We Failed Our Midterm

I endorsed Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte for Texas Governor and Lieutenant Governor.  They were soundly defeated at the polls.  Republicans nation-wide had a grand sweep increasing their majority in the House and gaining a majority in the Senate.  As I made an endorsement in the Texas race it seems only appropriate that I eat a little crow and review what I think happened.  Not that either matters much.  National pundits have hashed and re-hashed the outcomes and I suspect no one cares too much if my endorsements failed to get elected.  And yet, I am moved to throw my two cents into the national dialogue.

Prevailing theories regarding the Republican sweep include a back lash to Obama and frustration with the lack of action in Washington.  And many point out that for many years the midterm election in the second term of a sitting President has always been most favorable for the party not sitting in the White House.  Others point out that since the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United wealthy individuals and corporations have no limit on the amount of money that can be spent on elections, and the Republicans dramatically outspent Democrats.  OK, so this may be a historical trend.  This may be less about supporting Republican candidates and more of an anti-Obama vote.  This may have been a case of voters believing what they heard in TV ads.  Regardless, Republicans won and only those folks who showed up and voted Republican really know why they chose to do so.

If Republicans won because of a long-standing trend that dictates they should have won in the midterm elections of the second term of a sitting Democrat President, then there are deterministic forces at work here that fall beyond analysis.  If this is an automatic trend regardless of party, then there is nothing any of us can say or do about it.  It has happened, it did happen and it will continue to happen regardless of issues, candidates and party affiliation.  If so, we could save a ton of money and simply install candidates of the other party in office and not even have an election.  I reject this argument prima facie.  This year’s results may be consistent with previous trends, but some Democrats did win.  If we are to have a democracy we must have elections.

The campaign contribution issue deserves a further look.  I have read the philosophical beliefs of some of the major corporate and individual contributors and am frankly horrified.  If we are to have a nation that exists solely for the purpose of ensuring the continued growth of wealth for the top 1% at the expense of all others, then we no longer have a democracy anyway.  We have a capitalist oligarchy and/or a plutocracy. 

Obama bashing has been a trend since January 2009.  I lay the blame on Obama for having the worst PR efforts of any President.  In fact, Obama has had so much success as President that I believe he will be considered one of the greats when the smoke clears and historians review his tenure in this office.  Am I out of my mind?  Fox news would have you think so, as would every Republican candidate this week.  So, just a few quick fact checks – many of which I bet you did not know: 

• When Obama took the oath of office in January 2009 our national debt was roughly $12 trillion dollars.  Bush inherited a surplus and sent us into debt.  Today the national debt is $17 trillion dollars.  Obama has yet to contribute to the national debt anywhere near what Bush did, even though he continues to take the heat for the entire debt.

• In 2009 the Dow was 7,949.  Today it is over 17,000.

• In 2009 the S&P 500 was 805.  Today it is just under 2,000.

• In 2009 the GDP annual growth rate was Minus 5.3%.  Today it is Plus 4.2%.

• In 2009 our unemployment rate was 7.8%.  Today it is below 6%.

• In 2009 our national debt represented 9.8% of our GDP.  Today it is 2.9%.

• In 2009 consumer confidence was at 37.7%.  Today it is 92.4%.

• In 2009 we were involved in two land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Today we have dramatically withdrawn from both arenas.

• In 2009 16% of Americans were without health insurance.  Today less than 13% are without health insurance and that number continues to drop.

Clearly we are much better off since Obama took office.  The fact that few know that is due to a lack of coverage and PR on behalf of Obama.  Since Republicans gained control of the House in 2011 major policy proposals initiated by the President and passed by the Senate died in the House.  At the same time the House leadership continued to blame Obama for not getting anything done.  I am still baffled that a group of Congressmen were elected to dramatically curtail the government and oppose Obama on every issue.  They did so, and then blame Obama for not getting anything done. 

And now we have given this mind set control of the Senate. 

Appears to me the American people loss the midterms.  Or, did we really?

We love to say the people have spoken.  I do not believe that is true of the 2014 midterm elections.  Nationally, only 40% of registered voters even voted.  So less than a majority of us actually voted.  That means that a mere 20% or more of the registered voters made these decisions and elected these people.  That is not majority rule.  I find it very hard to either celebrate or lament a victory where 2 out of ten claim a majority decision.  That is rule by those who bothered to vote, and they are a minority.

It is worse in Texas.  Texas had the lowest voter turnout of any state in the union at 28%.  That means 14% of registered voters or more decided our elections.  Perhaps it becomes clearer why Republicans strongly support laws that make voting more difficult.  The fewer people who vote the more likely a Republican victory.

So yes, the Republicans swept the midterm elections.  They did so by many healthy margins.  But those margins were votes cast by a minority of the people who are registered to vote.  Until we believe we have a democracy, that the people should rule, and that every vote counts we are likely to continue to see this trend.  Australia has no such problem where citizens are required to register to vote and then required to vote.  One wonders what the outcomes would have been if all Americans registered to vote actually did so.  I bet the outcomes would be very different.

So, we failed our midterm.  A majority of us failed the midterm because we did not show up for the test.   

Welcome to our new governmental realities determined by small minorities of people throughout our so called democracy.  We have been here before, and we still do not learn.  I wish us all well.