Republicans Take the House

Thursday, 04 November 2010 06:47

Written by Malou Tiquia

It was the “economy stupid!” all over again. From a historical vote in 2006 ushering in the first colored president in the United States as well as having the first female speaker of the House of Representatives, today, the Republicans are back in power taking over the House with 150 Democrats, 225 Republicans and 60 undecided races yet as this article was being written. In the Senate, 51 Democrats won, 46 Republicans and three undecided still.

In the most watched and contested race, incumbent Senate Majority Floor Leader Harry Reid, endorsed by our very own Manny Pacquiao in a last minute effort to save the race, defeated Sharon Angle, the tea party Republican who carried the fight against the “Senate’s most powerful Democrat.”

The base of support Obama got from Independents was the switchup strategy that the GOP mastered with “these swing voters favoring them by a 17-point margin.” The same margin the Democrats gained in 2006. It should be noted that the “president’s party almost always loses seats in the first midterms of his presidency.” Since the end of “World War II, there have been five midterm elections in which the president’s party lost more than 40 seats. Democrats lost 66 seats in 1966, 56, seats in 1946 and 52 seats in 1994. Republicans lost 49 seats in 1958 and 43 in 1974.”

What defined this sudden surge in the GOP ranks were the inroads done by the tea party movement invigorating the GOP in spring of 2009. Analyzing the debacle and learning from it, the tea party, a populist, conservative/libertarian political movement, rose from several uncoordinated local and national protests. What bind the followers are oppositions to several Federal laws initiated by the Obama administration: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the healthcare reform bills.

The tea party is not a political movement. Although leaning towards Republicans, the movement’s primary concerns are “cutting back the size of government, lowering taxes, reducing wasteful spending, reducing the national debt and federal budget deficit and adherence to the United States Constitution.” Apart from moving early and seizing the moment to be competitive today, the tea party also put huge muscles in the fundraising drives to support Republicans. Sources have estimated that the cost of the midterm elections could reach the record-breaking US$ 2 billion mark.

Public Campaign Action Fund (PCAF), a D.C. based watchdog said “by the end of September, House candidates this election cycle raised 30 percent more and spent 54 percent more money than they had up to the same point in 2008. In 2008, House candidates raised $978 million and spent $938 million over the full election cycle. This year, Public Campaign Action Fund projects that House candidates will raise nearly $1.3 billion and spend more than $1.4 billion, eating into the cash on hand amounts carried from election to election.”

“Senate races are also seeing a surge in fundraising and spending.” According to a Washington Post prediction, “Senate candidates are on pace to raise and spend more than $500 million, placing the combined total between House and Senate candidates nearing $2 billion.” The analysis also shows an “imbalance in fundraising and spending between the major parties. Republican House candidates raised approximately $30 million more than Democrats through the third quarter in 2010. In the 2008 election at this time, the Republicans had raised nearly $64 million less."

Without looking at the staggering cost, political parties in the Philippines should probably think long term and be strategic so we lessen coalitions where minorities and majorities are just in paper. Another lesson that is worth reviewing is that oppositors of key legislators can actually band together and get these people out of office. It can be done, it has been done but the cost can be staggering to get CHANGE on the way.

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