Consequences of the 2014 Election

         The 2014 election season was either a huge success or a horrible nightmare, depending on political affiliation. The Democrats essentially got crushed once again, and lost in some key swing states. Interestingly enough, blue collar working class citizens, exactly the demographic that the Democrat party is trying to serve, overwhelmingly voted Republican (Tomasky). This is because many people in this group genuinely believe that the Democratic party is pitted against them. I would argue that part of this stems from misinformation: blue collar white Americans have on average less education than their more affluent counterparts, perhaps resulting in less ability to read between the lines on important issues. 

        Yet there is another more interesting reason why the Republicans were able to take control of the senate and it has to do with the fact that many Americans feel disappointed with the White House and the Obama administration (Peterson). The most surprising result was that longtime Democratic strongholds toppled in states where President Obama had been unpopular, with Republican challengers ousting 19-term Democratic Reps. Another interesting fact is that after the elections, the demographic gap between the two parties in the house is expected to widen, with 87% of House Republicans expected to be white men, compared with just 44 percent of House Democrats. This is the widest gap ever according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. 

      There are many consequences to the increasing number of Republicans in the senate for the Democratic party, with the main one being that it may be more difficult to get legislation passed on key social issues, such as women's health, abortion and equal pay laws, as well as the newest hot topic in politics: immigration reform. This brings into question the whole concept of whether or not America is truly a meritocracy because despite the fact that all Americans can vote, money and power have an overwhelming influence on elections and campaigns. (It is interesting, though ultimately irrelevant, to note that celebrity endorsements tend to play an even bigger role in a candidates' potential success). 

                                                             Works Cited

Catanese, David. "Election Day 2014: GOP Poised for Senate Majority."Usnews.com. U.S.News & World Report, 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
Kristina Peterson. "Midterm Elections 2014: Republicans Extend House Majority" online.wsj.com The Wall Street Journal, 5 November 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.
Tomasky, Michael. "Inside The Democrat's Godawful Midterm Election Wipeout." Thedailybeast.com. The Daily Beast, 05 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.