GOP gains a referendum on Obama administration?

The Republican Party scored two gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia. The question that this exposes is whether this will mark a troubling turn for President Obama, whose personal efforts couldn't stop the fall of Democrats facing a voter backlash. The President personally campaigned for each of these candidates.

Were these Republican victories a result of voter backlash over the economy and a notable uptick in the government's would-be role in people's lives?

Obama's 2008 victory in Old Dominion had marked an historic breakthrough for Democrats who hadn't won Virginia's electoral votes since 1964. The fight in the Garden State was more grueling than usually accompanies Democratic campaigns in the reliably blue state of New Jersey.

So these setbacks demonstrate the difficulty of presidential leadership following a campaign built on promises of unity and transparency followed by clandestine negotiations, divisive policies and a relentless campaign approach toward big legislative issues like the stimulus and health care bills.

“What this is tonight, this victory here tonight, is a warning shot, and it says to the moderate Democrats in the House that they ought to think twice about continuing to pursue the policies of this White House and (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi," said Virginia Republican Rep., Eric Cantor.

In Virginia, Republican Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell roundly defeated Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. In the other gubernatorial race in New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie pulled off a stunning upset over incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, who was facing a backlash over property taxes and other economic issues.

The viewpoint from the leadership of the Democratic Party has been quite to the contrary. Some Democratic leaders have even touted the off-year election as a victory for the Democrats. They are basing that claim on the results of the New York's 23rd Congressional District, where an unexpected turn of events put Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in direct competition with Democrat Bill Owens for the seat held by former Republican congressman and current Obama Army Secretary John McHugh. Owens was determined the winner in a close contest.

In an uncommon practice, the White House issued a statement after the GOP win in Virginia saying the president was not watching election returns and would not be making any remarks on the results.

Needless to say, the election outcomes were sure to feed discussion about the state of the electorate, the status of the electorate that sent the Obama administration to the White House. There will be questions as to the staying power of the president's influence -- on the party's base of support and on current moderate lawmakers needed to advance his legislative priorities.

In the two 2009 gubernatorial elections the President went as far as to deploy his political campaign arm, organizing for America, to try to ensure the swarms of party loyalists and new voters he attracted in 2008 would turn out.

Those conducting the exit polls showed that nearly a third of voters in Virginia Tuesday described themselves as independents, and they preferred the Republican to the Democrat by almost a 2-1 margin.

The outcome showed that "the Obama movement, the coalition, isn't transferable," said Democratic strategist Kirsten Powers, a Fox News contributor. "There was a decline in minority voters, a decline in young voters. You weren't seeing these people who turned out in huge force for Obama turning out for other Democrats. And so they're now going to have to step back and say, 'Wait a minute, I'm going to have to take care of myself.'"
Obama needs all the lawmakers he can get to pass his legislative priorities of health care and climate change. Defeats Tuesday could make it harder for him to persuade moderate Democrats from conservative areas to get on board. They have been hearing from voters worried about his expansion of government at a time of rising deficits.

As if on cue, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid also indicated Tuesday that Congress may not complete health care legislation this year, missing Obama's deadline on his signature issue and pushing debate into a congressional election year.

The vote is "more about the policies of the president more than the personalities," said Washington Times columnist Tony Blankely. "The public is getting really scared of his policies and I think that's what we're seeing in all of these elections. ... Obama has moved the policy so far to the left that now you're seeing this big movement back and I think we're only seeing the beginning of it."

Defeats could point to future problems for Democrats, particularly in moderate districts and in swing states like Ohio, Colorado and Nevada. In 2010, most governors, a third of the Senate and all members of the House of Representatives will be on ballots.

(Excepts and quotes from this article were featured on Fox News.)

Questions:

1. Does this disprove the death of conservatism?

2. Does this signal a degree of displeasure in the current administration and signaled potential problems ahead as he seeks to achieve his policy goals?

3. In 2010, can the Democratic Party protect majorities in Congress?

4. Will this translate on a local level?

5. Will this make congressmen who are up for re-election think twice before voting blindly for the President's government reforms?

Comments

[Hope For Change in 2010!]

The Republican's didn't get anything other than a warning. Give us Conservative candidates and return to conservative values, or your finished!

1) Our country is more conservative now then ever before.
2) Obama doesn't care about displeasure, all he wants to do is ram his socialist agenda down our throats.
3) Nope, they're done.
4) I think your gonna see the entire political system shook up and turned on it's head here locally. The good old boys are done, they just haven't gotten the memo yet. We're sick of the Dems taking care of their friends while screwing us. We're sick of the Repubs taking care of their friends while screwing us. The two parties are exactly the same, all they do is screw the people of Rushville and Rush County. They're going to be shocked when they see a new party with new candidates and new ideas on the scene!
5) As evidenced by the vote in the House yesterday, there are a bunch of congressmen (and women) who aren't too fond of their jobs.