Probably the most shocking result of the Midterm Elections Of 2014 was the reelection of six Tea Party Governors who had disastrous performances in office, and were awarded by a primarily older citizenry with another term as Governor.
Records like these Governors had would have, in normal times, led to defeat, but not in the crazy year of 2014. Clearly, a Governor can lie, insult, attack labor rights, and promote racism, misogyny, nativism, and homophobia, and still convince his constituency that he or she deserves reelection!
How could the state of Maine reelect Paul LePage, with his embarrassing rhetoric and lack of class? How could the state of Florida reelect Rick Scott with his uncaring attitude for the sick, disabled, poor? How could the state of Michigan reelect Rick Snyder when he was a disaster for the state? How could the state of Wisconsin reelect Scott Walker with his attack on labor rights, and constant deception and lying? How could the state of Georgia reelect Nathan Deal with his disastrous performance? And how could the state of Kansas reelect Sam Brownback, who put Kansas into a disastrous economic spin, with his reckless cutting of taxes on the wealthy and on corporations?
And even states where it was clear the Republican Governor would win, one has to sit in wonderment! How could South Carolina reelect Nikki Haley, one of the most mean spirited of all Governors? How could Oklahoma reelect Mary Fallin, when she demonstrated total lack of sensitivity and decency?
What is wrong with these eight states and even others, that they overlooked horrible records of their Governors, and reelected these people, one of the worst groups of Governors ever in American history?
Hello Professor,
I’m working on a future posting for my “Minds and Times of F. Wayne Johnson” blog that draws a comparison of those who decided to reelect the disastrous Republicans back into their Senate, House, and Governor seats; to the scared confused horse running out of the burning barn only to return back into it because that’s what he knows.
To explain more, there is the example of the horse who only knows his life in a barn, and small pasture. This is his comfort zone. Many times if the barn catches on fire, and the horse is released to run to safety, has many times in his state of confusion, fear, and panic, will return to what he knows. The Barn! This is then too often where the horse will be found burned to death.
So I have to pose the question, are the American people so confused, so full of fear, and so full of discombobulating panic, that when they went to the polls to vote, they voted to return into the political “Burning Barn”?
From my perspective, this is the only answer I can come up with to make any sense of this election’s outcome.