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From: rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.motss
Subject: Re: New Rightist Reaganite trounced in Massachusetts
Message-ID: <1120@bbncca.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 7-Nov-84 17:57:09 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncca.1120
Posted: Wed Nov  7 17:57:09 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 8-Nov-84 07:34:32 EST
References: <1119@bbncca.ARPA>
Organization: Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, Ma.
Lines: 46

It looks like the GOP will pick up 13 House seats, falling well behind
the 26 needed for a "working majority" (GOP + dixiecrats).  

The Senate now has 47 Democrats & 53 Republicans;  if the Democrats win
only 4 more seats in 1986, they'll achieve a majority of 51.

In Vermont, Democrat Madeleine Kunin won the governorship by the closest
of margins, getting 50.06% of the vote.  Republican Easton conceded. The
Democrats claim 34 governors (5 won yesterday), the GOP 18 (8 won yester-
day).

Surprisingly, the voter turnout, 92 1/2 million (or 53.2 % of the voting
age population) was only slightly higher than in 1980.  The extremely
high turnout some anticipated didn't materialize.

Unlike 1980, when Reagan ran against an incumbent, & the GOP swept the
Senate, eliminating many long-familiar faces overnight, & creating a
class of new GOP senators (especially New Rightists) who "literally
owed their careers" [1] to the Reagan phenomenon, Reagan lacks the 
political means to carry out a "mandate".  In fact, Reagan & his aides
"cautiously avoided using the word `mandate'" [1] at today's press 
conference.  But Reagan said, if Congress blocks his programs, he'll
take his programs "to the people" [1].  (What's he gonna do?  Hold 
plebiscites?)  When half-jokingly asked if he now would have more
regularly-scheduled press conferences (I'm sure our intellects all
thirst for more!), he half-jokingly replied, "Look, I won.  I don't
have to subject myself to....[laughter]"  Same old Reagan bluster, 
but the novelty of 1980 & the illusion of a GOP-controlled Congress 
is gone.  What may increasingly emerge is an embittered & frustrated
Reagan, more remote than ever.

Did voters give him a "mandate"?  Exit polls, interviews with voters,
& breakdown of the Reagan vote suggest they didn't, but that they voted 
image (of an "effective presidency", "assertive foreign policy", etc.) &
personality, while refusing to give the GOP a Congressional sweep and
even defeating some of the most vocal GOP ideologues.  The Midwest, very
hard-hit economically, still gave Reagan an overwhelming margin.  The
message from the voters seems to be they like Reagan, but they don't
want Congress to pass a lot of his programs.

Despite the popularity of thinking a "Reagan Revolution" continues to
alter public attitudes in fundamental ways, it does not seem that public
opinion has significantly changed in the 4 years since 1980. 

						Cheers,
						Ron Rizzo