Free Republic

ading up to Tuesday’s election, all the pundits were predicting this would be the Year of the Woman. And true to form, the female electorate outnumbered men, 53% to 47%. But after the polling places had closed and the ballots had been counted, in race after race it was men who cast the deciding vote. How could this be true? The reason is the female vote split right down the middle — 49% going for the Republicans and 48% for the Democrats. In contrast, the male electorate was far more unified, with 56% giving the nod to the GOP candidate...

It's the book that changed America. And it isn't often that a book -- any book, even a popular, bestselling book like Mark Levin's Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto -- can be said to have changed the course of American politics and history. The phenomenon is rare, extremely rare, usually taking both the country and even the author by surprise. Yet Levin's book has done just that, saluted by Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in an exclusive talk with The American Spectator as "providing [the] intellectual balance and foundation" of the Tea Party movement. A movement that stands triumphant...

Will Redistricting Be a Bloodbath for Democrats?Republicans See Historic Victories; Gain Control of At Least 19 Democratic-Held State Legislatures By HUMA KHAN Nov. 4, 2010 Republicans gained a historic edge over Democrats in state legislature elections that will have national implications for years to come. State legislatures in 44 states are responsible for one of the most important political processes: drawing district boundaries for the U.S. House of Representatives. In a process that usually triggers partisan bickering, the reigning party usually has the upper hand, especially if the governor is also from the same party and cannot veto the legislature's...

On Tuesday, six Iraq and Afghanistan veterans were elected to Congress (and possibly seven, if Jesse Kelly pulls out his race in Arizona’s 8th district). All six (seven) of them support victory on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan and a hawkish national-security posture overall. The impressive list of warriors can be found at the bottom of this post, and also at Vets for Freedom’s website. These warriors — and the two pro-victory Iraq veterans already in Congress (Duncan Hunter and Mike Coffman) — constitute a formidable new Victory caucus in the House. All eight (or nine) Iraq and Afghanistan...

The Democrats are offended that being the Party of No is a rewarding experience. But they themselves have a different problem. Do you recall, back in the mists, when Arthur Fonzerelli would try to admit he was wrong to the Cuninghams?

In what may be Obama's most direct and aggressive criticism of Bill Clinton's presidency yet, the Obama campaign dropped a new mailer just before Super Tuesday that blasts "the Clintons" for wreaking massive losses on the Democratic party throughout the 1990s. "8 years of the Clintons, major losses for Democrats across the nation," reads the mailer, which goes on to list the post-1992 losses suffered by Dems among governors, Senators and members of the House of Representatives. The mailer was forwarded to us by a political operative who told us it was sent to Alaska, though it was probably sent...

Do Americans share President Obama's desire to impose redistributive social justice on the well off? In liberal Washington State, of all places, voters gave a definitive answer this Tuesday: No! The resounding rejection of a punitive "Robin Hood" initiative shows that it's not just red-state Republicans who oppose extreme tax hikes on the nation's wealth generators. As Capitol Hill resumes debate on whether to extend the so-called "Bush tax cuts," the White House should pay special heed to the fate of little-noticed Initiative 1098. Its defeat by a whopping 65-35 margin doesn't bode well for Team Obama's class warriors still...

A pair of House Democrats publicly called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to step down from the leadership Thursday and others suggested the same privately, as the California Democrat hunkered down in the Capitol to mull over her future. Pelosi made no public appearances as speculation swirled as to whether she would run for minority leader following the largest midterm rout in more than 70 years.

Still, with all due respect to the field of this week's victors, the storyline of one winner stands above the rest: John Kasich is the governor-elect of Ohio. But more telling than just his win is how he did it: by withstanding an Obama onslaught; turning back liberal fear attacks with a message of hope; and offering a leaner, more efficient alternative to big government run amuck. In short, if Barack Obama's spend and tax presidency for the past two years is a question, John Kasich emerged Tuesday night as the logical answer. Kasich took the president's best shot -...

Tuesday was a great day for Republicans, not just because they won a lot of new congressional seats. It was also about which seats they captured. To note just a few of the most prominent examples, grizzled Democratic incumbents such as Minnesota's Jim Oberstar, South Carolina's John Spratt, and Pennsylvania's Paul Kanjorski lost Tuesday after serving for decades in the House. These gains for Republicans are powerful examples of principled opposition trumping entrenched power and money, and they are encouraging.

With South Carolina's victory of the first 'Deep South' black Republican to Congress since Reconstruction, one conservative thinks it's evident that the tea party is not racist. Ron Miller, a conservative author, columnist, veteran and tea party member, says Tim Scott's election to Congress is "an impressive victory." "I think it's a great testimony to Americans' ability to evaluate people by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin..." ----snip. In winning the election, Scott beat out....the son of late Senator Strom Thurmond and the son of former South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell. ----snip"...they've demonstrated their...

GOP's Kirk wins Obama's old seatFrom the NBC News political team Republican Mark Kirk is NBC's projected winner of the Illinois Senate race, snatching the seat that former Sen. Barack Obama held in Illinois. Kirk defeated Obama ally Alexi Giannoulias. Giannoulias struggled to overcome reports that his family's failed bank made loans to known criminals. The president and the first lady both made stops in the state to try to boost the Democrat. **SNIP** The victory for Kirk gives Republicans a net gain of five Senate seats so far tonight.

The most captivating political story of the present moment is not the Republican resurgence but rather the ongoing diminution of President Barack Obama. It is a story that started almost as soon as he took office, took hold with the passage of the stimulus, played itself out during the health-care debate and its aftermath, and reached its inevitable climax on Tuesday night. It is the story not of policy but rather of personality, and what makes it so captivating is its element of mystery. President Obama, after all, was elected by virtue of his personality, which provided not only contrast...

Saying he got the message from voters, President Obama invited Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress to the White House after he returns from his trip to Asia to discuss the economy, tax cuts and unemployment insurance. Following a Cabinet meeting, Obama told reporters he invited presumptive House Speaker John Boehner and top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell to meet with him on Nov. 18. The meeting is also to include current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

In one declarative night, California on Tuesday confirmed its status as a political world unto itself, zigging determinedly Democratic while most of the rest of the country zagged Republican. Voters not only restored the governor's office to Democratic hands, they may have given Democrats a sweep of statewide offices, though uncounted ballots could still shift one race. Driving much of the success — and distancing the state from the national GOP tide, according to exit polls — was a surge in Latino voters. They made up 22% of the California voter pool, a record tally that mortally wounded many Republicans....

(Newser) – In California, one literally does not need a pulse to win an election. State Sen. Jenny Oropeza zipped to victory last night, capturing 57.8% of the vote in her heavily Democratic district some two weeks after she died. Republican John Stammreich, who might have expected that being alive would boost his chances, managed to reel in only 36.3% of the vote, reports the Daily Breeze. A special election will be held to fill the seat.

While the Republican gains in the House and Senate are grabbing the most headlines, the most significant results on Tuesday came in state legislatures where Republicans wiped the floor with Democrats. Republicans picked up 680 seats in state legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures -- the most in the modern era. To put that number in perspective: In the 1994 GOP wave, Republicans picked up 472 seats. The previous record was in the post-Watergate election of 1974, when Democrats picked up 628 seats. The GOP gained majorities in at least 14 state house chambers. They now have...

Tom Junod’s eulogy for Barack Obama’s mystique in Esquire indulges in overwrought excuse-seeking and ultimately misses the obvious conclusion, but it’s notable for recognition of one central fact: Obama as President has been the Incredible Shrinking Man, and in more than one way. Not only does Obama seem incapable of offering soaring rhetoric that engages and inspires millions now –as Junod puts it, he no longer seems born to fill stadiums like a rock star — but the rhetoric Obama does offer makes it seem that Obama can’t even engage himself. As the Anointed Obama vanishes, all that’s left is...

alifornia Republicans woke up Wednesday with a political hangover. Nationally, they celebrated the GOP's taking control of Congress, but their dismal showing in California gave them a lingering headache. Many of them wondered how they missed the national wave - and differed on which direction to go next. They lost nearly every statewide office, drubbed by double digits in most of the races. Meg Whitman couldn't win the governorship despite straddling the political middle and spending a record $160 million. Carly Fiorina couldn't roust Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, despite tacking right and exploiting Boxer's low approval ratings.For months, party officials...

Now that the dust has settled on the 2010 midterm elections, it’s slowly becoming clear just how monumental the results really are. We saw an extreme left-wing agenda suffer a crushing defeat. At the ballot box, voters took Obamacare and the stimulus and wrapped them right around the necks of those same House members and senators who had arrogantly dismissed the concerns voiced in countless town halls and Tea Party rallies up and down the country. Voters sent commonsense conservatives a clear mandate to hold the line against the Obama agenda. Does that mean Republican candidates can look forward with...