Yesterday was a bad day to be a politi cal incumbent — and, particularly, an Obama-backed Democrat.
Voters couldn’t have been more clear.
They’re focused — on President Obama’s vast plan to essentially remake America. And on their own personalfates — the oppressive tax burden they bear and their tentative job security, made shakier by high levies.
Across the board, incumbents — nearly all Democrats — were swept out or faced unexpectedly stiff challenges.
In New Jersey, a heavily blue state, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine was ousted by Republican challenger Chris Christie.
In trending-blue Virginia, Republican Bob McConnell took back the statehouse from the Democrats.
Three-term Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano was routed by Republican Rob Astorino.
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, was in the fight of his political life against a GOP foe, while Republicans regained control of the county legislature.
And, at City Hall, Mayor Bloomberg — though personally popular — won re-election by a surprisingly thin margin over City Comptroller Bill Thompson.
Yes, local issues played a major role in each of these races.
But there also was a unifying force: Voters across America are riled, discontented and worried.
And if those in charge can’t fix things, the public wants someone who will.
Though the White House tried to dismiss the results as meaningless, it’s impossible not to see what happened yesterday as a thumbs-down from voters on the Obama bigger-government agenda — a clear signal that they don’t trust it.
But in races like those in New Jersey, Nassau and Westchester — three places where property taxes are out of control — voters sent another message: We re fuse to sit back and take it anymore.
Call it the ballot-box confirmation of the Tea Party movement, a growing sign that voters are in revolt when it comes to sky-high taxes and bloated, unchecked government spending.
Not to mention government ineptitude, of the kind displayed by Gov. Paterson and the New York state Senate.
About the only bright note for the Democrats was in the upstate 23rd Congressional District, where Democrat Bill Owens slipped past Conservative Doug Hoffman in a bizarre race.
Until recently, the 23rd was a contest between two conventional liberals, one of them nominally a Republican — until the Republican dropped out and national GOP figures endorsed Hoffman, giving voters a genuine choice.
Had the party bosses backed Hoffman from the get-go, we suspect he’d have come out on top, too.
Team Obama and Capitol Hill Democrats may try to pretend that last night’s results have no national significance. But they bury their heads in the sand at their own political peril.
Voters sent a very clear message. Those who ignore it inevitably will wish they hadn’t.