{"id":14070,"date":"2014-10-30T11:33:45","date_gmt":"2014-10-30T15:33:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pavementpieces.com\/?p=14070"},"modified":"2020-02-10T15:35:40","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T20:35:40","slug":"theme-less-midterm-elections-will-be-about-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pavementpieces.com\/theme-less-midterm-elections-will-be-about-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Theme-less Midterm elections will be about \u2018nothing\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brennan Center’s President Michael Waldman (Left) poses a question to MSNBC’s Alex Wagner, New York Post’s Robert A. George, and Mother Jones’ David Corn (\u00a9NYU Photo Bureau: (Hollenshead)<\/em><\/p>\n

by Nadeen Shaker<\/p>\n

What are this year\u2019s midterm elections about? The answer is: nothing. <\/p>\n

That was the verdict given by panelists at a pre-election primer on the state of US democracy. The three panelists are all journalists: David Corn, Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine, New York Post editorial writer Robert George and Alex Wagner, host of MSNBC television’s \u201cNow with Alex Wagner.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s at Stake for 2014 and Beyond?\u201d was hosted by Mother Jones and the Brennan Center at New York University School of Law. Brennan Center president Michael Waldman moderated. <\/p>\n

\tCorn said that, with no major theme, \u201cthese elections seem to be about nothing \u2013 about apathy.\u201d Polls show lower voter engagement and motivation this year than in 2010, the previous midterm elections. He cited a Gallup poll taken in late September that put voters who have given \u201cquite a lot\u201d or \u201csome thought\u201d to elections at 33 percent compared with 46 percent in 2010. \u201cExtremely motivated\u201d voters came in at only 32 percent versus a whopping 50 percent in 2010. <\/p>\n

\tOn Nov. 4, those who do vote will choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives; a third of the senators and many state-level offices including governors. <\/p>\n

\t\u201cVoters have been so preoccupied with the political gaffes they don\u2019t give attention to substantial policies, and that is what depressed voter turnout,\u201d Wagner said. <\/p>\n

\tDespite an improved economy and a 5.6 percent drop in unemployment, George quips, these are \u201cSeinfeld elections\u201d in that they seem to be about nothing. He warned of internal fighting in the Democratic Party, buoyed by President Barack Obama\u2019s forays back into the Middle East to support Arab countries against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. <\/p>\n

\tObama faces criticism for not \u201carticulating an economic narrative\u201d for his final two years in office, as Waldman phrased it. <\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe president has a bigger role as storyteller-in-chief,\u201d Corn said, adding that Obama has failed to engage people with a narrative of where the country is headed in spite of having much success in 2010 at \u201ctelling a continuous story of the politics of this nation.\u201d <\/p>\n

\tPanelists also discussed what the political landscape would look like if Republicans were to gain a majority in the Senate. <\/p>\n

\t\u201cOne envisions a post-apocalyptic scenario where [Republicans] are gathering to write these horrible bills that pass and the president is just there with his veto pen,\u201d but that might not happen, Wagner argued.
\nRepublicans have not united around a single agenda in these elections, and they have important issues to work on before the 2016 presidential race.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmigration is a wild card\u201d that Republicans should play, George said, especially given the Democrats\u2019 inability to pass immigration-reform legislation. <\/p>\n

\tOn the foreign policy front, George said, a Republican Congress could find itself in agreement with Obama\u2019s policies, although Republicans might choose to go further than he has in intervening to stop ISIS, for example. <\/p>\n

\tOn this matter, Wagner said there could be consensus between Obama and Congress, but there could be great debate. Security policies seen as residues from George W. Bush\u2019s presidency will be \u201clitigated\u201d a lot in the next two years, she added. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do not think the elections will usher in a new political era,\u201d George said, ending on a grim note. ISIS, voter suppression laws and immigrant voters discouraged by the lack of immigration reform are only some of the reasons why. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Polls show lower voter engagement and motivation this year than in 2010, the previous midterm elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102766,"featured_media":14075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[5],"tags":[1954,1951,1953],"ppma_author":[3980],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTheme-less Midterm elections will be about \u2018nothing\u2019 - Pavement Pieces<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pavementpieces.com\/theme-less-midterm-elections-will-be-about-nothing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Theme-less Midterm elections will be about \u2018nothing\u2019 - Pavement Pieces\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Polls show lower voter engagement and motivation this year than in 2010, the previous midterm elections.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pavementpieces.com\/theme-less-midterm-elections-will-be-about-nothing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pavement Pieces\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-30T15:33:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-02-10T20:35:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pavementpieces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/15477851640_f5f703dc12.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nadeen Shaker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nadeen Shaker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pavementpieces.com\/theme-less-midterm-elections-will-be-about-nothing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pavementpieces.com\/theme-less-midterm-elections-will-be-about-nothing\/\",\"name\":\"Theme-less Midterm elections will be about \u2018nothing\u2019 - 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