Democrats who voted against aca in 2010 but still lost the seat. Why?

[User157088589849]

17 democrats who voted against the affordable care act still lost the seat.

- Was it because democrats for it just didn't come out and vote for someone who didn't vote for it.

It makes no sense to me for an independent or soft right leaning to go to the polls and vote against your member of congress if they did the vote you wanted?
Why does sending a republican who would have voted against it like the democrat you already have, have changed things. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

[Person Man]

Why vote for a Democrat who supports Republican policies when you can just vote for a Republican?

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

The perception that the Democratic party as a whole was focusing more on reforming healthcare in a manner that confused and frightened many people rather than fixing the economy turned many independent/swing voters off, and it sure didn't help that Republicans fielded strong candidates that year as well.

[User157088589849]

The perception that the Democratic party as a whole was focusing more on reforming healthcare in a manner that confused and frightened many people rather than fixing the economy turned many independent/swing voters off, and it sure didn't help that Republicans fielded strong candidates that year as well.

Kristi Noem was a strong candidate? Have you heard/read what comes out of her mouth?

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

The perception that the Democratic party as a whole was focusing more on reforming healthcare in a manner that confused and frightened many people rather than fixing the economy turned many independent/swing voters off, and it sure didn't help that Republicans fielded strong candidates that year as well.

Kristi Noem was a strong candidate? Have you heard/read what comes out of her mouth?

It doesn't go for every candidate dude. It was a generalization.

[Joe Republic]

Most (swing) voters don't know/care what their congressperson's voting record looks like.  Many of them don't even know their name.  All they know is [Democratic] or [Republican] next to their name on the ballot.

[Talleyrand]

The unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act was only a small part of the anti-Democratic sentiment in 2010, and in addition, many of these seventeen representatives were running in heavily red territory in which they were running on borrowed time anyway. Just a perfect storm of things came together at the time, hastening defeat for many of these members.

[Vega]

Alot of the blue dogs who lost in 2010 (and continued to lose in 2012) were worthless anyway.

[nolesfan2011]

Why vote for a Democrat who supports Republican policies when you can just vote for a Republican?

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Why vote for a Democrat who supports Republican policies when you can just vote for a Republican?

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

Alot of the blue dogs who lost in 2010 (and continued to lose in 2012) were worthless anyway.

I just liked having them around to keep Democrats in the majority.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Alot of the blue dogs who lost in 2010 (and continued to lose in 2012) were worthless anyway.

I just liked having them around to keep Democrats in the majority.

Blue Dogs have quite a history of either switching parties or losing general elections. They're down from 54 before the 2010 elections to 19 today

[Torie]

As Joe alluded, the main reason is that those CD's tend to have a Pub hue. The ACA was but one issue, with other partisan issues also in play, and even if the incumbent tended to vote the Pub line on most controversial issues, they still can be tarred and feathered with having voted to make Pelosi Speaker of the House. The US political system in Congress has evolved to the point that it looks more now like how a Parliamentary system works, with pretty strict party discipline, and rebels tending to have short half lives.

[Person Man]

Why vote for a Democrat who supports Republican policies when you can just vote for a Republican?

I will go further and say that the parties are so polarized that trying to push to the center or into the other side of the spectrum could make you lose more supporters than win over independents. There were two big exceptions to this in 2006- Bill Ritter and Bob Casey Jr. but I think someone like Sestak or Salazar would have won by almost as much. People pretty much knew that giving W the green light for a third time in 2006 would be the same as giving a green light to having a party system in this country similar to Wyoming or Massachusetts, where only in a particular set of circumstances does any important voting goes on beyond the state's party's primaries. I think that's how the Republicans won in 2010. 

[User157088589849]

So going back to the original question

Did democrats lose because democrats didn't come out and vote for them?

[Never]

So going back to the original question

Did democrats lose because democrats didn't come out and vote for them?

Not necessarily. I suspect that Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents were so motivated in 2010 and were unwilling to differentiate between Democrats who did vote for Obamacare and those who voted against it. While Democratic turnout was poor that year, that only partially explains why so many Blue Dogs lost.

[TDAS04]

A Democratic member of Congress still votes for Democratic leadership.  I remember Kristi Noem in 2010 emphasizing that she would not vote to make Nancy Pelosi Speaker.

Both parties do it.  I believe Democrats used it against Lincoln Chaffee in 2006, arguing that a vote for him was a vote for a Republican Senate Majority Leader. 

[User157088589849]

A Democratic member of Congress still votes for Democratic leadership.  I remember Kristi Noem in 2010 emphasizing that she would not vote to make Nancy Pelosi Speaker.

Both parties do it.  I believe Democrats used it against Lincoln Chaffee in 2006, arguing that a vote for him was a vote for a Republican Senate Majority Leader. 

This makes sense. So congress is increasingly becoming like a parliamentarian system where you vote based on who you want to lead the house. Voters just didn't want Nancy Pelosi to stay as majority leader.

Why are democrats keeping her as leader if she has been rejected.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

A Democratic member of Congress still votes for Democratic leadership.  I remember Kristi Noem in 2010 emphasizing that she would not vote to make Nancy Pelosi Speaker.

Both parties do it.  I believe Democrats used it against Lincoln Chaffee in 2006, arguing that a vote for him was a vote for a Republican Senate Majority Leader. 

This makes sense. So congress is increasingly becoming like a parliamentarian system where you vote based on who you want to lead the house. Voters just didn't want Nancy Pelosi to stay as majority leader.

Why are democrats keeping her as leader if she has been rejected.

Because she's the best at her job we've had since Tip O'Neil.

[Brittain33]

Because the argument would be used against any Democrat who leads the caucus, and she happens to be effective at her job.

[Badger]

Most (swing) voters don't know/care what their congressperson's voting record looks like.  Many of them don't even know their name.  All they know is [Democratic] or [Republican] next to their name on the ballot.

This. Plus add in the fact most anti-ACA Democrats were in competitive or even downright Dem unfriendly districts. So when they hit a wave year like 2010, well......

[Smash255]

So going back to the original question

Did democrats lose because democrats didn't come out and vote for them?

In some cases that might have been true.  Democrats weren't as excited and they had an even sharper dropff in turnout from the General to a Midterm than usual, especially compared to the GOP turnout dropoff.

With that being said as far as ACA is concerned, I don't think it had much to do with it regardless of how they voted.  Most of those who lost and voted against ACA were from Republican leaning districts.  Considering the nature of the districts, the fact it was a midterm year and a GOP wave year it was only natural that those Dems would have been ultra vulnerable.