ELECTION 2014 - What About 2016?

"What midterm lessons politicians can learn for 2016" PBS NewsHour 11/5/2014

Excerpt

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  One thing’s true in politics: It’s never too early to start thinking about the next election.  So what do last night’s results mean for both parties as they plan for the race for the White House?

We’re joined now by two veterans of political campaigns.

Jeff Link is a longtime Democratic strategist who worked most recently on Bruce Braley’s Senate campaign in Iowa.  He also worked on both of President Obama’s campaigns in 2008 and 2012.  And Doug Heye is a veteran campaign consultant and a former communications director for the Republican National Committee.

Welcome to both of you.

DOUG HEYE, Republican Strategist:  Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  So, Doug Heye, to you first.

What is the message for your party, for both parties coming out of this election, not just for 2016, but for right now, before we talk about the presidential?

DOUG HEYE:  Yes.

First and foremost, I think we saw from Mitch McConnell what our message is going to be today and then in the coming weeks, as we go from the lame-duck session into the new Congress.  And that’s one of Republicans need to be able to demonstrate governance.

We have seen so much — and I can tell you, the past two-and-a-half working in the House of Representatives for Eric Cantor, we saw a lot of dysfunction in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.  I think it’s important for Republicans to be able to show that they can do not just some of the big things that we pay attention to and that make headlines every week, like immigration or tax reform, but the day-to-day governance that just hasn’t happened in Washington.

You can pass appropriation bills that passed the House on a bipartisan basis so far this year, but have been stuck in the Senate.  We can pass trade deals that the President supports, but that haven’t gotten to his desk.  Those kinds of things can show Republicans and Democrats and independents that we’re serious about governing and we’re trying to do what is best for the country.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Jeff Link, what would you say the message to Democrats is?

JEFF LINK, Democratic Strategist:  Well, I think the message to Democrats from yesterday’s election was, when you’re the party in control of the White House, midterms are tough.

And I think that’s what we saw.  It’s similar to 2006.  President Bush faced a midterm in 2006 where he lost 30 seats in the Congress.  And so it’s just difficult in these midterm elections for the party that controls the White House.