If Democrats want to know how they’re likely to fare in the next full-scale Congressional elections, and in the presidential election in 2012, they probably need not look further than New York and Nevada, two states that just elected Republicans to House seats in special elections. In New York’s Howard Beach area, Republican Bob Turner defeated Democrat David Weprin to take over the vacated seat of disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner. For a Republican to win in such an urban region is almost unheard of, as the Democratic party tends to appeal to those in such areas.In Nevada, Democrats were crushed in a special election. In the wake of those losses, key Democratic Party contributors voiced displeasure with President Obama. Said one source, "People feel betrayed, disappointed, furious, disgusted, hopeless." Noted Democratic House Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, "I think every election reflects on the person in charge, but do I think it is an overall statement on the president alone? No. Do I think it will be interpreted as being a statement on Obama? That’s probably correct."
The defeats also had Democrats grousing about the way Republicans are acting in Congress, noting that they’re being tremendously demanding and hard to get along with. Noted Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, "The Republicans want us to repeal the 20th century, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, to turn us back to the robber barons running the country, and to eviscerate the environmental and other regulations to protect public health and safety and to cut spending in ways that would be very harmful to people who rely on government."
As a note to Waxman – now, in the wake of such a major drubbing in two elections – is not the time to complain about Republicans. Voters in two regions just chose them over your party. As for Waxman’s comment about people who "rely on government" – such concepts could just be at the heart of why the Republican Party just won in those two elections.
