Obama waits to see damage as America votes in mid-terms
American voters went to the polls today with Republicans poised to strip Democrats of their hold on power in Congress and reshape the political landscape nationwide.
Barring an unexpected surge in turnout among Democrats, a Republican landslide, fuelled by the ultra-conservative tea party movement, was likely to handicap President Barack Obama’s ambitious agenda for changing the country.
Just two years ago, Mr Obama swept into the White House with Democrats holding majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Voters had turned to Mr Obama and his Democrats to signal their weariness with the eight-year presidency of Republican George Bush, who began the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and oversaw the near collapse of the financial system.
But Mr Obama and his party quickly fell from favour under the burden of the so-called Great Recession and its aftermath, near-10% unemployment, anaemic economic growth and a continuing epidemic of home mortgage foreclosures that are wiping out Americans’ life savings.
Republicans have ridden the crest of a wave of American fear and dissatisfaction to this Election Day. They have been bolstered by the tea party movement, a loose-knit group of organisations opposed to federal government influence on citizens’ lives that sprang to life after Mr Obama took the White House.
Pre-vote polling unanimously showed the business-friendly Republicans poised to grab the majority in the House, with a lesser chance of taking charge in the Senate. Their message was simple: smaller government and low taxes.
Republicans need 40 more seats to win the House, a goal that polls indicate they have a strong chance of exceeding. Races for more than 100 of the 435 seats are competitive, mostly in Democratic-held districts.
Republicans need a net gain of 10 seats out of 37 on the ballot to win a majority in the 100-seat Senate, a tougher road that requires them to win all the tight races.
Republicans buoyantly forecast a new era of divided government. “We’re hoping now for a fresh start with the American people,” said Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele.
“This is going to be a big day,” House Republican Leader John Boehner, likely to become speaker if his party wins the House, said after voting.
Mr Obama gave a series of radio interviews, geared in part to urban black audiences, encouraging traditional Democratic supporters not to sit on the sidelines.
“Across the board, things have gotten better over the last two years,” he said. “We can only keep it up if I’ve got some friends and allies in Congress and in statehouses.”
But the party is looking over its shoulder at the tea party movement that rattled the Republican establishment in the primaries, expelling several veteran politicians while installing more than 70 candidates. Nearly three dozen tea party-backed Republicans are in competitive races. Democrats hope that the ultra-conservative policies of many those candidates will prove too extreme for voters in the general election.
The tea party has energised Republican voters upset with Mr Obama’s far-reaching health care reform law and the staggering sums poured into stimulating the economy. Mr Obama argues the economy would have fallen into a new Great Depression without the $814bn (€579bn) programme. Republicans say it was a waste of money.
Mr Obama is waiting out the voting at the White House after a weekend campaign swing through four states, in a bid to rekindle the enthusiasm of young voters, liberals, blacks and independents whose ballots propelled him to the White House.
Mr Obama has sought to keep this election from becoming a referendum on his first two years in office, but Republicans refused to go along.
“This election is entirely about him (Mr Obama) and this big majority in Congress and what they’ve been doing for the last two years,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.
Democrats say they inherited an economy in dire condition and managed to prevent a financial breakdown and the collapse of the US auto industry. That argument has not worked with Americans.
The vote will likely reshape American politics as Mr Obama looks toward running for re-election in 2012 and Republicans begin the process of selecting a candidate to oppose him.
A big Republican win could put Washington in political gridlock unless the president can find common ground with some of his fiercest critics.
Domestic issues such as Mr Obama’s health care reform and immigration would be most affected, but the repercussions would be felt internationally too, on issues such as climate change, trade and arms control.
