Are we living in an era of political contentment? Most Americans would answer that question with a bellowing "No!" But there's a case to be made that American voters, for all their negative talk, actually don't want a set of public policies markedly different from what we have today.
Note that that seems to be the practical result of the 2022 midterm elections last month.
— Republicans won a slim House majority at least in part by winning more victories in districts that Joe Biden carried than Democrats did in districts carried by Donald Trump.
— There are currently slated to be 18 Republicans in Biden seats and just 5 Democrats in Trump seats.
— Democrats used to win more crossover districts, but Republicans have now won more in 6 of the last 7 elections as the overall number of crossover districts has generally declined.
— It is common for the opposition party in Congress to add to their roster of crossover districts in a midterm, and that’s exactly what happened in 2022, despite Republicans having a disappointing election overall.
Today, big media has an agenda. Fox and most talk radio push right; most other media spin left.
As a tactical concern, the House GOP's decision to open an investigation into Biden family corruption is questionable.
Among the key headlines from the 2022 election were gains by Republicans among minority voters.
Unsure of what to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season? Here's a suggestion of something to be thankful for: the Northwest Ordinance.
Thursday, if you eat a nice meal, thank the Pilgrims. They made Thanksgiving possible.
There's no sugarcoating the disappointing results of the midterm elections.
Winter has often proven an indispensable ally of Mother Russia.
The 2022 midterm elections were, by any objective measure, tremendously disappointing for Republicans.
One of the puzzles in this year's surprising and unpredicted (including by me) off-year election results is why the Republicans' 51% to 47% win in the popular vote for House of Representatives did not produce a majority bigger than the apparent 221-214 result. (All numbers here are subject to revision in line with final returns.)
— The looming Georgia Senate runoff is both the final race of 2022 and the first race of 2024, a Senate cycle in which Democrats are playing a lot of defense.
— The Democrats could run the Senate more smoothly if they can get a “real” majority of 51.
— But the primary importance of the runoff is electoral: Democrats could really use an extra buffer seat as they try to hang on in a couple of years.
Politicians praise electric cars. If everyone buys them, they say, solar and wind power will replace our need for oil.
The one promise that President Joe Biden has faithfully kept is his pledge to "close down" fossil fuels. We get two-thirds of our energy in America from fossil fuels, and almost one-third of our power comes from coal. That's quadruple the amount of energy we get from wind and solar, which are niche forms of energy.
One way to look at this election is as a repudiation of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The Good: We have divided government. Since Democrats no longer control Congress, they can't bankrupt America quite so fast!
Imagine someone close to you has a drinking problem....
"Make no mistake -- democracy is on the ballot for us all."
When you look around at the political scene, less than a week from the 2022 midterm elections, what do you see?
— In our final pre-election handicapping of key down-ballot contests this year, we see 11 secretary of state races and 12 state attorney general races as competitive.
— The races attracting the most attention nationally, understandably, are those that involve Republican nominees who have questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. Whether such candidates can win this year in such presidential battleground states as Arizona and Nevada could have a big impact on the 2024 presidential race.
— It remains to be seen whether these Trump-aligned candidates can ride the Republican midterm tailwind to victory, or whether GOP voters and GOP-leaning independents decide to pick and choose which Republicans they vote for this year.
