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As US Dems' message lags, Reps await big election win
Source: Agencies |
October 17, 2010, Sunday
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TWO weeks before Election Day, US Democrats fear their grip on the House of Representatives may be gone, and Republicans are poised to celebrate big gains in the Senate and governors' mansions as well.
Analysts in both parties say all major indicators tilt toward the Republicans. US President Barack Obama's policies are widely unpopular. Congress, run by the Democrats, rates even lower. Fear and anger over unemployment and deep deficits are energizing conservative voters; liberals are demoralized.
Private groups are pouring huge sums of money into Republican campaigns. An almost dizzying series of Democratic messages has failed to gain traction, forcing Obama to zigzag in search of a winning formula.
With the November 2 election quickly nearing, Obama is campaigning coast to coast, raising money for candidates and looking to energize Democratic voters whose enthusiasm has waned since the 2008 presidential election. But Obama acknowledges that even in the most reliably liberal states, no Democratic candidate is guaranteed victory in November.
That helps explain Obama's appearance yesterday afternoon before several thousand people at a Boston rally for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a longtime friend and political ally. Republicans have tried to use Patrick's close relationship with the president as a campaign wedge against the incumbent seeking a second term.
"There is no doubt that this is a difficult election. That's because we've been through an incredibly difficult time as a nation," Obama told the crowd of Democrats.
He acknowledged that the hope and energy he stirred during his 2008 presidential campaign may have faded in the face of a grinding economic crisis that has left unemployment near double-digits for much of his presidency.
"I need all of you to be clear," he told the crowd, "over the next two weeks this election is a choice and the stakes could not be higher."
Patrick is struggling to overcome the anti-incumbent mood that has swept across the country. Obama said Patrick's opponent is banking on the same strategy as national Republicans.
"They figured they could ride people's anger and frustration all the way to the ballot box," said Obama, dressed more casually for the weekend rally, in a sport coat but no tie.
Obama sought to frame the election as a choice between his policies, which he says are moving the country forward, and those of the Republican, who he says want to return to the policies of the past.
"The worst thing we could do is go back to a philosophy that nearly destroyed our economy," Obama said.
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin urged a crowd of Republicans yesterday to exhaust themselves over the next two weeks to take back California and the country for the "little guy."
The former vice presidential candidate addressed more than 2,000 supporters at a Republican National Committee rally in Orange County, a conservative stronghold in a state where Republicans hope to make gains this year.
"The momentum is with us but now is not the time to let up, now is not the time to celebrate - not quite yet," Palin told a crowd wearing T-shirts reading "Proud Conservative" and buttons reading "Is it 2012 yet?"
With early voting under way in many states, Democrats are trying to minimize the damage by concentrating their resources on a dwindling number of races.
"The poll numbers and the enthusiasm on the right versus the lack of the enthusiasm on the left suggest a pretty big Republican night," said former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, who once headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
With Democrats in power while the unemployment rate stands at 9.6 percent, "it's difficult to say, 'Well it could have been worse,'" Kerrey said.
Governing parties typically lose seats in the so-called midterm elections, which take place in the middle of a president's four-year term, but this November Democratic losses are likely to be particularly severe.
Polls, campaign finance reports and advisers in both parties indicate that Republicans are in line to seize on a level of voter discontent that rivals 1994, when the Republicans gained the House majority for the first time in 40 years. Democrats are embattled at every level.
Analysts in both parties say all major indicators tilt toward the Republicans. US President Barack Obama's policies are widely unpopular. Congress, run by the Democrats, rates even lower. Fear and anger over unemployment and deep deficits are energizing conservative voters; liberals are demoralized.
Private groups are pouring huge sums of money into Republican campaigns. An almost dizzying series of Democratic messages has failed to gain traction, forcing Obama to zigzag in search of a winning formula.
With the November 2 election quickly nearing, Obama is campaigning coast to coast, raising money for candidates and looking to energize Democratic voters whose enthusiasm has waned since the 2008 presidential election. But Obama acknowledges that even in the most reliably liberal states, no Democratic candidate is guaranteed victory in November.
That helps explain Obama's appearance yesterday afternoon before several thousand people at a Boston rally for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a longtime friend and political ally. Republicans have tried to use Patrick's close relationship with the president as a campaign wedge against the incumbent seeking a second term.
"There is no doubt that this is a difficult election. That's because we've been through an incredibly difficult time as a nation," Obama told the crowd of Democrats.
He acknowledged that the hope and energy he stirred during his 2008 presidential campaign may have faded in the face of a grinding economic crisis that has left unemployment near double-digits for much of his presidency.
"I need all of you to be clear," he told the crowd, "over the next two weeks this election is a choice and the stakes could not be higher."
Patrick is struggling to overcome the anti-incumbent mood that has swept across the country. Obama said Patrick's opponent is banking on the same strategy as national Republicans.
"They figured they could ride people's anger and frustration all the way to the ballot box," said Obama, dressed more casually for the weekend rally, in a sport coat but no tie.
Obama sought to frame the election as a choice between his policies, which he says are moving the country forward, and those of the Republican, who he says want to return to the policies of the past.
"The worst thing we could do is go back to a philosophy that nearly destroyed our economy," Obama said.
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin urged a crowd of Republicans yesterday to exhaust themselves over the next two weeks to take back California and the country for the "little guy."
The former vice presidential candidate addressed more than 2,000 supporters at a Republican National Committee rally in Orange County, a conservative stronghold in a state where Republicans hope to make gains this year.
"The momentum is with us but now is not the time to let up, now is not the time to celebrate - not quite yet," Palin told a crowd wearing T-shirts reading "Proud Conservative" and buttons reading "Is it 2012 yet?"
With early voting under way in many states, Democrats are trying to minimize the damage by concentrating their resources on a dwindling number of races.
"The poll numbers and the enthusiasm on the right versus the lack of the enthusiasm on the left suggest a pretty big Republican night," said former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, who once headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
With Democrats in power while the unemployment rate stands at 9.6 percent, "it's difficult to say, 'Well it could have been worse,'" Kerrey said.
Governing parties typically lose seats in the so-called midterm elections, which take place in the middle of a president's four-year term, but this November Democratic losses are likely to be particularly severe.
Polls, campaign finance reports and advisers in both parties indicate that Republicans are in line to seize on a level of voter discontent that rivals 1994, when the Republicans gained the House majority for the first time in 40 years. Democrats are embattled at every level.
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