EckerNet.Com

As most of you are aware there were three big races that the nation was watching on Election day. Two of those races were for the Governorship of New Jersey and Virginia.

Virginia has long been a Republican stronghold, but went for Obama in 2008.  While it would not be overwhelmingly surprising if a Republican was able to pull off a win in Virginia, it does show that the inroads that Democrats made into Republican strongholds may be receding.  Democrat Deeds needed minorities to turn out in order to prevail over Republican McDonnell, as they are a strong Democrat voting block but also have a very low turnout rate in elections.  Post 2008 analysis show that while Obama did make marginal inroads in many demographics, his win was due in no small part to huge increases in voting participation by minorities.  Virginia may indicate that Democrats can\’t depend on those votes again in 2010 and 2012.

However, New Jersey was the real surprise here.  It has not elected a Republican governor since 1993 and has long been a Democratic stronghold.  However, incumbent Democratic Governor Jon Corzine could not hold off the strong challenge by Republican Chris Christie, despite the presence of a false-flag independent Daggett in the race.  This is not merely a rolling back of Democratic gains but losses in one of the bluest of blue states.

It is easy to overstate the importance of this election, as it is after all a local race which centers around local issues and personalities just as much as it does higher issues.  But voter attitudes towards their government in general can influence how voters approach those issues.  In this case, Christie ran on the issue of property taxes and other economic issues, where voter opinions are certainly strongly influenced by the Democratically controlled Washington DC.

It\’s also worth mentioning that Obama invested heavily in both races, stumping for both candidates a number of times, including in the final days before the election.  It is a sign that his majestic holiness is no longer enough to sway voters with flowery speeches and hollow hyperbole.

The most immediate effect of this will be in the outcome of ObamaCare/PelosiCare/etc.  Already Blue Dog Democrats were feeling the heat of public opinion regarding the absolutely horrendous bill that is before Congress.  Both Pelosi and Reid were already having problems convincing Democrats from swing districts to vote for the bill.  This election is likely to reinforce that hesitation.  If even an incumbent Democrats in a core blue state can lose, a Democrat in a swing or even a conservative district is officially on notice.  Voters are not in a forgiving mood.

While it is still a full year before 2010\’s elections, these results demonstrate better than any poll, that the honeymoon is most assuredly over and that voters are no longer under the spell of Hopenchange.  They can be swayed, even in blue districts, by conservative ideas.

However, this should not be taken as all good news for the Republican Party.  The third race that drew national attention was New York\’s 23rd Congressional District.  There the Republican candidate was forced to suspend her campaign when the public figured out she was….well, liberal.  The Republican label is not enough to get elected, the voters want to know what the issues are.  The conservative revolt against a RINO should serve notice to the GOP that they will not necessarily benefit from an anti-Democratic wave of opinion, as many consider the GOP just as much to blame after years of fiscal irresponsibility and scandalous behavior.

Both parties should see tonite\’s results as a notice.  The voters are wise to your bullshit, and they aren\’t in the mood to tolerate it anymore.