US midterm election poll

[Billy Cox]

What do you think will be the outcome???

I included 'Other' since four choices just isn't enough for some people. :p

[Jim Franklin]

As is if the "values" voters vote their conscience like they did in '04.' It would not be righteous to give up their values vote just because some have not stayed true. Disenchantment is one thing but to reverse your vote on the moral lapse of some is not reason to vote in those that would cut and run and turn the rest of the world over to the terrorists for that would be letting the terrorists win.

[Bruce Carriker]

What do you think will be the outcome???

I included 'Other' since four choices just isn't enough for some people. :p

What OTHER could there realistically be? Are we expecting a tidal wave of last minute support for the Greens or the Libertarians?

[Bruce Carriker]

As is if the "values" voters vote their conscience like they did in '04.' It would not be righteous to give up their values vote just because some have not stayed true. Disenchantment is one thing but to reverse your vote on the moral lapse of some is not reason to vote in those that would cut and run and turn the rest of the world over to the terrorists for that would be letting the terrorists win.

Your "values" comment assumes there are only two or three "values".

There are, in fact, Christian values that are represented by both parties. It just depends on which values you choose to focus on.

[Billy Cox]

What OTHER could there realistically be? Are we expecting a tidal wave of last minute support for the Greens or the Libertarians?

It is possible to have a 50/50 tie in the Senate.

[Bruce Carriker]

It is possible to have a 50/50 tie in the Senate.

Actually, its not. Then you have a 51-50 Republican majority.

[Jim Franklin]

Bruce, I have not heard of any from the jk/bc party. Some rank and file folks who are Democrats may be able to articulate some values but Howard Dean has, I recall, stated that he is anti-evangelical.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

What OTHER could there realistically be? Are we expecting a tidal wave of last minute support for the Greens or the Libertarians?

It's just good poll making. No matter what choices you offer there will always be someone who thinks they need another choice. By offering a "none of the above" you also create a more reliable poll because it is clear that you aren't backing people into a corner with loaded questions.

In every poll I have ever constructed with a non-committal option there have been people who have taken it -- even when it was obvious to just about everyone that the choices I offered were sufficient for the poll.

[Glenn Harris]

I voted Democratic House, Republican Senate but now I think it will be a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate.

Disclaimer:

That is if the Senate doesn't get too crazy on Iraq. If that happens, then Lieberman becomes the newest Jim Jeffords and I was right in the first place, which means, ignore this post and go with my original one! :basic03

[Bruce Carriker]

Bruce, I have not heard of any from the jk/bc party. Some rank and file folks who are Democrats may be able to articulate some values but Howard Dean has, I recall, stated that he is anti-evangelical.

A Defeat for the Religious Right and the Secular Left
by Jim Wallis

In this election, both the Religious Right and the secular Left were defeated, and the voice of the moral center was heard. A significant number of candidates elected are social conservatives on issues of life and family, economic populists, and committed to a new direction in Iraq. This is the way forward: a grand new alliance between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, one that can end partisan gridlock and involves working together for real solutions to pressing problems.


It is clear from the election results that moderate, and some conservative, Christians - especially evangelicals and Catholics - want a moral agenda that is broader than only abortion and same-sex marriage. Various exit polls showed a shift of 6% to 16% fewer evangelicals and Catholics supporting Republican candidates than in 2004. Poverty, the war in Iraq, strengthening families, and protecting the environment are all moral values. And many Americans this year voted all of their values.

One of the central issues in this election was the continuing violence and death in Iraq. As of this week, 2,836 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died in this disastrous war. The people have now spoken, and there is a mandate to change the course of U.S. policy in Iraq. The president acknowledged this yesterday with his announcement of the resignation of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and his recognition that the country needs a fresh perspective in the Defense Department. We believe that the first order of business for the new Congress and the administration must be determining alternatives to the current disastrous course.

Voters also recognized that while the economy is in good shape for some, there are still too many being left out, especially working families. It is significant that in all six states where an initiative to raise the minimum wage was on the ballot, it passed, in most cases by overwhelming margins. Congress and the administration must now pass a federal minimum wage increase that will benefit all working people in America.

[Jim Franklin]

AS another writer stated the election was supposedly on how best to prevent another 9/11 but the majority of voters did not catch the message because the Republicans did not articulate it well enough. As a Conservative Independent I think that the Republicans were a bit surprised by the margin of victory in 2004 and got complacent and apathetic. Some pundits were even writing an obituary to the Democrat Liberals because of Kerry's defeat. They certainly haven't followed through on their Contract with America that won the House in 1994. I emailed the White House last Spring that they needed to present that contract to the electorate as it was originally stated and tick of what had been accomplished and try to reassure the electorate that they would get busy in the remaining days of the session and try to inact much of the remainder. They didn't do it. Apathy and inaction are what cost the President's party the loss of both houses of Congress.

[G R 'Scott' Cundiff]

I said "Democrat House, Republican Senate" but I'd like to change my vote now.

[Bruce Carriker]

AS another writer stated the election was supposedly on how best to prevent another 9/11 but the majority of voters did not catch the message...

Interesting that you would ascribe Tuesday's results to the ignorance of the electorate? Maybe people knew what they were voting for and voted as they did because the DID "catch the message" and disagreed with it.