{"id":37836,"date":"2018-11-06T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=37836"},"modified":"2018-11-04T16:16:38","modified_gmt":"2018-11-04T21:16:38","slug":"election-day-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2018\/11\/election-day-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Election Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Today is the midterm election.<\/a>\u00a0 All members of the House of Representatives, whose term is only two years, are up for election.\u00a0 Also one-third of the Senate.\u00a0 An untold number of state and local officials and referendums will also be voted upon today.<\/p>\n

And all of these elections, taken as a whole, are being framed as a referendum on President Trump.\u00a0 That\u2019s the way Democrats are presenting them.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the way the President is presenting them.\u00a0 In his campaign speeches<\/a> for Republican candidates, he has been telling crowds that a vote for that candidate \u201cis a vote for me.\u201d\u00a0 Though voters should be considering a host of local issues and the candidacies of people they are familiar with, the state elections have been nationalized.<\/p>\n

\n

Indeed, they will make a big difference for President Trump.\u00a0 If the Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives\u2013they only need to pick up 24 additional seats<\/a> of the 435 total\u2013they could<\/em> file articles of impeachment against him (an action that has to be initiated by the House).\u00a0 Even if they don\u2019t take that step, the House Democratic leadership is promising to initiate a host of congressional investigations against him and his administration (his business dealings, treatment of women, etc.).\u00a0 Should the Mueller investigation find no evidence of collusion with the Russians or obstruction of justice, which seems likely, a Democratic House leadership will probably find something to accuse him of.<\/p>\n

A Democratic House would certainly block the president\u2019s legislative agenda.\u00a0 There will be no more tax cuts, since revenue bill have to start in the House, and no chance for both houses to approve the building of a border wall, immigration crackdowns, or new military spending.<\/p>\n

Gaining control of the Senate<\/a> will be a more difficult task for Democrats.\u00a0 Currently, Republicans control the Senate with a bare 51-49 majority.\u00a0 But most of the seats in contention in this election are in states that Trump carried in the presidential race.\u00a0 The Senate holds the trial for any impeachment proceeding, which takes a two-thirds majority to actually remove a president.\u00a0 So any attempt to impeach president Trump will surely be futile.\u00a0 The Senate also confirms judges, so if Republicans can hold onto the Senate, they will be in a position to approve more conservative Supreme Court justices, if there are any more vacancies.<\/p>\n

Experts<\/a> predict that Democrats will gain control of the House and Republicans will maintain control of the Senate.\u00a0 Then again, as has been said, these are the same experts who predicted that Hillary Clinton would easily beat Donald Trump in the presidential\u00a0 election.<\/p>\n

Democrats have been foreseeing a \u201cblue wave\u201d of anti-Trump voters.\u00a0 That could happen.\u00a0 No one knows who will turn out to actually vote.\u00a0 Those with strong convictions, such as those with a visceral dislike of the president, are more likely to vote.\u00a0 Then again, Republican feelings have reportedly been stirred up with what they perceive as the mistreatment of Judge Kavanaugh, as well as a backlash against what they perceive as Democratic extremism and mob actions.<\/p>\n

For the crucial Independent vote, which often turns the tide in partisan elections, the economy is booming, with record high employment.\u00a0 Usually, when the economy is doing well, the incumbent is benefited.\u00a0 The slogan \u201cJobs Not Mobs,\u201d which Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams helped formulate,<\/a>\u00a0is gaining traction with a lot of people.<\/p>\n

The election today will have other ramifications.\u00a0 Will the liberal\u00a0wunderkind\u00a0<\/em>Beto O\u2019Rourke upset Ted Cruz in Texas, putting one of the nation\u2019s largest and most conservative states in play for Democrats in 2020?\u00a0 Will Florida choose the very liberal Andrew Gillum<\/a> for governor, which could herald a swing to the left in that perennial swing state?\u00a0 How will the Democratic candidates do who went far, far to the left, embracing \u201cdemocratic socialism\u201d and calling for the abolition of I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and \u201cMedicare for All\u201d?\u00a0 If they win, that could herald a leftward shift in the entire party, including putting forward a very radical presidential candidate.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t, that could mean the Democrats might oppose Trump with a more normal-seeming, centrist candidate.<\/p>\n

So what are you going to do when you cast your ballot?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illustration:\u00a0 U.S. Army photo\u00a0(Photo Credit: Courtesy photo).\u00a0 Public Domain<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is the midterm election.\u00a0 All members of the House of Representatives, whose term is only two years, are up for election.\u00a0 Also one-third of the Senate.\u00a0 An untold number of state and local officials and referendums will also be voted upon today. And all of these elections, taken as a whole, are being framed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":37842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[7393,657,1046,4923,1880,1993],"class_list":["post-37836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-2018-midterm-elections","tag-democrats","tag-house-of-representatives","tag-president-donald-trump","tag-republicans","tag-senate"],"yoast_head":"\nElection Day<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today's midterm elections are being framed as a referendum on Donald Trump. 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