Is any victory a mandate?

If 77 million votes, popular win, electoral win, house and senate win isn’t a mandate I don’t know what else is. Seems like those who lose think they have more of a mandate than any winner in our government.

Gotta be an overwhelming popular vote victory for it to be a true mandate

People claimed mandate in 2024 - never legit - and then complained that Trump didn’t have the congressional support he needed to govern well. Can’t be both.

Im speaking about the smaller races. Direct representation.

In Georgia, for instance, should Ossoff or Collins moderate their positions to account for the views of half of the electorate that differ from them?

I mean this in a representative capacity, not simply trying to win re-election later.

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Im speaking about the smaller races. Direct representation. In Georgia, for instance, should Ossoff or Collins moderate their positions to account for the views of half of the electorate that differ from them?

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Same rules apply

If it’s actually close to half I could see an argument for that. If it’s a blowout, then eh, sucks to suck.

If it’s 49.8% like Trump in 2024, that means winning with less than half. Nowhere close to Obama numbers and definitely not a mandate.

The Democrats absurdly claimed a mandate when Clinton won with 43% in 92. Thankfully, he was insecure and smart enough to monitor the pulse of the nation (triangulation).

4 years McCain. 8 Years Hillary, 4 years Rubio?

I wonder what would have happened if McCain won? 8 years? 4 then a swing. Likely no Trump because him leading the birther movement on Twitter is what got him to run.

McCain was solid in the middle. Had he tapped Lieberman he would have won with a coalition ticket.

But you never know. Fun to speculate though.

Correct. The ACA was passed in the middle of the night without a single Republican vote and done so by including it in a House reconciliation bill that only required 51 votes.

It's that sort of parliamentarian masturbation that they had to resort to.

FWIW, we should do precisely the same thing with the SAVE America Act and see how they like it.

Maybe.

Maybe not. If the Democrats keep districts close, but still lose by small margins it will be good for the Democrats

Trump is out in 2 years, so Republicans that win by a small percentage are not always going to vote down party lines. Trump is not going to be on the ticket in 2028, so some of his supporters that don’t always vote will stay at home. Congressman that won by a small percentage will want to look like moderates if they want to be reelected

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Is any victory a mandate?

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Yes. And in 2024, the American people said very plainly to everyone that they were tired of the way the Biden White House did anything. They liked what Trump was saying and they elected him. They liked what congress was saying and they gave you a Republican majority in there. They told you all plain as day what they wanted. It was absolutely a mandate.

I cannot understand how 2 years later, the GOP has managed to completely alienate their voters on this.

It has to be on purpose. There is no other explanation.

1980 and 1984 sure were. 2016 would have been had the rnc not been confused about what to do (ie worried about re election).