Posted by
Dan Abbett on Sunday, November 08, 2009 10:51:52 AM
The segment of the electorate that is often referred to as the “swing vote,” is typically comprised of those who classify themselves as independents, moderates and undecided. In the off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey however, the “independents eschewed moderation and decided against the current direction and policies of both the Congress and especially the White House.”
The analysis of the outcome of those gubernatorial races and the significant point swing from the results in 2008 where Obama won handily, as did several Democrats in House and Senate races, has been thorough. The speculation as to the shift in the independent vote away from the Dems and to the Republicans has been weighed from nearly every conceivable angle. There is one factor that has not appeared to make the cut however, impugning the people.
Clearly, the sentiment and attitude of this nation was behind Barack Obama and the pledges he made during the 2008 presidential campaign. As Obama has sidestepped, re-evaluated, back-pedaled or put those pledges on the back burner however, many of those who originally supported Obama are beginning to question his integrity. For this blasphemy, they have been labeled racists, angry mobs, un-American and evil mongers; hardly labels that would endear the people to anyone or any issue.
Further, the current leadership in both the White House and in Congress seems to believe that the people are devoid of intelligence. How else could they respond to the criticism of their position on the issues with such drivel and doubletalk? One can argue for example, that the results of the recent election were local and not, as some suggest, a referendum on the Congress or the president but it is audacity in the extreme to declare those results a “win” for the Dems. Yet, this is precisely the “spin” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi put on that outcome.
To add to the insults of the intelligence of the electorate, the complete denial of any negative reflection of the election results with respect to current government policies is to take “playing Ostrich” to a whole new level. On one hand, you have White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, insisting that the huge swing in the independent vote for the Republicans was “not” a referendum on President Obama. On the other hand, you have Senior Advisor to the president, David Axelrod, insisting that the election “was” a referendum on conservative values as a result of their loss of the NY-23 congressional seat.
It is this constant refusal to face political reality that has alienated so many of the swing voters. Moreover, it isn't just the doubletalk that voters are upset about; it is more about being ignored. The American people did not vote for massive deficit spending and intrusive government in 2008; they have been ignored. They said no to cap and trade as well, they were ignored. They are emphatically saying no to a government takeover of healthcare and on this, they are ignored with malice a forethought.
In spite of the overwhelming turnout for the "House Call" rally to bring attention to Congress of the people's rejection of the healthcare bill that was before the House of Representatives, Speaker Pelosi pushed for an immediate vote. That isn't leadership that is tantamount to publically slapping the people in the face. The current leadership in both the White House and in Congress apparently couldn't care less as to the voice of the people or the adverse consequences their policies will have on them.
The Democrats are drowning in denial but unlike that river in Egypt, this is a river of purely stubborn, hubristic ignorance of what clearly stands before them. It is precisely why the elections in Virginia and New Jersey were, in many ways, a referendum on both the Congress and the White House, and yet, the White House insists that there is no reason to change direction on their policies or agenda.
In short, the current administration has publically demeaned its critics, oblivious to the potential for alienating them. They have pushed policies over the significant public objection to those policies and they increasingly ignore the growing animosity of a people they believe irrelevant to their objectives. And they can’t understand why they are losing the swing vote.