So, WHY didn't the Obama peeps go to the polls tonight in NJ and VA??

[polichick]

What's your take?

[AngryAmish]

1. V

[MadBadger]

3. LOL!

[Jennicut]

2. Corzine was not liked by many and Deeds ran away from the liberals.

[mvd]

4. Why was Corzine disliked so much?

I guess it was corruption? Christie had corruption of his own.

[Wetzelbill]

7. bad time to be a former Wall Street guy

That didn't help Corzine at all.

[mvd]

9. True

Though Corzine wasn't at fault for the crisis.

[Wetzelbill]

21. no he wasn't

But it's the stigma. People are mad and they blame Wall Street in general, that Corzine was one of them at one time is something a person can't shake. Ironically, it seems current Wall Street types have faced little repercussions at all, but with Corzine people with pitchforks had somebody they could actually specifically vote against whether it's right or not.

[mvd]

31. You're right there

It probably had something to do with the loss, right or wrong.

[Wetzelbill]

34. I think he had lots of things going against him

Some big, some small. The corruption in the state on his watch, a bad economy, higher unemployment, part of the status quo when people are angry, a former Wall Street guy when people are pissed at those types, it's an off year election, plus Corzine's negative campaigning fell flat. Christie in particular brilliantly played the victim by saying Corzine went after his weight in that one ad. It all adds up.

[mvd]

41. Thanks for the explanation

All of this makes sense; even if I disagree with the reasoning. Despite all that, Christie will be 100 times worse.

[Wetzelbill]

54. way worse

In some ways I am amazed that this race was as close, Corzine was at around 40 percent approval, had lots of things going against him, so as bad as it looked for him, I doubt this is some huge win for the GOP. Same with Deeds, he wasn't Mark Warner or Tim Kaine by a long shot. And then in NY-23, that a Dem is even contending in that race is big news. In this climate I don't think this is a big GOP win by any means. It's an off year, their base was mobilized and that's good for them to an extent. But it doesn't mean 2010 is going to be a big year for them, they aren't going to win big elections by continuing to be so radical, especially as the economy starts improving a little. You're welcome.

[Yavin4]

53. Actually, He Was Somewhat Responsible

In 1998, Long Term Capital, a huge hedge fund, also imploded. Corzine was at GS during this time, and GS was a counterparty to a lot of LTC's trades. The Fed arranged bailout, although it didn't use Federal money to do it. However, it did set the "too big to fail" precedent.

[Sebastian Doyle]

65. Goldmine Sucks was. And they were just as crooked when Corzine was in charge

The crimes that led to the crisis were certainly taking place when he was running that den of thieves.

[MadBadger]

8. I think his negative campaigning has something to do with it.

He spends a shit ton of money on ads that are overwhelmingly negative. That doesnt explain his poor approval rating over the past four years though

[ProSense]

13. Property taxes.

A problem he inherited, but when he decided to nix the property tax rebate and make other budget cuts, some people turned against him.

A lot of people here are livid about the cuts.

But to allow Christie to win, ugh! The guy is a lunatic.

[polichick]

15. The highest property taxes in the nation, and Corzine not doing anything about it...

...though he said he would. Also ties to Wall Street and other corrupt people.

[mvd]

18. Were the taxes really his fault, though?

Or were they done to avoid the spending cuts that Repukes always prefer? Voters need to realize that cutting taxes isn't the right answer now.

[PM7nj]

23. They weren't his fault, but...

...he never did anything to fix the problem.

[mvd]

29. I believe he was trying

He deserved another term to fix the mess dating back to Whitman..

[PM7nj]

59. Maybe.

But New Jerseyans are certainly not known for their patience and understanding.

[Jennicut]

24. I personally am not that surpised. Dems kind of screwed things up in NJ going back to McGreevey.

Maybe some Dem voters had enough and stayed home.

[onehandle]

5. American Idol was on.*

*Not literally, but I'm sure something else shiny got their attention.

[Wetzelbill]

6. probably the same reason they didn't go disrupt town halls

The GOP base is looking for a fight and they're going out in bigger numbers in an off year to vote. Also, the voters in off years tend to be older and that's the one and only demographic the GOP does well with.

[Wetzelbill]

10. also Deeds ran a bad campaign

his opponent ran more like Obama than he did, he came across as bumbling and devoid of charisma. He just didn't do himself any favors with the style of campaign he ran.

[Orangepeel]

11. Because Obama wasn't running?

:shrug:

[AspenRose]

22. *DING* *DING* *DING*

:thumbsup:

[polichick]

30. So they're one trick ponies? Will they come out and vote in 2010? nt

[AspenRose]

62. Wetzelbill nailed it below you

"Dems overall weren't nearly as interested or galvanized by this election, less so with the two Dem candidates in these instances."

I'm in VA and I can't tell you how many times I heard DEMOCRATS wondering what in the hell Deeds stood for. No one knew because he was too busy slinging mud at McDonnell to talk about what his vision for VA was. And it didn't help that he told everyone he wanted to opt out of the Public Option. What Democrat is going to be motivated after hearing that?

The Dems I know who voted for Deeds did so because they are die-hard, true-blue Dems and KNEW how big of a nightmare Governor McDonnell was going to be....THAT was their motivation. Unfortunately, not everyone was sold that McDonnell was that big of a threat, so they weren't that motivated to vote against him. Deed's mistake was making his campaign a referendum on "Vote for me because I'm not him."

Obama motivated people.

[malletgirl02]

81. You are right

I don't think either candidate motivated people to vote. I don't know the statewide statistics, but at my polling place turn out was low. my mom and I got to our polling place at 6:30, there were only two people in front of us waiting to be checked in. the only line there was a few people waiting to use the touch screen voting machine. I chose to use a paper ballot, and I was able to just walk up to any station I wanted.

[JTFrog]

67. They? Were/are you not an Obama voter?

Just curious.

:shrug:

[Wetzelbill]

38. and Bush wasn't in office, lol

That all could play some part. Corzine's numbers were way down from four years ago though and Obama had little to do with that. Dems overall weren't nearly as interested or galvanized by this election, less so with the two Dem candidates in these instances.

[brentspeak]

12. The Obama "movement" has pretty much ended

Obama's (political) problem is that he projects the image of a liberal progressive while actually governing like a typical middle-of-the-road corporate president. So, he's managed to gain a whole bunch of enemies while losing the enthusiastic support of his following: the conservatives are energized against him because they think he's a socialist (far from it), while the liberals are deflated by him because they see he's really just another corporate Bill Clinton (but without Clinton's political savvy).

[phleshdef]

28. LOL, without Clinton's political savvy my ass... you mean without Clinton's dick problem...

[jenmito]

32. Obama doesn't HAVE a problem. The problem for those who lost tonight is that they're not Obama.

Obama's popularity is as high as it was Nov. '08 in the states the Dems. lost tonight.

[mvd]

35. True; I do think he can be more liberal but he needs to win in 2012

Then he can really play to the progressive base.

[polichick]

37. imo he'd have a better chance in 2012 if he were MORE progressive. nt

[mvd]

40. That's my opinion

I think he's trying to strike a balance, but he can be bolder.

[polichick]

42. I don't think the balance thing works as well as real contrast. nt

[mvd]

45. He can still contrast while trying to win over moderates and independents

I think Obama can pull it off because he's good at persuasion.

[amandabeech]

75. IMHO, he'll have a better chance in 2012 if the economy is a whole lot better.

Carville's observation is still current: "It's the economy, stupid."

[dionysus]

63. well, that's your dream brent, that's your dream. how's smoove johnny's movement goin?

:rofl:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

74. Ten bucks says he'll break out a sentence mentioning the DLC.

[Arugula Latte]

66. Ha ha ha! Clinton's political savvy --

Yeah, he shot his big mouth off during the primaries and helped do in his wife's very arrogant and lame-ass campaign! :rofl:

[ClarkUSA]

72. Where was Bubba's "political savvy" when Dems got totally trashed at the polls in 1994? nt

[karynnj]

80. I think you underrate Obama's political savvy

After all, Obama pulled off an unexpected success in beating HRC. Bill Clinton made running against a President below 40 look like an exciting race.

[CTLawGuy]

14. governors races are

dominated by state issues rather than national concerns. Exit polls confirm this fact in both NJ and VA where over 50% said that Obama had no bearing on their votes.

[mvd]

16. And the media ignores it

Obama is still popular in those states.

[CTLawGuy]

19. exactly

the race that is more indicative of the mood on national issues is the impending rejection of RW nutbag Doug Hoffman in NY-23.

[polichick]

25. True, exit polls said Obama had no bearing - still, his voters didn't show up. nt

[CTLawGuy]

44. a lot of people's voters didn't show up

this is an off year election...

[mvd]

48. Turnout was lousy in my SE PA precinct

In 2008, it was excellent. Democrats had lots of reason to turn out today because Montgomery County needs Democratic judges.. not sure enough turned out.

[phleshdef]

17. Hate to say it, but the R. Candidate in VA was way more appealing and Corzine hasn't been a good Gov

[mvd]

26. Corzine probably wasn't a strong Democrat in policy

Just like Deeds running from Obama was bad.

[VMI Dem]

20. Can't speak for NJ, but Deeds has negative charisma.

He drives people away from the polls.

[polichick]

27. Wow - "negative charisma." That's definitely a drawback in a politician! nt

[rwheeler31]

33. They were working.

[firedupdem]

36. "peeps" okay, yeah, gotcha. n/t

[polichick]

39. You got nothin' - it's what we called each other in our Obama office last year. nt

[Blue_Tires]

43. i wouldn't know...i was one of the ones that went...

[Codeine]

46. Because people who refer to each other as "peeps"

don't generally have any great degree of electoral or political sense?

[Captain Hilts]

47. Young voters and black voters don't turn out much in off year elections. nt

[polichick]

50. Yep - that's the problem. But I would have thought that, after working so hard...

...to get Obama elected, they might have changed their ways.

[Captain Hilts]

58. We were all hoping so.....nt

[polichick]

83. delete

[Yavin4]

49. If You Run Crappy Politicians

you get crappy election results.

[amandabeech]

77. Yeah, but there's such a thing as doing it for the party.

Deeds was horrible, but I've voted for horrible candidates all my life. McDonnell will be there for redistricting, and that's a huge problem that no one seemed to address, at least not in Northern Virginia.

Corzine struck me as an ass. Property taxes have been an issue in NJ forever, or at least since I lived there in the '80s.

Still, Obama was up there pumping for him. It would not have taken a huge percentage of the Obama voters to have shown up in order to get a win. Why couldn't Obama get them out?

I hope that we do better in 2010. At least reps and 1/3 of the senators will be up to get a few more folks energized.

[smalll]

51. The iPod Kids are probably still recovering from their PBR-fueled Halloween parties --

resting up in their dorm rooms, giving/getting blow jobs. Or maybe they were too busy today out buying new "ear buds." I hear those things break a lot. Voting was so LAST year!

[polichick]

52. LOL

[amandabeech]

76. LOL!!!! "Voting was so LAST year!" n/t

[Arkana]

55. Cause Deeds was shitty and Corzine was shitty?

Just a guess.

That, and maybe Obama wasn't on the ballot.

[FrenchieCat]

56. They kept reading your posts, and so they figured......

what the hell....ain't nobody ever happy about shit anyways.

And so they probably said to themselves, let them have what they are begging for; some more misery....than maybe at some point they'll appreciate what Obama was trying to do, even when they kept their foot all the way up his backside with every step he took about every damn thing. After all, when negativity is going on on both sides about the same man, at some point, negative is what they'll end up with.

[LatteLibertine]

57. I didn't care for Deeds

and he did run a poor campaign. I still got out and voted for him. I couldn't sit by and watch a Regent educated Republican skate in without at least trying to oppose it. I also wanted to vote D on the rest of the ballot.

Even though Deeds is a bit of a drip I'm surprised more folks that support the President didn't want to deliver him a blue VA. IMO Deeds is still better than the alternative.

Bottom line is minorities and young people didn't get out while older white folks were well represented. Give that fact, the results are not surprising.

Well, yay! Now VA has a Regent educated minion of Robertson. I hope the Dems that stayed home are happy :(

[malletgirl02]

82. Deeds

I wasn't excited about Deeds either. The only reason I turned out to vote for him was similar to yours, I thought Mcconnell was worst, and his plans for more tolls roads, I really don't like toll roads.

[Thrill]

60. Why should they? No one to get excited about.

[amandabeech]

78. * Sigh * n/t

[Fleshdancer]

61. Because Obama isn't on the ballot

These are local races with local politicians dealing with local issues. Voting for Obama in 2008 doesn't mean you're required to automatically vote for who he endorses in 2009.

[Politicub]

64. I think that NJ was truly a referendum on the state economy

Not a national referendum. The people wanted some kind of change because of high taxes and all, and that's what Christy symbolized. But as a right winger, I predict they will have buyer's remorse and things will get worse for them. It always does under a republican.

And for Virginia, I don't know enough about local politics to understand why people didn't go for the dem. But in both cases, I don't think either were a national referendum because they were state races.

And as others have pointed out, the dems gained two seats in the House -- so we are still doing better nationally than the republicans. The media bias is huge for under reporting this story.

[Freddie Stubbs]

68. Obama wasn't on the ballot and

he won't in 2010 either.

[tabbycat31]

69. I wish I could tell you

after spending 4 days of trying to get people fired up in an Obama friendly town. I tried all I could to tie Corzine to Obama and Christie to Bush.

[amandabeech]

79. Good for you. n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

70. the ones I called had flu

75% of them.

[quiller4]

71. Youg Ds did what they always do in an off year. Nothing new here.

[ClarkUSA]

73. One mo' time: It's an historic trend that the losing party in the GE wins the NJ/VA governorships.

Historic trends favor the losing party in the GE when it comes to NJ/VA governorships. Recent examples include 1994, when
Democrats lost a ton of Congressional and Senate seats and lost governorships in NJ, VA and NY, two years after Clinton won
his first term. In 2000, Bush won his first term and in 2001, Govs. Warner and McGreevey were elected in VA and NJ, respectively.

Read more: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8732501

In other news that seems to be overlooked: besides Democrats picking up two House seats (one of whom was very hard-fought
against the Palin/Beck axis of evil), Charlotte, NC elected its first Democratic mayor in 22 years and Salt Lake City elects its
first openly gay council member.

This isn't even the midterm elections. It's unreasonable to think that GE voters, much less the ones who were new to the scene
last year, would flock to these contests. No one expects the base to be as fired up as they were under Bush and Tom DeLay.
These off-year elections are dominated by the pissed-off, not the inspired, which explains 2004, 2006, and 2008. Exit polls
in NJ and VA also prove that Presidential politics didn't affect the votes of a big majority of voters.

That said, it's a wake-up call for Democrats that we need to be better organized next year. Volunteering for your local Democratic
HQ is a good start for everyone who's worried about turnout now. They all need more helping hands now rather than at the last
minute.

[polichick]

84. Charlie Cook (on Hardball) actually said something about this that rings true...

He said his son and daughter (early twenties) were in love with Obama, like a lot of young voters. He thinks it's a personal relationship though, and doesn't transfer to the party as a whole ~ to governors or even Congresspeople.

The president will need to ask his voters to go to the polls in 2010. The voters who were only in it for him in 2008 will need to be energized.

[old mark]

85. Democrats like to complain, but don't like to vote.

And a lot of them split tickets when they do vote. Republicans will vote straight Republican and will vote in every election while the Democrats sit home and do nothing.

Been that way for generations.
FWIW, I say NO young voters at all Tuesday.

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