A GOOD DAY FOR THE GOP IN WISCONSIN AND CALIFORNIA

[Geee]

Human Events:

We pundits have been busy crunching the results in last Tuesday's Wisconsin recall election and have noted that the public-employee unions sustained a huge defeat.

Some have also looked west, to California, where San Diego and San Jose voters Tuesday voted 66 and 69 percent to cut back public-employee pensions. Those cities voted 63 and 69 percent for Barack Obama in 2008.

But there's something else worth noting in the California returns. State voters adopted a new primary procedure, in which the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, go on to the general election.

Washington state had a similar primary system in the 1990s, and the primary results tended to be replicated in November. For example, the 1994 primary results enabled some to forecast that Democrats would lose six of nine House seats in November.

So it may be revealing to compare the total primary vote for the House in California with the total House vote in previous elections. Statewide, 53 percent of the votes were cast for Democrats and 43 percent for Republicans. That may understate Republicans' strength, since they left eight seats uncontested and Democrats only one.

Those totals are almost exactly the same as in the November 2010 election, when Democrats won 53 percent of the House vote and Republicans 42 percent. They are quite different from 2008, when California Democrats won 60 percent of the House votes and Republicans 37 percent.

So it looks like voters in California, as in Wisconsin, where Republican Scott Walker improved slightly on his 2010 percentage, are closer to where they were in 2010 than where they were in 2008.

Some may reply that Democratic turnout was low last week and Democrats may be a larger share of the electorate in November. That's possible.

But neither Mitt Romney nor Barack Obama -- who was outraised by the Romney side in May -- are going to put money or organization in California this fall. Neither is Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who won 236,000 more votes than the unopposed Obama.

The results in some individual House races are interesting -- and surprising -- as well. California voters also adopted a new supposedly nonpartisan congressional redistricting commission. Under the previous bipartisan incumbent protection plan, there was only one party turnover in the state's 265 House races in the last 10 years.

[logicnreason]

My dad once told me that the road of life was literally loaded with "road signs" informing, enlightening, and directional.

 

The only problem was, that they're all turned around so that one cannot read them until you are past them!!!

 

The article points out some items of interest surely. But it won't be until after Nov., 2012 that we can clearly "see" the actual road signs.

 

Oh...I understand a few "burgs" in Maine are moving in the "right" direction with respect to public employee's pensions.

 

May be that there is a "movement" underfoot? I work with public employees here in WI....the whinning and complaining is tedious, borning, and never ending. When I tell them that if they don't like it here, they should quit and go out into the private sector, they whine that there are no jobs in the private sector!!!

 

Well......DUHHH!

[righteousmomma]

Yes, @logicandreason and your screen name says it all. Logic and reason and common sense critical thinking seem to be genetically missing in about half the population.

 

[Argyle58]

I don't think that this as great as the spin being put on it suggests. It is my understanding that, even though the voters voted their pocket books in both elections, exit polling in those elections still show The "o" doing well.

[pollyannaish]

I don't think that this as great as the spin being put on it suggests. It is my understanding that, even though the voters voted their pocket books in both elections, exit polling in those elections still show The "o" doing well.

 

Yes, but exit polling also showed the Governor's race to be extremely close and in the end it wasn't. I honestly put VERY little stock in exit polling these days. People are too frightened by face to face conflict and don't want anyone to know who they voted for.

 

I am very cautiously optimistic. I think Romney has a pretty good chance, but it is far from a sure thing.

[Evad]

" they whine that there are no jobs in the private sector!!!"

 

"The private sector economy is JUST FINE!"

BHO

 

Logic and Reason are easy if you just follow the Rummy Rule:

"I do not accept your premise"...and proceed from there.