The Era of "Change" is Over: What the 2014 Midterm Results Mean for the Future.

In the aftermath of a detrimental midterm for the Democratic party, it seems to be very clear that the gridlock seen between the branches of the Federal government in the past couple of years will continue or perhaps even worsen. With Republicans gaining control of the Senate and gaining more seats in the House, it seems more clashing between the Executive and Legislative branch will occur. 

The division between Republicans and Democrats has seemingly grown, so bipartisanship will become much harder to achieve. According to exit polls, the divide of policy is very clear in the minds of voters. Voters of both parties seem to agree on action against the Islamic State, (to which there has been rising public approval) but otherwise voters are split by party on most issues. The partisan divide can be seen in healthcare, same-sex marriage, abortion, immigration, marijuana and global warming. 

Republican seem to have the upper-hand against the Democrats at the moment. As President Obama becomes a “lame duck”, we’ll probably see attention put on immigration, action against the Islamic State, and foreign relations. With a major divide on social issues (gay marriage, abortion, and marijuana) it seems that the state government will continue to localize those debates. Progress on certain social issues in certain states may improve with an emphasis on state power (as the rate of legalization of gay marriage and marijuana by state has increased rapidly) but other states will probably remain trapped in debate for several more years before more traction is made.

It’s very clear that unless bipartisanship takes place, or President Obama uses controversial Executive branch power, there won’t be a significant change within the next two years, but an important thing to look out for is how this will affect campaigning for the 2016 elections. The falling approval rating of President Obama will allow Republicans to easily raise their platform. With possible Republican candidates such as Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz,  and Jeb Bush, it seems Democrat frontrunner Hilary Clinton will have to face an incredible force within the Republican party. If the Republicans can run an anti-Obama campaign the same way that Obama ran an anti-Bush campaign, along with attacks on Hilary in regards to thing such as the Benghazi incident, Republicans could have a chance at gaining complete control of the federal government. 

As we reach the beginning of Obama’s final two years, I think back to his major campaign slogan in 2008, “Change”. It seems that the age of “Change” has come to a staggering halt, and we won’t potentially see much “Change” for another two years.

Bialik, Carl. “The Divide Between Republicans And Democratic Voters On Major Issues”. Fivethirtyeight.com. November 7, 2014. Accessed November 21, 2014.

Jones, Jeffrey & Newport, Frank. “Slightly Fewer Back ISIS Military Action vs. Past Actions”. Gallup.com. September 23, 2014. Accessed September 21, 2014.