WHAT THE VOTERS SAID – AT 10:16 A.M. ET:  As usual, we depend on Scott Rasmussen to give us a deeper view of the election results.  Rasmussen has found that voters were rejecting the Democratic agenda, not just the administration's communications failures, as the president apparently believes.  At the same time, they weren't expressing deep love for the GOP:

Most voters said going into Election Day that it was all about President Obama’s agenda, and coming out on the other side, they’re reinforcing that message.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters say Tuesday’s election results were more a vote against the Democrats than a vote for the Republicans.

Just 26% say the results were more a vote for the GOP. Nearly as many (24%), however, are not sure.

Interestingly, 54% of Republican voters agree that the election results were more a vote against the Democrats than a vote for their own party. Fifty-six percent (56%) of voters not affiliated with either of the major parties share that assessment.

Even a plurality (42%) of Democrats recognizes the election results as a repudiation of their party, but another 40% are not sure.

This echoes what Scott Rasmussen said in a Wall Street Journal column this past Monday. “The reality is that voters in 2010 are doing the same thing they did in 2006 and 2008: They are voting against the party in power,” Scott noted. “In this environment, it would be wise for all Republicans to remember that their team didn't win, the other team lost. Heading into 2012, voters will remain ready to vote against the party in power unless they are given a reason not to do so.”

COMMENT:  Translated:  The Republicans had better perform.  And they'd better make use of some of the terrific new people coming into Congress.  Traditionally, the GOP has been a party in which people wait their turn.  No more, guys.  The American people want talented people up front and acting.

November 7, 2010