First Read: “For all Southern Democrats’ efforts to distance themselves from Obama – (ie refusing to say whether they voted for the president, pushing pro-gun and pro-coal policies) it’s notable that NONE of the Democrats in ’14 ran significantly better in the South (including West Virginia and Kentucky) than Obama did in ’12. And in some cases, they were worse.”
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Obama Says He’ll Listen to Those Who Didn’t Vote
“President Obama did something extraordinary, perhaps unprecedented, in his post-election news conference Wednesday: He claimed a mandate on behalf of voters who didn’t vote,” Byron York reports.
Said Obama: “To everyone who voted, I want you to know that I hear you. To the two-thirds of voters who chose not to participate in the process yesterday, I hear you, too.”
The Midterm Elections Weren’t Even Close
“Say what you want about the American people; on Tuesday, they were decisive. Very decisive. In fact, of the 435 House and 36 Senate races, only about nine percent of them (41) were decided by single digits,” the Washington Post reports.
“By contrast, in the 2012 presidential election, 83 House districts and 15 states were decided by single digits — about 20 percent of all House districts and 30 percent of all states.”
Quote of the Day
“I don’t know if I can give it a specific ranking, but it’s pretty high up on the list. I’d put it in the top 10 for sure.”
— White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer, in an interview with Bloomberg, on where the 2014 midterm election ranks in terms of worst moments for the Obama administration.
Landrieu Faces Runoff Alone
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) “is on a solo mission to retain her Senate seat,” Politico reports.
“Democrats are scrapping a multimillion dollar ad buy, liberal groups aren’t jumping in to help her campaign and national political staffers haven’t moved down en masse to help get out the vote.”
“Her early strategy is to blunt Republican attempts to nationalize the race, as they did when the balance of power was up for grabs in the Senate, into a local campaign.”
Unemployment Rate Falls Again
The U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 5.8% last month, the Wall Street Journal reports. That’s the lowest level since 2008.
Washington Post: “The latest encouraging numbers keep the nation on pace for its best labor market year since 1999 and stand in noted contrast to a wave of discontent that helped Republicans sweep a round of midterm elections this week. Though wage growth has been sluggish in recent years, Americans — helped by falling oil prices — are seeing their purchasing power rise. And they are now finding jobs with reliability unseen since the Great Recession.”
Wonk Wire: But when will wages grow?
Election Wasn’t About Obamacare
A new Public Opinion Strategies (R) Election Night Poll shows that the Affordable Care Act was not as much of a vote factor in 2014 as it was in 2010.
Key findings:
- Less than one-third of voters (32%) recalled seeing, reading, or hearing any campaign commercials on the topic of the health care law or Obamacare. This is drastically different than voter recall levels in 2010 where nearly seven in ten voters (69%) recalled campaign commercials on the ACA.
- The 32% of voters who recalled seeing, reading, or hearing campaign commercials on the topic of the ACA this election report the commercials were overwhelmingly in opposition to the ACA. This is consistent with the 2010 election.
Wonk Wire: Repealing Obama: From political stunt to proposed policy?
Time for Pelosi To Go?
“No Democrat is gearing up to challenge Nancy Pelosi in public, but behind the scenes some Democrats are saying it’s time for new blood at the leadership table ahead of 2016,” Politico reports.
“Senior aides said they hope the party’s big losses Tuesday would encourage the minority leader to expand her network of allies and advisers to include a broader set of voices for crafting election messaging and congressional agendas.”
Clinton Speeds Up Timetable for Campaign
“In the coming weeks, Hillary Rodham Clinton will stop delivering paid speeches. She will embark on an unofficial listening tour to gather ideas from the business community, union leaders and others. And she will seek advice from such far-flung advisers as an ad man in Austin, Tex., behind the iconic ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ campaign and a leading strategist at a Boston-based public affairs consulting firm with ties to the Kennedys,” the New York Times reports.
“The Democratic debacle in Tuesday’s midterm elections has put new urgency on Mrs. Clinton’s efforts to create a blueprint for a 2016 presidential candidacy, including exploring White Plains as a possible national headquarters and digesting exit polls to determine what the midterm results could mean for the presidential electoral map.”
“A number of advisers saw only upside for Mrs. Clinton in the party’s midterm defeats. Before then, opinions had been mixed about when she should form an exploratory committee, the first step toward declaring a presidential candidacy, with some urging her to delay it until late spring. But over the past few days, a consensus formed among those close to Mrs. Clinton that it is time to accelerate her schedule: She faces pressure to resurrect the Democratic Party, and she is already being scrutinized as the party’s presumptive nominee, so advisers see little reason to delay.”
The Least Political President?
“President Obama looked almost relieved after Tuesday’s election blowout. A man who has been perhaps the least political president in modern U.S. history doesn’t have to worry about elections anymore,” David Ignatius reports.
Hatch Says Reid was ‘Pathetic’ as Majority Leader
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) bashed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in an interview with The Hill and called the last four years “the most pathetic, pitiful way I’ve seen the Senate run in all my 38 years — and I’ve seen some pretty pathetic, pitiful times.”
Said Hatch: “Reid is one of my friends, but he’s been a pathetic majority leader as far as I’m concerned. He thought he was doing right by protecting his side, but I think the American people resented him because he got nothing done.”
Senate Democrats Plan Legislative Push in Lame Duck
“Before ceding full control of Congress to the GOP in January, Senate Democrats are planning to rush a host of critical measures to President Obama’s desk, including bills to revive dozens of expired tax breaks and avoid a government shutdown for another year,” the Washington Post reports.
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is also aiming to chip away at a backlog of presidential nominations to the federal bench and the State Department over the next month, although Democratic aides say they will be unable to process all of the hundreds of pending appointments before turning the chamber over to Republicans.”
Not Much to Show for Biggest Democratic Donor
“In the last days before the midterm elections, Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist who spent at least $57 million of his own money to influence Tuesday’s outcome — more than any other single donor — set off on a frenetic get-out-the-vote tour to Colorado, Iowa and finally New Hampshire… After all that, Mr. Steyer appears to have largely wasted his time and money,” the New York Times reports.
“Most of his candidates lost, even though Mr. Steyer, his advocacy organization NextGen Climate, and other environmental groups spent a total of about $85 million — a magnitude greater than they had ever spent in any election year.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“No. God, no. I’ve already been there 16 years. I don’t want to be a career guy. Even though I’ve been there a long time, where you could already say that… It’s just, I don’t want to spend my adult life in Congress.”
— Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), quoted by National Journal, on being in Congress another ten years.
Gay Marriage Bans Upheld in 4 States
“The same-sex marriage movement lost its first major case in a federal appeals court Thursday after a lengthy string of victories, creating a split among the nation’s circuit courts that virtually guarantees Supreme Court review,” USA Today reports.
“The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed district court rulings that had struck down gay marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. More important, it gives Supreme Court justices an appellate ruling that runs counter to four others from the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th circuits. Those rulings struck down same-sex marriage bans in Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Idaho and Nevada and led to similar action in neighboring states.”
Political Leanings of the Biggest Brands
Time has a new interactive tool that places 2,700 common brands on a political spectrum based on the percentage of their brick-and-mortar stores that are located in Democratic or Republican districts – determined by the 2014 midterm elections.
For example: Of the 139 American Apparel stores, 83% are in blue districts, whereas only 12% of Belk stores are in Democratic districts and Chipotle falls right in the middle, with an equal 50% split of locations in Democratic and Republican districts. Another example would be Tim Horton’s is 63% Republican, Starbucks 49%, and Dunkin’ Donuts is 36% Republican.
Number of Midterm Donors Fall
Open Secrets: “In every midterm election since 1990 (as well as in every presidential), the total number of individual donors has increased along with the total cost. This time, CRP has projected the total cost of election will rise, but, for the first time in 24 years, the total number of reported donors will likely decline.”
Boehner Strikes Combative Tone
House Speaker John Boehner “struck a combative tone Thursday in his first postelection comments, vowing the House would again vote to repeal the federal health-care law and warning the White House from ‘poisoning the well’ on immigration,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Emboldened by electoral victories that allowed Republicans to take control of the Senate, Mr. Boehner put the onus on President Barack Obama to work with Republicans now that they will control both the House and Senate in the new year… Mr. Boehner specifically warned Mr. Obama from taking executive action to address problems with the immigration system. Such a move could ruin any chances of lawmakers taking on a broad overhaul of a system the Ohio Republican said is not working.”
