Referendum.
That is a word that has been thrown around quite a bit lately. Mainly in regard to the elections held in two states this week.
On Tuesday, voters in New Jersey and Virginia went to the polls to elect governors.
Now, if you have been following our friends on the cable networks you know that some people are saying this is a referendum on President Barack Obama.
Will this so-called Obama effect influence the outcome of these elections?
Will these two states that voted for Obama send Democrats to the governor’s mansion, or will they choose a different brand of change?
After Tuesday, we did indeed find out what those election outcomes were.
In Virginia, the people elected Republican Bob McDonald to be their next governor, while in New Jersey voters elected Republican Chris Christie to replace incumbent Democrat John Corzine.
While some see this as a vote against Obama, I do not.
Yes, Virginia voted for Obama last November. In fact this was the first time the Commonwealth had voted for a Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. However, just because Obama took this state last year, I am certainly not ready to change their color from red to blue.
Democrats (mostly bluedogs) have made strides in Virginia, but the Commonwealth is by no means the new Massachusetts.
Upon listening to the election returns and hearing voter comments, the Democratic Party candidate (Deeds) just was not appealing.
He did not appeal to the voters and they choose not to vote for him.
Likewise, external problems plagued the race in New Jersey. To be blunt: John Corzine was not popular in the Garden State.
People believed that he made too many promises while campaigning for governor four years ago and was not able to deliver on enough to make a difference.
Obama stumped for him on the trail but I really do not believe it mattered.
New Jersey voters were so angry with Corzine, Jesus Christ could have campaigned for him and voters still would have chosen Christie.
From what I can tell observing from afar, the Democrats just did not do enough to sell their product to the voters.
The campaigns were run poorly and, in New Jersey at least, they resorted to slinging mud and straying from the topic at hand.
When the only plank on your platform is “I’m not the other guy” you should know from the beginning you are in for an uphill battle.
In a sense the voters did choose a new brand of change.
Both state governments had been controlled by Democrats for at least one term; but Tuesday voters decided to give the Republicans a chance to play their hand.
But was this somehow a referendum on the president?
Hardly.
While some will argue and others will disagree, the democratic process has yet again served us well.
I feel it only necessary to echo the same sentiments as Amanda White did yesterday in saying that the voters went to the polls and picked their candidate.
The people had a voice and they exercised their power in voting for a different leadership idea.
We are all privileged to live in a country where not only do we have a voice, but we also have an opportunity to exercise it.
1 comments