Parsing the Myths of the Midterm Election

[Qutzupalotl]

Parsing the Myths of the Midterm Election
By MICHAEL COOPER
Published: November 5, 2010

Every election develops its own mythology, usually before the official results are even certified, and this week’s was no different. 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.

The Mandate Myth
Both political parties would do well to beware the mythological creature that often surfaces immediately after Election Day: the 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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But American voters rarely speak with an unambiguous voice. Consider the question of so-called Big Government, which, if exit polls are to be believed, voters have contradictory feelings about. A majority agreed that the government was doing too many things that are better left to businesses and individuals. But voters were fairly evenly divided on what many Republicans made Exhibit A in their case that the Obama administration had overreached: the new health care law. The exit polls found that 47 percent of voters said Congress should leave the law as it is or expand it, and that 48 percent said Congress should repeal it. Not exactly a ringing mandate for repeal.

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The Return to the Republican Fold
Haberdashers who sell those ties with the little elephants on them may not want to order more just yet. 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. In fact, there was little difference in how voters viewed the two parties: 53 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party, and 52 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party.

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/us/politics/06myths.html?partner=rss&emc=rss