Both parties are sending messages conveying operatic levels of suspense about Tuesday’s election, like this: “The fate of this election still rests on a razor’s edge. The difference between victory and defeat will be determined by our actions in the final three days.” Or this, “Right now, there are organizers on the ground in states like Iowa and North Carolina who haven’t done laundry or eaten a homemade meal in weeks -- because they’re spending every single minute of their time talking to the voters who will make a difference in this election.” The first was from the Republican National Committee, and the second from first lady Michelle Obama.
It is true that all citizens have a responsibility to vote, to learn, and to care.
Yet one political scientist thinks the 2014 midterms won’t matter that much. Georgia State University Associate Professor Daniel P. Franklin, author of, “Pitiful Giants: Presidents in their Final Terms,” says this will not be like 1994, which was a watershed election.
“The last truly consequential midterm election was in 1994. 2014 is not 1994. It is important to mention that in 1994 the Republicans took over the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Under the leadership of Speaker Newt Gingrich, the Republicans were able to pass much of their Contract with America, forcing President Bill Clinton to assert in 1995 that he was as president ’still relevant.' Postscript: Bill Clinton went on to win reelection in 1996 in a walk and most of the Contract with America was passed to little or no effect,” said Franklin in a statement from his university.
The framers of the Constitution designed our government that way, according to Franklin. Staggered elections and the separation of powers, in which Congress makes laws, the Judiciary interprets laws, and the president can veto what Congress decides, forces American policies to change slowly. That is not a bad thing, in his analysis. “Consequently, policy in the United States tends to move incrementally, just a little bit at a time, which all in all, given the success of the United States in comparison other countries has served us in good stead,” wrote Franklin.
One of the most competitive Senate races is in his state of Georgia. Democrat Michelle Nunn is vying with Republican David Perdue. Though Georgia is solidly Republican, the contest is so close that it may need a runoff January 6.
