Will Rogers was born in Oklahoma on November 4, 1879. He used to joke that his birthday (Election Day) had made more men and sent more back to honest work than any other day in the year. Indeed, on November 4, 2009, the two democratic governors from Virginia and New Jersey found themselves out of work when voters in both states gave them the heave hoe. We will have to wait to see if either man actually finds “honest” work. Unfortunately for them, the unemployment rate hit 10.2% the same week.

Immediately, both sides began to spin the results, the Democrats claiming these were local elections and reflected local issues and sentiment and the Republicans claiming it a resounding defeat of Obama policies and reflects a nationwide rejection of a far left congressional agenda. So which is it? Perhaps the truth is in the details.

Both New Jersey and Virginia were easily carried by Obama in the 2008 Presidential election. President Obama made six trips to New Jersey during the campaign to bolster incumbent Governor Jon Corzine but apparently no one was listening. Corzine only managed to pull 45% of the vote against Republican Chris Christie. New Jersey had not elected a Republican governor since 1993.

The Virginia race wasn’t even close. Republican Bob McDonnell easily beat Democrat Creigh Deeds by a huge margin. McDonnell’s victory ends eight years of Democratic control of the governorship. However, the Republican victories did not stop there. Voters also elected a Republican Lt. Governor and a Republican Attorney General.

The Republicans missed a clean sweep when Democrat Bill Owens defeated conservative new comer Doug Hoffman in a special election for the New York 23rd congressional seat. This heated election featured a turn coat liberal Republican named Dede Scozzafava who upon exiting the race a few days before the election endorsed the Democratic candidate. Perhaps the biggest loser in this election was Newt Gingrich who supported Scozzafave while fellow republicans Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty and Fred Thompson endorsed Hoffman. 

While the 23rd New York district highlights issues between Republicans and Conservatives, there is little doubt that the sweeping Republican victories in New Jersey and Virginia reflect much more than “local” issues. Key in both of these elections was the independents that Obama depended on so heavily in 2008. In New Jersey, 60 percent of independents voted for Christie. This shift of independent voters has so rattled the White House that David Alexrod recently stated that the administrations goal for the mid term election was to “re-vitalize” the independent voters. Why would they need to do that if these elections reflected “local” concerns? According to a recent Gallup Poll, a whopping 70 percent of independents now disapprove of how the Democrat-controlled Congress is doing its job, while just 22 percent say they approve.

The White House has reason to be concerned about independent voters as the mid term elections feature 37 governor races and a plethora of seats in the House of Representatives. At the same time, the GOP also has issues as many disgruntled republicans now prefer to call themselves “Conservatives”.  But perhaps the biggest impact of these republican victories will be the effect on the outcome of the new Healthcare Bill and other legislative items such as Cap and Trade. Democratic House and Senate members facing re-election will be hard pressed to vote for such left leaning legislation or find themselves browsing the help wanted section from their local newspaper.

This is John Galt speaking!