The Obama Effect Strikes, Republican Party Wins Big

European TV stations this morning sounded a bit saddened by the fact that the US electorate apparently voted for less, rather than more socialism. Of course, it really makes little difference, since both major parties support statism and the welfare/warfare State.

As best as we can tell, the election was largely an anti-Obama backlash, something that can be inferred from the fact that many Democratic candidates were trying to distance themselves from the president. The most egregious examples of this were delivered by Alison Lundergan Grimes and Michelle Nunn, both of whom persistently dogged the question if they even voted for the president.

Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn of Georgia didn’t want to say whether she even voted for Mr. Obama

It didn’t help them much – the Republican party has apparently taken control of the Senate with ease.

Reuters reports:

“Republicans rode a wave of voter discontent to sweeping midterm election wins on Tuesday, seizing control of the U.S. Senate in a punishing blow to President Barack Obama that will limit his political influence and curb his legislative agenda in his last two years in office.

Republicans won in places where Democrats were favored, like a Senate race in North Carolina, pulled out victories where the going was tough, like a Senate battle in Kansas, and swept a number of governors’ races in states where Democrats were favored, like Obama’s home state of Illinois.

They also strengthened their grip on the House of Representatives and when the new Congress takes power in January, will be in charge of both chambers of Congress for the first time since elections in 2006.

Obama, first elected in 2008 and again in 2012, called Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress to the White House on Friday to take stock of the new political landscape. He watched election returns from the White House, and saw little to warm his spirits.

Republicans needed six seats to win control of the 100-member Senate, and by late evening they had seven. The winning margin came when Iowa Republican Joni Ernst was declared the winner over Democrat Bruce Braley and Republican Thom Tillis defeated incumbent Democratic Senator Kay Hagan in North Carolina. Republican Senate candidates also picked up Democratic seats in Montana, Colorado, West Virginia, South Dakota and Arkansas.

The Republican surge will force Obama to scale back his legislative agenda and limit his ambitions to either executive actions that do not require legislative approval, or items that might gain bipartisan support, such as trade agreements and tax reform. It will also test his ability to compromise with newly empowered political opponents who have been resisting his legislative agenda since he was first elected.

(emphasis added)

There is definitely one good thing about such a political cohabitation: Congress is likely to remain “unproductive”. To the horror of “we must do something” activists everywhere, the current Congress has been one of the most unproductive in terms of producing new legislation and rules in a very long time (namely since the 1940s). However, as we have pointed out in “Good News for the US: Congress Is ‘Unproductive’”,this is pretty much the best thing citizens can possibly hope for. The less “productive” the political class, the better for liberty and the economy. Since we probably won’t live to see the abolition of the State qua State, this is presumably the best outcome we can ever expect to get.

The president looks unhappy.

(Photo credit: AP)

Conclusion:

In practical terms, it seems likely that little will change. The president is now what is generally known as a “lame duck”, meaning he has even less chance to push through his agenda. Given that his legacy project is the Unaffordable Health Care Act, this can only be a good thing.