POLITICAL TSUNAMI OR ELECTORAL RIPPLE?

The November 2nd mid-term election produced a bigger shift in the House of Representatives than even the historic 1994 election – a tsunami, in electoral terms.  Sixty seats were turned over to Republicans in the House, more than the 56 of the 1994 Republican “Contract with America” sweep.

Yet, a closer look at election results tells a different story.   Although not all election results are final today, we find that 89% of incumbents were re-elected.  In the Senate, only TWO incumbents were defeated (with the Alaska and Washington races still undecided as of this writing).  In the House, only 49 incumbents lost.

Looking deeper, the stats are even worse.  21 of the losing House incumbents were first term members of Congress, swept into office on Obama's coattails in 2008. Another 12 were in their second term. A measly 16 incumbents, who had been in office more than 4 years, lost. Those with more than two terms under their belt won 96% of the time!

 

Get Out of Our House founder, Tim Cox, points out that, despite the worst economy and the greatest level of dissatisfaction with the Congress in American history, incumbents were once again almost impossible to beat within the current system. According to Cox, career politicians are the problem.  "You could almost say that this election, like all others before it, was rigged.  The system favors incumbents.  Name recognition is king, never mind the qualifications of the politician running.".

Cox outlines his method in his book, Revolution! A New Plan for Selecting Representatives. The GOOOH plan allows the people of a congressional district to choose their own candidate for Congress, who will have the support of a cutting edge national media campaign, knowledgable campaign advisors, and a groundswell from the people of the district.   Go to www.goooh.com to learn more.