I live in Chicago. And I'm seeing red. And I'm blue.
Senate:
# Mark Kirk (R) takes Senate seat for GOP
House:
# IL-11: Kinzinger (R) defeats Halvorsen (D)
# IL-14 Randy Hultgrin (R) defeats Bill Foster (D)
# IL-17: Schilling (R) defeats Hare (D)
#
# IL-08: Bean 48.2, Walsh 48.5 99% reporting
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If those results don't show you something is very wrong with Obama's message, nothing will. This is his state. IL has been solid Democrat for generations. And Dems have been trounced here.
Why? I think I have a clue:
While young voters participation is slightly down,
Seniors account for 24 percent of the vote, their highest in a national House vote in data going back to 1992, and their 19-point margin in support of Republican candidates, if it holds, will be the best such margin among seniors in House vote for the GOP, again in available exit poll data since 1992.
The "cellphone" users we were counting on to rescue us from horrible pre election polls did not materialize. Young voters still came through, at least as much as they have on past midterms
Young Adults (age 18-29) represented 11% of all voters in the 2010 midterm elections, according to the National Exit Poll conducted by Edison Mitofsky Research. Young adults were 12% of voters in 2006 and 11% in 2002.
What changed the game was the angry white seniors. The ones who went all the way to Washington to hear Glenn beck. The ones who were spreading spittle and racist signs at tea party rallies.
Yet... Just last weekend John Stewart showed us all that we sane people outnumber the spittle flecked angry white conservatives, and the deluded working class stiffs. So what happened ?
My guess ? "Who are you going to vote for ? Those insane GOP candidates ?" is not a message that takes people to the voting booth. Sanity, it seems, can move 210,000 to DC, but can not move 2/3rds of the population to like this economy and this Congress.. And vote to keep more of the same.
Critically, just a third say the administration's economic stimulus program has helped the economy – a harsh judgment after $800 billion has been spent. And the Congress is remarkably unpopular: just 25 percent of voters approve of the way it is doing its job, compared to 24 percent in 2008, 37 per cent in 2006, and 41 per cent in 1998
To me the Illinois results, and the 2 recent rallies we had on DC tell me that Obama and Dems failed to connect to the yearning for sanity and to the anger - liberal anger - that moved people to last week's rally. We outnumber them, but we need someone to lead. And all we found was a man who calls himself a clown. And has puppets leading up to his comedy show.
If this election and those two rallies don't show a huge void in leadership, I don't know what does.
