Were the 2009 elections a repudiation of Barack Obama?

  The results on last night’s elections are in and everyone is debating whether these elections were a repudiation of Barack Obama and his policies. Overall this was a good night for Republicans and conservatives with both Virginia and New Jersey’s gubernatorial races going to the Republicans. It was a mixed bag however, with New York 23 and California 10 being won by Democrats.

  Going into election day I thought that Republican would win two of what was being considered the big three and I was right. However the two that were won were not the two that I had though. Virginia was pretty much a given according to the polls leading up to election day but I thought Corzine would hold on in New Jersey and Hoffman would win in New York.

  Were the results in Virginia and New Jersey a repudiation of Barack Obama? I am not sure; I think that repudiation and referendum might be too strong. Polling data shows us that 25% of voters in Virginia and 19% of voters in New Jersey cast their votes in a protest against Barack Obama. A minority of voters but that still seems like a pretty large amount considering that Obama had won both of those states by large margins over John McCain in 2008.

  I am a believer in the famous mantra that “all politics is local” but that isn’t always the case. In the 2006 elections for instance, New Hampshire voters held a large anti-Bush election protest and ushered in a new blue wave of legislators. The number one issue among voters in both Virginia and New Jersey was the economy, so one has to wonder if voting in the Republicans based on the economy was an anti-Obama vote even if the voters in the exit polls didn’t identify it as such. Obama has prioritized healthcare reform at the expence of the economy and jobs. By voting out the Democrats in those states who supported Obama’s lack of an economic plan I would say that there was more anti-Obama sentiment than people realize.

  The spin coming out of the White House is that the gubernatorial races are not relevent to Obama’s agenda, and while this is true, the White House put  a high priority on these races when both Obama and Biden spent so much time over the last to weeks on the stump in Virginia and New Jersey for the Democrats. Surely, contrary to the spin the administration held some relevance to these elections. Theses election were much more relevent than the White House cares to admit. While these two Republican wins do not affect Obama’s ability to pass his agenda it does send a message to the White House that people are fed up. The voters are growing leery of Obama’s policies and of his administration in general.

  As for the election in New York 23, an election that could directly affect Obama’s agenda, the Democrat came out on top. Naturally the White House is using this as a source to declare victory, but was it much of a victory? In the short term I would say that it is. We are hearing that the New York 23 race proves that there is a rift in the Republican party. That is not the way that I see it. For far too long the Republicans have been running  Democrat-lite candidates, RINOs, in an attempt to win elections. That didn’t work out so well for John McCain, did it? Republicans and conservatives have begun to take a stand. A little known political novice, Hoffman, through a grass roots effort applied so much pressure to the politically connected liberal RINO that she was forced to drop out before the election. While he just didn’t have enough steam to get over the hump, a message has been sent to Republicans. It is time to return to the conservative base or else. Hoffman was a stepping stone, he was just the beginning and while he failed momentum is building and the Republican had better get their act in gear.

  There was little difference between the Republican and the Democrat in New York 23, both candidates were going to pursue Barack Obama’s agenda so this was the perfect spot for conservatives to make their stand. Nothing was lost here with Owens winning election that would not have been lost if  Scozzafava had remained in the race and won. In the long run New York 23 could prove to be a win if the conservative movement can keep up the momentum because it has put the Republicans on notice. We will support any candidate regardless of party if he or she is a true conservative.

   Republicans winning the governor’s office in New Jersey could prove to be the crowned jewel of the election. This was unexpected even with all of the corruption in that state, hell the corruption didn’t stop Barack Obama from stumping for Corzine. Yet Republican won in one of the bluest states in the country. This has to put moderate, conservative, and Blue Dog Democrats on notice.

  While the gubernatorial races do not directly affect the ability of the president to pass his agenda, we have to wonder if it will indirectly affect his agenda. If RINOs, moderate and conservative Democrats, and Blue Dog Democrats sence a possible groundswell of opposition to the president they may not be so willing to support his agenda.

   One has to wonder if  Obama’s influence is waning also. Just a few short months ago the thought of a Republican resurgence seemed highly unlikely. The republican party seemed dead in the water, yet just one year later even with Obama openly supporting and campaigning for Corzine and Deeds both Democrats lost in stunning fashion. This would not have happened if the American people were not growing leery of the president.

  Deep down inside the president and the Democrats in general have to be worried, are the moderate to liberal Republicans, but this will mean nothing unless we can seize the momentum that we gained last night. We must use this as a stepping stone heading into the 2010 elections.

   Sure, New York 23 was a loss but gains were still made. We must have patience, remember that it took the Democrats two full election cycles to gain the majorities that they currently enjoy. This is going to be a long process but we began that process last night.

  Massachusetts has a special election in January to replace Ted Kennedy, the Democrats are going to win that seat, but we cannot let that slow us down. We must stay on the offensive, these victories will mean nothing if we do not follow them up in 2010.

  The Democrats and the media were laughing at the Tea Party protesters but last night they saw us in action and they had better not be laughing any more. We are not going away, this was the opening salvo. We must make sure that there is more to come.

  I hesitate to call last night either a repudiation or a referendum on Barack Obama but he has been put on notice, as have the moderate Democrats and RINOs. We are mad as hell and we are not going to take it!