A cyclist rides across the front plaza of the U.S. Capitol early Tuesday morning Nov. 4, 2014 in Washington. Voters will decide the make-up of the new Congress as they head to the poles Tuesday for mid-term elections. Photo: AP Photo/J. David Ake WASHINGTON — If the 2014 midterm elections serve as a historical marker, it would be the moment when Republicans went silent.
The temptation is to call it the quiet revolution, but that depends on what the Republicans’ new cone of silence means.
With Republicans winning control of the 100-seat Senate and now ruling both houses of Congress, does this silence represent a transformational signal? Are Republicans suddenly about to embrace compromise over confrontation?
In this election, the Party became a cypher, which makes it difficult to predict the next two years as both parties wrap up 2014 only to begin preparations for the 2016 presidential elections.
Taking full control of Congress puts Republicans in the spotlight. Party insiders promise the GOP will perform on issues such as opening export trade for oil and gas and pushing approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.
On the foreign policy front, Republicans could defy U.S. President Barack Obama and scupper nuclear talks with Iran by imposing new sanctions on that country. Iran has stated it would then pull out of the talks.
On trade issues Obama might find it easier to deal with Republicans than his own party. They have supported his free trade initiatives with the Europe Union and the Pacific Rim, while many Democrats have been cautious and protective. This opening of trade might be good for Canada where, despite NAFTA, it is stymied by America-first policies.
Yet these issues lie outside the public orbit. How Republicans handle corporate taxation, immigration, budget and the environment will be the real telltale signs of their rebirth. Discounting a possible conciliatory GOP, Obama already has said he will take executive action to deal with immigration reform.
A statue of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan stands inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Mark Wilson/Getty Images
What’s clear from this election is that Democrats have been caught off guard. The Republicans’ remarkable transformation from attack dogs to lap dogs left the Democrats flummoxed. Many Democrat candidates attempted to breach the cone of silence. But no matter what charges they levelled, all simply bounced off their GOP Pillsbury Doughboys.
Silence was golden on Obamacare, women’s reproduction rights, the debt, immigration reform, the minimum wage (many want to get rid of it altogether), the growing income gap, the declining middle class, unemployment, climate change and the skyrocketing cost of college education.
Democrats had nothing but the Republican past to hang them on. And voters gave no indication they were interested in the past.
Any echoes of past Republican gaffes vanished. No one claimed, as senate hopeful Todd Akin did in 2012, that “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., waits to cast his ballot in the midterm election at the voting precinct at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo.
The biggest national winner of Tuesday’s senate races, Sen. Mitch McConnell, indicated that if he becomes Senate majority leader he won’t attempt to repeal Obamacare. He also conceded that Kentuckians seem happy with health law.
This earned a rebuke from conservative leader L. Brent Bozell and a refusal by Tea Party-faction leader Senator Ted Cruz to back him as senate leader. But McConnell, a wily, self-deprecating politician, shrugged it all off, another possible sign of things to come. If he brokers deals with Democrats, Obama will have a hard time vetoing them.
The Republicans were also picking up seats in the House of Representatives and in the process strengthened their majority with moderates that could reduce Tea Party strength. This would give House Speaker John Boehner more room for compromise with Obama.
Voters cast their ballots on Election Day in front of a stage. AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Daniel Sangjib Min
The Republicans’ main attack strategy was to label their opponents “pro-Obama,” hoping the U.S. president’s unpopularity would diminish Democratic candidates. Amazingly, the stain of “Obama supporterr” rattled Democrats, causing many to duck and head for cover while issuing cringing denials. In Kentucky, Alison Lundergan Grimes refused even to say whether she had ever voted for Obama, which made her look kind of cowardly.
Obama decided to stay in Tuesday, welcoming no visitors to the White House, huddled alone with his staff, his legacy in the hands of Republicans.
Like most Americans, he must now gaze through the prism of this cone of silence to see what’s coming down the tracks. And of course it’s impossible to see. At least right now.
There is, however, one certainty. The number engraved on the locomotive will be 2016.
wmarsden@postmedia.com
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