One last vent about the 2010 election season

Many predicted the Democratic downfall on Election Day and yet, this reality still stings anyone who was pulling for the left.

The Republicans took the House and came five seats shy from gaining control of the Senate.  The midterm elections could have been a lot worse for Democrats.  

This is not going to be a column explaining how the glory of the Democratic Party (and President Obama’s agenda) is still secured for two more years. It’s cliche and also far from the truth.

The left’s foundation has cracked, and if leadership does not change, we might as well give the Senate gavel and the White House to the GOP for 2012.

I feel compelled to respond to this election, professionally and personally. Some of you say my column has no journalistic credibility because my views don’t match yours.

But throughout this semester, I thoroughly believed in my values and pledged my support for the candidates who fit these standards.

These values still exist because the candidates who won on Nov. 2 do not accurately represent many of the Hoosiers in this state and the progressive standards America needs to hold itself to.

The consequences might be hard, but my pride will not wane. This election, similar to 2008, will define the new generation of the Democratic Party.

RESPONSE AS A JOURNALIST
Todd Young’s victory carried the perfect political formula in 2010. Indiana’s 9th District had voter distrust, a new face in the congressional race and all the funding Young could ask for from the Republican Party.

Not even President Obama could have survived this one.

Young also carried swagger as his campaign waged through the district, and it was evident if you went to one of the town hall debates. With every question, Young provided a response that criticized Congressman Baron Hill in each message.

It was subtly cocky, but it proved to gain support through the already hostile crowds of the 9th District.

The election played out similar to the childhood game of cops and robbers where Young characterized himself as the good guy trying to stop Hill from advancing Obama’s agenda. Hill was facing a tough challenge and with this scenario, he was thrown under the bus.

The campaign strategy for the 9th District only mirrored those around the nation. Republicans had the upper hand, and, as we saw on Nov. 2, the GOP took more than 60 seats in the House.

Only two districts changed hands for the Democrats, showing how lopsided an election cycle can become.

The Obama administration can do nothing but lend its ear to the other side. Likely House Speaker-to-be John Boehner and company already established their platform through their “Pledge to America,” a similar plan to 1994’s “Contract with America,” which outlined fiscal and social conservative values in this nation.

In their motives to kill health care reform, the remaining stimulus and tax regulations will be blocked. But, if Obama wants to keep his job in 2012, he must establish a neutral footing between the two parties.

RESPONSE AS A VOLUNTEER
As a political volunteer and a member of this community, the disappointment still rings everyday because, though we knew it would be a tough year, no one could see this stampede coming through Indiana’s 9th District.

The Democrats in Monroe County did all they could in this toxic campaign.
 
Whether it was the various fundraisers we had for Congressman Hill, the voting rallies or even the thousands of phone calls, College Democrats and community leaders didn’t join a campaign for opportunity — their support for the race was purely genuine. We believed in this man because he was the best kind of politician.

Hill voted for the good of his constituents. Some decisions might not have been popular, but he is going to be the one to thank years down the road.

Though the Democrats are proud of their hard work, regardless of the grim outcome, the continuing rivalry between the College Republicans and Democrats hit an all-time high, which made this election even more uninteresting for anyone who’s not regularly interested in politics.

To tell the small details leading up to Election Day’s end would be futile, but to anyone who walked through campus, the Republicans’ actions were absurd and questioned their moral character.

Again, they got by because they had the momentum from day one.

Momentum won this election, not candidates or political values. The GOP will be riding this wave into the middle of next year. By then, government will be stalled and more public distrust will build.

But this time, it will steer the other way.  


E-mail: dreander@indiana.edu