Kathianne
05-25-2013, 09:48 AM
Basically that is what the author of this opinion piece in the NYT is arguing. Seems rather pleased with the results:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/25/opinion/this-is-not-2009.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print
May 24, 2013
<nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" ">This Is Not 2009</nyt_headline> <nyt_byline> By CHARLES M. BLOW </nyt_byline> <nyt_correction_top> </nyt_correction_top> With the scent of scandal encircling the White House, some Republicans are already licking their chops over the 2014 midterm elections, while some Democrats are pre-emptively licking their wounds.
Not so fast, folks. Retract those tongues.
While it is impossible to predict what might drive voter attitudes in an election 18 months away, there are quite a few signs that 2014 will be nothing like 2010, which produced tremendous success for Republicans.
First, the electorate is less conservative.
In May 2009, the Tea Party had just begun to flex its muscle and feel its power on a national level. Now, the movement has lost momentum.
An April 2012 Associated Press report (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/14/tea-party-2012_n_1425957.html) included a finding from Theda Skocpol, a Harvard professor, that the number of Tea Party groups had fallen from about 1,000 to about 600. And a Washington Post/ABC News poll (http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/politics/washington-post-abc-news-poll-may-15-19-2013/170/) released this week found that the portion of people saying they strongly support the Tea Party, just 10 percent, was the lowest they had recorded since 2011.
Furthermore, according to a Gallup poll (http://www.gallup.com/poll/162746/fewer-americans-identify-economic-conservatives-2013.aspx) released Friday, the shares of Americans describing themselves as economic conservatives and social conservatives are down by more than a tenth since 2009, after having risen sharply following Barack Obama’s election a year earlier.
The portion of Republicans who said their position on economic issues was conservative — the Republican Trojan Horse for a retrograde social agenda — has seen little movement since 2009, dropping just five percentage points, from 75 percent to 70 percent.
(On the other hand, the share of Democrats who describe their positions on social issues as liberal has increased, from 45 percent to 50 percent.)
...
He does go on about how Obama has created a great economy and is only being hampered by the evil conservatives elected in the House. That he argues, will change in 2014 and 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/25/opinion/this-is-not-2009.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print
May 24, 2013
<nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" ">This Is Not 2009</nyt_headline> <nyt_byline> By CHARLES M. BLOW </nyt_byline> <nyt_correction_top> </nyt_correction_top> With the scent of scandal encircling the White House, some Republicans are already licking their chops over the 2014 midterm elections, while some Democrats are pre-emptively licking their wounds.
Not so fast, folks. Retract those tongues.
While it is impossible to predict what might drive voter attitudes in an election 18 months away, there are quite a few signs that 2014 will be nothing like 2010, which produced tremendous success for Republicans.
First, the electorate is less conservative.
In May 2009, the Tea Party had just begun to flex its muscle and feel its power on a national level. Now, the movement has lost momentum.
An April 2012 Associated Press report (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/14/tea-party-2012_n_1425957.html) included a finding from Theda Skocpol, a Harvard professor, that the number of Tea Party groups had fallen from about 1,000 to about 600. And a Washington Post/ABC News poll (http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/politics/washington-post-abc-news-poll-may-15-19-2013/170/) released this week found that the portion of people saying they strongly support the Tea Party, just 10 percent, was the lowest they had recorded since 2011.
Furthermore, according to a Gallup poll (http://www.gallup.com/poll/162746/fewer-americans-identify-economic-conservatives-2013.aspx) released Friday, the shares of Americans describing themselves as economic conservatives and social conservatives are down by more than a tenth since 2009, after having risen sharply following Barack Obama’s election a year earlier.
The portion of Republicans who said their position on economic issues was conservative — the Republican Trojan Horse for a retrograde social agenda — has seen little movement since 2009, dropping just five percentage points, from 75 percent to 70 percent.
(On the other hand, the share of Democrats who describe their positions on social issues as liberal has increased, from 45 percent to 50 percent.)
...
He does go on about how Obama has created a great economy and is only being hampered by the evil conservatives elected in the House. That he argues, will change in 2014 and 2016.