Pretty much tells it like it is - IF you like what you went through for the last two years - vote for the office holder - IF NOT, put the new guy in.....how much simpler can it be???
When Party Is All That Matters
There's only one question for voters in the midterm congressional elections: Is the country headed in the right direction?.
By PAUL H. RUBIN
As the midterm approaches, I am amazed at the number of totally irrelevant arguments in the debates and in the media. This year there is only one issue at play in the Senate and House elections: Is the country headed in the right direction?
Does a candidate have strange views about social issues? How did he or she earn a living? These things don't matter much.
Many Democrats claim they differ from President Obama on this or that. That does not matter either. What matters is which party controls the House and the Senate. If the Democrats have the majority in the Senate, then things will continue pretty much as they are. There will be no new major legislation (a Republican House will stop that), but efforts to roll back what has already passed will not go far. If the Republicans control the Senate, then some rollback might occur and the country might be ready for more change in 2012.
Personality matters in elections for governors because governors have executive authority. This year, governors' party affiliations matter more than normal because this is the year when redistricting will occur, and that will influence the composition of the U.S. House of Representatives until the next census, set for 2020. But this is a secondary issue, and a rational voter might vote for a Democrat for governor because the voter thinks that the Democrat would do a better job of governing.
But members of Congress do not govern. They vote on national issues. If you like the direction of the country in the last two years, then vote Democratic. If you do not, vote Republican.
Mr. Rubin is professor of economics at Emory University
When Party Is All That Matters
There's only one question for voters in the midterm congressional elections: Is the country headed in the right direction?.
By PAUL H. RUBIN
As the midterm approaches, I am amazed at the number of totally irrelevant arguments in the debates and in the media. This year there is only one issue at play in the Senate and House elections: Is the country headed in the right direction?
Does a candidate have strange views about social issues? How did he or she earn a living? These things don't matter much.
Many Democrats claim they differ from President Obama on this or that. That does not matter either. What matters is which party controls the House and the Senate. If the Democrats have the majority in the Senate, then things will continue pretty much as they are. There will be no new major legislation (a Republican House will stop that), but efforts to roll back what has already passed will not go far. If the Republicans control the Senate, then some rollback might occur and the country might be ready for more change in 2012.
Personality matters in elections for governors because governors have executive authority. This year, governors' party affiliations matter more than normal because this is the year when redistricting will occur, and that will influence the composition of the U.S. House of Representatives until the next census, set for 2020. But this is a secondary issue, and a rational voter might vote for a Democrat for governor because the voter thinks that the Democrat would do a better job of governing.
But members of Congress do not govern. They vote on national issues. If you like the direction of the country in the last two years, then vote Democratic. If you do not, vote Republican.
Mr. Rubin is professor of economics at Emory University
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