You claimed nobody wanted to answer the question. I just want to know what the question is. Obama took office with huge percentages in the House & Senate. The Senate gap was closed to a few and the House gains were 60+ for the Republicans. Many other positions including governers and legislatures are now Republican. Which key seats were lost this year by a Republican and how were they significant?
The question is . . . if a republican taking a democratic seat is a mandate on Obama, then how do you explain a democrat taking a republican seat? Kathy Hochul took a Republican New York house seat in May.
When Obama took over, Dems had control of all both houses. Now they have only a slim majority in the Senate. GOP gained seats in Massachusetts and Queens which were hisorically locks for the Democrats. I laugh at your feeble spin attempts.
It's a nonsensical question, that's why nobody is answering. Shifting trends, demographics, local economies etc influence elections. Not to mention the actual candidates. No matter how well one party is doing, in an individual election with individual candidates, anything can and will happen. What matters is the macro results. Net gains in house seats for one party or the other. Net gains in governors, net gains in senators, and so on. This eliminates the various issues involved with each election and gains an overall pulse of the mood of the country.
Well, that's a long-winded way to say that elections are local and not a referendum on the President. And I agree.
Midterm elections can be a referendum against the President. You can't vote the guy out, as in a presidential election year, but you can neutralize him by flipping the majority in Congress. 2006 and 2010 were referendums. This country is so high strung right now we keep bouncing from one side to the other. Ruin is guaranteed by opposition if we follow one party or the other...but where are we going now....
