U. S. Midterm Elections

U. S. mid-term elections will be held on Tuesday, November 7,2006 in all fifty states . U. S. mid-term elections will ask voters in congressional districts across the nation to elect a representative ( 435 in all) to come to Washington, D. C. to sit in Congress and represent them and their district for the next two years. In some states voters will also have the opportunity to chose a United States Senator ( Senators are elected for six year terms and one third of their 100 member body is elect every two years. .) Traditionaly U. S. mid-term elections , those elections held halfway in between presidential elections , are seen as a type of referendum on the job the party in power has done. It is likely that this year's U.S. mid-term election will also provide a opportunity for a referendum, but the question is, about what.

The Mid-Term Election from President Bush's Perspective On October 25, 2006, George Bush held a press conference and in response to questions indicated clearly what he thinks about the substance of the U. S. mid-term election in 2006. President Bush believes that the U. S. mid-term election will provide the electorate with a referendum on two key issues .

First, President Bush indicated that people have a fundamental concern about their economic well being. They may see the election at least in part as a referendum on the economy. Because the Republicans continue to push for lowering taxes, which President Bush insists will keep the economy strong, he believes the election will return a Republican majority to both houses of Congress.

The second issued President Bush insists will drive the election is not just the war in Iraq but our overall safety and security as a nation. President Bush believes that we are safer now than we were on 9/11 and that people believe Republicans are more capable of keeping this country safe and secure than are their Democratic opponents. For President Bush, the election is then also in part a referendum about who is best equipped to maintain national security, a referendum he expects Republican candidates to win as well.

The Democrats' View The U.S. mid-term election as viewed by Democrats is either going to be something more or something less in terms of issues than is envisioned by President Bush . Some Democrats hold to deceased, former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil's observation that " all politics is local". While President Bush expects the election to be won or lost on the basis of national economy or security issues, some Democrats are willing to say that in their congressional district different issues will both get out the vote and determine its results. In 435 congressional districts there will be a referendum for sure but it will be about issues like education, stem cell research, immigration, or gay rights.
They feel confident that the vote will not be rocked by the issues suggested by the President.

Other Democrats believe that neither these local issues nor President Bush's two issues, the economy and national security, are what this U. S. mid-term election will be all about. To rework a tired cliché from the Clinton campaign "It's the WAR stupid!". Some Democrats are sure that at this year's U. S. mid-term election voters will be showing up at the polls to vote their mind and their heart about one issue only - the war in Iraq. Every other issue, national or more localized will take a decidedly back seat to our involvement in deadly combat on the other side of the world.

With national polls showing large percentages of voeters who are dissatisfied with the President's and Congress' handling of the war, Democrats who believe the election is a referendum about the war in Iraq areconfident about predicting an upending of Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Unites States Senate and a two house victory for the Democrats.

A Third Possibility It is possible for both the Republicans and Democrats to be totally right and totally wrong in their predictions about the upcoming U. S. mid-term election. It is likely that the election will turn out to look very much like a national referendum on something. And some of the many issues suggested by both sides are likely to play into the voting process, so both parties can claim to be right.. It is just possible that people will come out to the polls to express their opinions about the national issues of the economy and security or they may come out to the polls to vote about more local issues or the omnipresent war. In fact there will appear to be many referendums going on at the same time making both Republicans and Democrats right.

But in another sense, both sides may well miss the point of the referendum if they reduce it simply to choices about issues. It is quite possible that in this U. S. mid-term election the people will make their choices in the same way they did when they voted for high school student council positions. It is as likely as any other scenario that voters will vote for congressional candidates whom they like and whom they trust for whatever reason or for no reason at all. If Republicans , hose seen to be aligned with President Geroge Bush are liked and trusted more than their Democratic opponents , they will find the electorate will vote nationally to stay the course with two more years of Republican rule. But if, on the other hand, people decide they don't like or don't trust Republican candidates for Congress they will vote in a House of Representatives and a United States Senate controlled by Democrats. There are some who do believe that not only is all politics local but most politics is also personal.

After the U. S. mid-term election we may find it difficult to discern exactly what triggered the liking or the trusting. But one thing is for sure, in the United States we'll get to rethink it over and over and do again in just two more years. God Bless America!