Subliminal Message, Behind Elections?

November 4, 2009, 3:41 pm

Reading the Election Tea Leaves
By David Brooks and Gail Collins
Steve Helber/The Associated Press Voters at a polling place in Glen Allen, Va., on Tuesday.
David Brooks: Gail, I love elections generally and this one was perfect. It cut through the great illusion of political life. The great illusion is that American politics is divided between people who read The Huffington Post on the one hand and people who listen to Rush and Glenn Beck on the other. We all know intellectually that this is not the case but it’s hard to keep it in mind day to day.

Related
Room for Debate: What Did the Election Mean?

Gail Collins: I don’t actually think the election tells us much of anything except that New Jersey is a mess, the Republican Party in New York is a mess and the Democrats in Virginia picked a terrible candidate.

But I love the fact that two people can draw entirely different conclusions from them.

David Brooks: I’m sticking to my guns. This election reminded us of a couple truths. One, that there are twice as many conservatives in this country as liberals, and only one-fifth of the people in the country considers themselves liberal. This means that 80 percent of the people are inclined to be skeptical of government and worried by federal haste and exploding debt.

People who are center-right do well when a Democratic president is raising fears and anxieties.
It also reminded us that there are more independents than Democrats or Republicans, and that these independents have been shifting slightly rightward over the past year. They are more skeptical of government than they were when Barack Obama took office. They are more hostile to unions and other interest groups. They are more opposed to greater regulation.

The election reminded us that 2008 has not turned into a realignment. The country is still a bell curve. Moderate Republicans that run calm campaigns can do well, even in Democratic areas like northern Virginia and New Jersey.

It reminded us most satisfyingly that reckless “tea-bag” conservatives, fueled by Sarah Palin types, cannot easily win, even in conservative parts of the country, like upstate New York. Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty made a horrible decision in throwing himself in with that lot by endorsing the Conservative candidate in that House race.

All in all, politics is not brain science. The country is center-right. People who are center-right do well when a Democratic president is raising all sorts of fears and anxieties.

Gail Collins: David, you look at the results from Tuesday and deduce that they show Americans are, in general, thoughtful folks who are concerned for their fellow men but suspicious of big government and a bit right of center. In short, you look at the country and see many variations on you.

I would be extremely happy if I thought that the Republican Party would be fielding a large number of David Brookses in different shapes and sizes and genders. So would most American women since as voters they hate nothing more than guys who yell a lot.

New Jersey is a mess, the Republican Party in New York is a mess and the Democrats in Virginia picked a terrible candidate.
The tea-party folks have more yelling guys than any group of Americans this side of professional football fans. You are heartened by their defeat in that upstate Congressional race. Did you know that the last time a Democrat won up there, Ulysses Grant was president? (Have you noticed how many loser presidents we elected before and after Abraham Lincoln? I like to contemplate that every once in a while when I begin to get gloomy about the current state of the electorate. We might have gone for George W. Bush twice, but when it comes to failing upward, even W. can’t hold a candle to Franklin Pierce.)

I digress. While the loonies did not manage to win the actual race, they still feel totally empowered by their ability to destroy a moderate non-yelling Republican woman with a Conservative candidate whose defects included the fact that he did not live in the district and seemed to lack an ability to blink.

They will be back, and their craziness will turn the Democrats crazy, too. While Democrats would not like to lose to a bunch of David Brooks clones, they are totally terrified of letting Congress fall into the hands of a mass of Michele Bachmanns. I can’t totally blame them for feeling that they have the right to do anything, no matter how duplicitous, to fend off that terrible fate.

So the 2010 campaigns are not going to make you happy, and I want you to bask in the glow while you can.

David Brooks: Have I mentioned that I love elections?

After reading this op-ed article, I found it very interesting how the authors’ because there are two, ask each other questions to give us their point of view. It is another creative way to write an op-ed article.

Even though it was an op-ed article it was also a bit informative. It gave the reader information of what happened in the elections and who won, recently.

I was really surprised about how many states, who were always either republican or democrat, have now switched sides. How can we interpret this, are they trying to send us a message? Why this drastic change? For example how it happened in New Jersey. Is there something hidden behind these elections?

As Gail Collins says, “ you look at the results from Tuesday and deduce that they show Americans are, in general, thoughtful folks who are concerned for their fellow men but suspicious of big government and a bit right of center.” Is this a protest against president Obama? From my view point I believe he hasn’t been as successful as how everyone thought he would be, and many Americans are mad, they are waiting for these promises to be made, yet they continue waiting. As stated by David Brooks, “All in all, politics is not brain science. The country is center-right. People who are center-right do well when a Democratic president is raising all sorts of fears and anxieties.” Americans will do something about it if Obama doesn’t get his act together. Americans are so concerned many will even sacrifice their vote, in order to get themselves heard. Obama has had plenty of time, what really is going on? Can he not handle being the president of the United States of America, many ask themselves.