Bush* vs. Kerry- It's like watching a train wreck

[achtung_circus]

I sense a frenetic desperation in the right and a growing confidence in the left.

For the first time I am paying serious attention to an American election. Not being able to influence them one way or another I've always had a "Que sera, sera" attitude.

This time is different and I have learned a lot in the last few months.

One large question developed, however.

Do not the Congressional elections have almost equal weight in which road the United States will follow. There is huge volume of chatter, talk, speculation, bullshit about the Presidential election and almost none about the Congress.

Why?:shrug:
Why not? :shrug:

[Bluzmann57]

1. Good question

It would be great if the Dems could take back Congress, as well as the White House. In fact, if the unthinkable happens and bushco steals,er, wins another four years, then it is essential that we have a Democrat controlled Congress to provide the checks and balances that we all learned about in grade school. However, here in Iowa, a 70 year old guy with $112 in the bank just announced that he is running against Senator Grassley, who gains power daily in the Senate. Mr. Snow even conceded that he has virtually no shot at winning, he just wants to get people involved. So maybe it's that way elsewhere too.Congressional Incumbents, be they Democrat or Republican are hard to oust.

[wryter2000]

2. Where are you from?

Glad to have your interest.

Yes, Congress is extremely important. However, for one single race, President is most important. The President nominates Supreme Court justices, and they interpret the Constitution. Once they've decided something it's extremely difficult to change, and they serve for life or until they want to retire.

Also, the President can do things by executive order that he/she doesn't need Congress's approval for. Some Presidents have even escalated wars without Congressional approval.

Third, Congressional elections often follow Presidential elections in the sense that a momentum will build for one party or another if an election is won in a large way. That's what we refer to as "riding on the President's coat tails."

But as Dean has pointed out, getting rid of Bush* is only a start. There are very evil people in charge of much of our Congress, too, and we have to get them gone!

[achtung_circus]

4. Toronto, Ontario, Canada nt

[starroute]

3. A couple of reasons

One is that in the US, congressional races have generally been matters of local interest, not national interest. Everybody knows about the presidential candidates, but most people aren't aware of Congressional or even Senatorial candidates outside of their own districts. Also, people usually vote for or against their own representatives on the basis of local issues, not because of how they feel about the president.

Another is that there's a certain degree of fatalism about the Congressional elections. The districts have gotten so gerrymandered in recent years that only a handful of them are still considered swing seats, which could go either Republican or Democratic. If Kerry wins big in November, he's likely to carry a fair number of Democrats in on his coattails. If he loses or wins more narrowly, he won't.

But there's also some more serious attention being paid to the Congressional elections -- you just have to be looking at the margins to find it. The idea seems to be emerging that -- largely thanks to the Internet -- progressives now have the ability to target particular races and draw national attention and national funding towards them.

Much of this targteting will only happen after the primary season ends. For example, if Senator Spector in Pennsylvania loses to his far more right-wing Republican challenger, or at least undergoes a particularly grueling primary battle, that race will become a definite opportunity for the Democrats to pick up a seat. But if Spector wins handily, the attention will go elsewhere.

I think that by the summer, you'll be seeing a lot of discussion of certain Congressional races which are of particular interest. But it will never be like a parliamentary system where the local voting translates directly into the national government.

[achtung_circus]

5. Usefull info, thx. nt