Continuing my “bestselling” commentary on selections from the “hundreds if not thousands of analyses, ‘Wednesday morning quarter backings’ and prognostications” inspired by Tuesday’s elections, here’s one that I found quite interesting.
It is an opinion piece by Michael Cooper in the New York Times this morning and it discusses how every election—including or especially this one—gives rise to its own “mythology.”
And like all mythology, the narrative that is being woven around the midterm elections by Bulfinches from both parties is a blend of history, facts and, yes, myths.
Cooper provides his own “one more spin on the potter’s wheel” before such mythology “hardens into accepted fact.”
Here are some of the topics. Read the original article and judge for yourself:
Return to the Republican Fold
There is no denying the powerful wave that swept Republicans back into power in the House, won them seats in the Senate and helped them rout Democrats in statehouses around the country. But even as they were electing Republicans in huge numbers, a majority of voters said they had an unfavorable view of the Republican Party…
The Sweeping Mandate
To hear many Republicans tell it, the huge surge that won them control of the House was a clear referendum: an anti-Obama, anti-health care law, anti-government spending mandate.
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Often such sweeping mandates do not turn out to be so sweeping…
The Lost Youth Vote
This year, voters under 30 were the only age group in which a majority voted for the Democrats, but relatively few of them bothered to show up on Tuesday.
But that does not mean young voters are forever lost…
A Disaster for the President
Mr. Obama himself called the big Republican gains a “shellacking.” The Republican gain of at least 60 seats in the House was the biggest for any party since President Harry S, Truman was in office. And a majority of those who voted Tuesday said that they disapproved of the way Mr. Obama was handling the job, and that his policies would hurt the country in the long run.
Still, there were a few faint silver linings for Mr. Obama, as the 2012 presidential election begins…
Perhaps in an introspective vein, Cooper concludes that there is never a shortage of arguments to support any doctrine one wants to believe in for whatever reasons: “This law is well known, if not by name, in political spin rooms and on talk shows, and is likely to continue to get quite a workout. Of course, a strong argument could also be made that nothing like that will happen at all.”
Before we jump in and call Mr. Cooper a flaming Liberal, I would urge the reading of some of his other articles.
Image courtesy citizensproject.org
