Derrick Wilburn
Blakpac Columnist
For all his mounting failures—record levels of debt, handing Iraq to
ISIS, record high numbers on welfare, in poverty, out of the workforce,
on and on it goes—there’s one area in which Barack Obama is succeeding
massively. Handing election victories to Republicans.
When the governor’s mansion in Maryland was handed to a Republican
last year people said, “No way! Impossible!” Illinois? “It’ll never flip
Republican!” It did. Maryland? Ditto. Tuesday night Democrats hoped
the citizens of Virginia would hand control of the state senate to
Democrat governor Terry McAuliffe. It wasn’t even close. Democrats could
have gained control by gaining just one senate seat. Didn’t happen.
Going back to 1900 the state of Kentucky has had 28 governors, 22 of
them Democrats. It’s a state that’s been in Democrat hands since as long
as anyone alive can remember. Tuesday night Kentuckians voted a in Tea
Party Republican. With the flipping of this seat Republicans now hold 32
governorships, Democrats just 16! And it’s going to get worse.
Barack Obama is doing damage to the Democrat party may last decades
if not generations. From sea to shining sea his radical leftist policy
agenda is costing lawmakers, mayors, city councils, school boards,
dog-catchers to be at a disadvantage if the letter “D” is next to their
name on an election ballot.
He’s fortifying red state strongholds,
turning purple states red, toppling Democrat seats in solidly blue
states. Republicans should almost lament the 22nd Amendment, with
another term in office Obama could well deliver the governorships of
California and New York.
Many voters, Democrats in particular, are in love with the idea of
Obama but not in love with Obama’s ideas. The notion of casting their
ballots for a young, good-looking, articulate, black-American struck the
right nerve for millions. But his obsessive desires to fundamentally
change America into debt-laden, socialist utopia for bisexual
transgender unionized illegals do not.
The Affordable Care Act, amnesty for illegals, adding trillions in
new debt, weakening our military, expanding the IRS, increasing energy
costs via reams of new EPA mandates, forcing transgenderism on schools,
nor a myriad of other “nation changing” actions he’s taken while in
office are electoral winners. (Which is why he does most of them via
Executive Order.)
Prior to the last elections Obama commented how he was not personally
on the ballot but his policies were. He was right. Americans are not
just rejecting his policies they’re hopping mad over them. Since Obama
isn’t on the ballot voter are taking that anger out on the next best
thing — anyone with a “D” after their name.
Obama’s first mid-term elections in 2010 was disastrous for the
Democrat party. The Tea Party wave swept oodles of Democrats out of
office. The Democratic Party suffered massive defeats in both national
and state level elections; some of the biggest losses by one political
party since the Great Depression.
At the federal level the Republican Party gained 63 seats in the
House thus recapturing the majority making it the largest seat change
since 1948 and the largest for any midterm election since 1938.
Republicans gained 6 seats in the Senate. As impressive as those gains
were, state legislative results far outpaced D.C. Republicans gained 680
seats in state legislative races! The previous record pickup was 628
set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974. The 2010
midterms left Republicans in control of 26 state legislatures and
dropped Democrats to controlling just 15 of 50. Republicans took 11
governorships from the Democrats in 2010. The 2010 midterm also resulted
in a Republican sleeping in 29 of our 50 state governor’s mansions.
To further highlight the degree of beat down, 54 incumbents lost
re-election bids in 2010, of that 54, 52 were Democrats. Just two
Republicans lost their re-election races. Fourteen open seats that were
held by Democrats were won by Republicans, only one open seat held by a
Republican was won by a Democrat.
The 2012 elections were basically a push. Obama won a second term
with 51% of popular vote. In the U.S. Senate Democrats recovered one of
the seats lost in 2010. Democrats held their majority in the Senate
Republicans held theirs in the House. Democrats lost one governorship,
Republicans gained one.
Then came November 4, 2014. Up for grabs; all 435 House seats 36 of
100 Senate seats, 38 state and territorial governorships, 46 state
legislatures. Though it didn’t seem possible, Democrat defeats in 2010
were dwarfed. Republicans gained control of the U.S. Senate for the
first time since 2006, increased their already commanding majority in
the House and gained two more governorships.
The 2014 elections resulted in the largest Republican majority in
nearly a century; 54 seats in the Senate, 247 in the House, 31
governorships and 68 state legislative chambers. Republicans gained
their largest majority in the United States Congress and largest
majority of state legislatures since 1928. Of the 36 Senate races, the
Republican Party won 24 the Democratic Party won 12. Things at the
governor’s level were even worse. Elections were held for the
governorships of 36 of the 50 U.S. states. Republicans won 24.
As brutal as the 2014 governor’s elections were for Democrats, state
legislature elections were worse still. A total of 6049 seats were up
for election, fully 82% of the total number of state legislative seats
in the USA. When the post-election dust finally settled the number of
Republican-controlled state houses sat at 68. The highest number of
state legislatures in Republican hands since 1928. The smallest number
in Democrat control since 1860.
The severity of the pounding Democrats took in 2014 is almost
impossible to understate. In a prize fight between Obama’s policies and
the Great Depression, the Depression just barely eeked out a split
decision. All across America scores of Democrat elected officials have
been relegated to the scrap heap as Americans soundly reject the agenda
of this president. He is the worst thing to happen to the Democrat Party
in nearly a century and has done for the Republican Party what it could
only fantasize about doing for itself.
Yet this president is so singularly focused on bringing about his
vision for America, his version of the ‘fundamental transformation’ he
believes the nation needs that he soldiers on –alone if necessary–
pushing a radically far-left agenda harder with each passing day. If he
cannot get congressional buy in (aka: the American people’s buy in) he
goes the Executive Order route. Forcing through wildly unpopular changes
that Americans do not want and forcing elected Democrats to walk a
tight rope – stand by my man, on the one hand; realize that standing by
my man may cost me my job on the other. Democrats should want this
president gone more than they want their next breath of air. THEY should
impeach him!
Half of the Senators who voted for Obamacare are no longer in the
U.S. Senate. A good portion of those who are still there have yet to
face voters since casting their votes for the ACA back in 2010. Their
turn at the trough comes up in 2016 when, after another year of Obama
continuing to govern against the will of the people, even more Democrats
are likely to fall. If the next year of this presidency resemble the
first seven, Republicans will extend their majorities from Boston to San
Diego.
The Great Depression has held the belt for nearly a century. In this
prize fight analogy the ring announcer is introducing the challenger
now, “Fighting out of the blue corner, he hails from the island of
Hawaii,….we think,….Barack ‘The Destroyer of Democrats’ Obama!”
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