of yesterday's state races, "but it's not the same old groove." The candidates who won—or almost won—downplayed social issues and focused on the economy, which Beinart calls the “new culture war." Sure, a “jihad against deficit spending” isn’t a particularly coherent position when spending and stimulus are keeping the country afloat. But “economic fury” brings in votes, and it’s something the entire country can understand. More»

Polling guru gives a post-mortem on last night's elections

(NEWSER) - The numbers are in, now it's time to make sense of them. Nate Silver breaks down last night's election results:

• Don’t blame Obama; Creigh Deeds and Jon Corzine were probably just weak candidates. In New Jersey, 57% of voters approved of Obama, but 27% of those supporters voted Republican anyway. In Virginia 20% of those who approved of Obama voted GOP.
• Democrats had turnout problems in Virginia; the voters who came out last night supported McCain 51-43 in 2008, a mirror image of that year's margin.

NJ, Va. votes show that president's popularity isn't catching

(NEWSER) - The message to Democratic candidates from yesterday's GOP wins in New Jersey and Virginia should be loud and clear: they're on their own, writes Dan McLaughlin . Jon Corzine and Creigh Deeds tied themselves as closely to possible to President Obama and lost, demonstrating that the president's continued personal popularity isn't rubbing off on his fellow Democrats, McLaughlin writes at RedState. More»