Loud And Clear

Investors.com ^ | November 4, 2009 | INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY Staff

[Kaslin]

Election '09: Conservatives decisively won two of three bellwether races, and would have taken all three if not for a betrayal by an opportunistic liberal Republican. Historical comparison shows the significance.

So much for "The Death of Conservatism," as New York Times Book Review Editor Sam Tanenhaus titled his book on the fate of Reaganism in the Obama Era. The first chance voters got, they sent a resounding message opposing the big-spending ways of a united legislature and executive in Washington.

In New Jersey, where it has become a near impossibility for the GOP to win the highest statewide offices, Christopher Christie beat incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine with a comfortable 5% margin. He had vowed spending reduction, and income and business tax cuts, but with the caveat, "I'm not saying I'm cutting taxes in the first year" because of the state's fiscal mess.

Even more stunning was the defeat of Virginia Governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine's hand-picked successor, Creigh Deeds, who was defeated by former state Attorney General Bob McDonnell, with a 17% margin of victory. McDonnell promises tax credits for businesses, no tax increases, and a reform of the state tax code based on simplification.

When the hand-picked candidate of the DNC chairman and president loses in a landslide in Washington, D.C.'s backyard, it's tough to argue it's not a signal that the country is undergoing a big shift.

[Kaslin]