I've never given much credit to "signs." If you read my roundups, you know I haven't been taking the off-year elections that took place last night all that seriously. In my opinion, a big part of all this "referendum on Obama" talk has been an effort by the media to get you to care about races you otherwise wouldn't. If you don't live there, when was the last time you actually cared who was the governor of Virginia or New Jersey? By the end of the night, some were saying that electing a Republic Mayor in Stamford, Connecticut was a sign of a pro-Republican "earthquake." You know the old saying, "As goes control of the Stamford Streets Department, so goes the nation." Clearly, we're looking at a failed presidency.FiveThirtyEight.com has the final score; New Jersey and Virginia governorships go red, Republicans take no seats in Congress. Were those races a referenda on Obama? That depends on who you ask; if it's some random talking head on cable news, they were totally referenda on the president. But if you ask the voters, they'll tell you no.
CBS News:
[M]ajorities of voters in both states (56 percent in Virginia and 60 percent in New Jersey) said President Obama was not a factor in their vote today. Those who said Mr. Obama was a factor in New Jersey divided as to whether their vote was a vote for the president (19 percent) or against him (19 percent). In Virginia, slightly fewer voters said their vote was for Mr. Obama (17 percent) than against him (24 percent).
So, by looking at races in which clear majorities of voters say they weren't thinking about the president, we're supposed to be able to glean the voters opinion of the president. And two states become representative of everyone. Sure, I'll buy that -- right after I finish pounding holes in my skull with this claw hammer.
In the only real bad national news last night, Maine rejected marriage equality. Had they passed the measure -- and there was a good chance they would -- it would've been the first time that a state's voters chose same sex marriage. Instead, Mainers joined the 31 other states that have made the same bad choice. We've got to stop putting people's rights up to a majority vote. It's just plain wrong... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
