I just read the umpteenth article about how Republicans have failed to nationalize the upcoming congressional elections. That claim is certainly true. There are no national issues facing the electorate on which the GOP (or the Democrats for that matter) have a coherent and consistent position. For example, when it comes to national security and the war on terror, etc., there are almost as many positions as there are people running for office. On the economy, the situation is much the same although the general parameters of the Republican positions are different from those of the Democrats.
The thing that all these pundits and commentators miss, however, is that it is very unusual for a midterm election actually to be run on national issues. Four years ago, the GOP won big mostly on national revulsion at the overspending big government brought in by president Obama and the Obamacrats. There was no announced national strategy by the GOP, however, to change that situation. In 2006, the Democrats won big due to upset over the course of the War in Iraq. Once again, however, there was no national Democrat strategy for dealing with that war. The truth is that in the last forty years, there has only been one mid term election that was effectively nationalized: 1994. In that year, the Republicans ran on the Contract With America, a list of affirmative positions that the GOP promised to enact if elected. So, to put it mildly, the upset or glee shown by the commentators over the lack of a "nationalized" election is misplaced. It almost never happens.
The thing that all these pundits and commentators miss, however, is that it is very unusual for a midterm election actually to be run on national issues. Four years ago, the GOP won big mostly on national revulsion at the overspending big government brought in by president Obama and the Obamacrats. There was no announced national strategy by the GOP, however, to change that situation. In 2006, the Democrats won big due to upset over the course of the War in Iraq. Once again, however, there was no national Democrat strategy for dealing with that war. The truth is that in the last forty years, there has only been one mid term election that was effectively nationalized: 1994. In that year, the Republicans ran on the Contract With America, a list of affirmative positions that the GOP promised to enact if elected. So, to put it mildly, the upset or glee shown by the commentators over the lack of a "nationalized" election is misplaced. It almost never happens.
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