Democrats seized power in the US for the first time since 1994, tapping voter outrage over Iraq to punish President George W Bush.
WASHINGTON, DC: The pendulum has swung in America. The Democratic Party wrested 227 seats, more than the 218 needed for majority, in the 435-member House of Representatives. The Republican Party is left with 195 seats, with 13 undecided. The Senate remains in a dead heat with projections for the two parties tied at 49 seats each in the 100-member Upper House of Congress. The two remaining seats have gone to independents, one of them being former Democrat Joseph Lieberman.
Democratic congressional campaign committee chairman Rahm Emanuel was emphatic in his victory speech: “The American people have sent a resounding and unmistakable message of change and new direction for America.”
Almost 60 per cent of Indian Americans are registered Democrats and the well-educated, affluent immigrant group largely voted for the Democrats on Tuesday. But the mid-term election also showed that President George W Bush’s pro-India policies swung a bigger share of the community’s vote for the Republicans. Take, for instance, the New Jersey contest, where Indian Americans surprised pundits by backing Republican Thomas Kean. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez won narrowly.
The Democratic victory comes after 12 years in the opposition in both arms of Congress, but, more importantly, at a time when Americans have shown the least confidence in it. An opinion poll published jointly by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News four days ago put congressional approval rating at a dismal 16 per cent.
Political analysts cited the Iraq war and congressional corruption as the top reasons for the Democratic victory. Robert Kaiser, editor of The Washington Post, said: “I have the strong sense that Bush will have to do something new and different about Iraq after this election.”
With Uttara Choudhury in New York
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