# Have the recent scandals screwed the Dems for the mid terms?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [May 16, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517 "2013-05-16T16:04:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/1 "2013-05-16T16:04:16Z")
This sucks. Just as Benghazi was in its death throes, taking the wind out of the TP/Repubs sails, here comes these other scandals, re-energizing and uniting the Republican base.
Will this momentum hold til the mid terms? Will these scandals tip the scales?
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/2 "2013-05-16T16:06:52Z")
You need to put “scandals” in quotes.
And, no, I don’t think so.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/3 "2013-05-16T16:14:50Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> You need to put “scandals” in quotes.
>
> And, no, I don’t think so.
Ha! You know I almost did but I was afraid it would derail my own thread.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/4 "2013-05-16T16:18:11Z")
I’m not seeing these “scandals” having legs through Oct/Nov.
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### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/5 "2013-05-16T16:26:38Z")
I certainly hope so. I hope every supporter of the recent gun grabbing legislation does down in defeat, and the various scandals can only help that happen.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/6 "2013-05-16T16:31:04Z")
It depends what happens. The IRS scandal and AP scandal might have legs, the problems won’t tie back to the Oval Office, but the details could trickle out over time and there might be a lot of incompetence at the lower levels. Look how well Sanford did in his campaign against Pelosi, it doesn’t take much to get some people to hate Democrats. Of course they never had much of chance to take over the House anyway. I haven’t checked the Senate standings lately, but I’m not seeing much change there either.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/7 "2013-05-16T16:47:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> I’m not seeing these “scandals” having legs through Oct/Nov.
October/November of next year, no less. And I agree.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/8 "2013-05-16T16:57:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> October/November of next year, no less. And I agree.
You won’t see the majority in the house rushing to hold their hearings. They’re planning to stretch this out as long as possible.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/9 "2013-05-16T16:59:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> You won’t see the majority in the house rushing to hold their hearings. They’re planning to stretch this out as long as possible.
They’ve been holding hearings on Benghazi since forever, and they are in fact hurrying to get started on the IRS thing. The elections are still a year and a half away.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/10 "2013-05-16T17:11:34Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> They’ve been holding hearings on Benghazi since forever, and they are in fact hurrying to get started on the IRS thing. The elections are still a year and a half away.
Of course-solving problems in a timely manner doesn’t help their cause, while creating “scandal” upon “scandal” upon “scandal” and dragging it out until election time is just what they want.
> [@Oakminster](#):
>
> I certainly hope so. I hope every supporter of the recent gun grabbing legislation does down in defeat, and the various scandals can only help that happen.
Continuously dragging this country through the mud is more important to people like this than trying to fix what problems that might exist, because the ends justify the means.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/11 "2013-05-16T17:17:24Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Will this momentum hold til the mid terms? Will these scandals tip the scales?
No. The midterm elections are 18 months away. _Benghazi!_ will have about the same importance in November 2014 as Bill Ayers did in 2012.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/12 "2013-05-16T17:21:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> Continuously dragging this country through the mud is more important to people like this than trying to fix what problems that might exist, because the ends justify the means.
QFT.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/13 "2013-05-16T17:30:16Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> They’ve been holding hearings on Benghazi since forever, and they are in fact hurrying to get started on the IRS thing. The elections are still a year and a half away.
I think they’re rushing the IRS thing right now to get it in front of Bengazi which did not have legs. This one has more broad based appeal to people, hating the IRS is a bipartisan ideology. A serious investigation into IRS operations is going to turn up a lot of shit. Scandal mongering is clearly the GOP congressional strategy and they’ll carry this as far as possible. They really aren’t busy doing anything else.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/14 "2013-05-16T17:35:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> I think they’re rushing the IRS thing right now to get it in front of Bengazi which did not have legs. This one has more broad based appeal to people, hating the IRS is a bipartisan ideology. A serious investigation into IRS operations is going to turn up a lot of shit.
Will any of it have anything to do with Obama or the Democrats? Will any of it matter to people who might not vote Republican?
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/15 "2013-05-16T17:48:57Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> Will any of it have anything to do with Obama or the Democrats? Will any of it matter to people who might not vote Republican?
Yes, I think so. First, a lot of people hate the IRS. As long as the Republicans can make it look like Obama is doing a bad job as President because of this it takes the focus of the bad job congress is doing. I think the Republicans will come out with some kind of phony agenda for restoring the US to it’s former glory in the month before the election, when people who haven’t already decided start to notice, but these ‘scandals’ will set the stage for that. It’s a constant drone in the background over whatever the Dem’s plans are.
Now it isn’t all that simple, like the AP thing, the Republicans could get snared in their own web, but the Democrats haven’t been very good at taking advantage of the situation. People haven’t noticed Republican hypocrisy that much even though they’ve achieved record levels in recent years.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/16 "2013-05-16T17:56:19Z")
I’m still not seeing the relevance.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/17 "2013-05-16T18:18:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Quoth **Oakminster** :
>
> I certainly hope so. I hope every supporter of the recent gun grabbing legislation does down in defeat, and the various scandals can only help that happen.
As an aside, why do the people who love grabbing guns keep on referring to the people who don’t like grabbing guns “gun grabbers”?
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### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/18 "2013-05-16T18:27:23Z")
Jealousy. They think we are going to take all their guns and then spend the rest of our lives fondling them.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/19 "2013-05-16T18:41:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> I’m still not seeing the relevance.
That’s because you’re too rational.
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### Author:  [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-the-recent-scandals-screwed-the-dems-for-the-mid-terms/658517/20 "2013-05-16T18:59:39Z")
> [@Shakes](#):
>
> This sucks. Just as Benghazi was in its death throes, taking the wind out of the TP/Repubs sails, here comes these other scandals, re-energizing and uniting the Republican base.
>
> Will this momentum hold til the mid terms? Will these scandals tip the scales?
Unless we find out that Obama is more culpable than he seems to be right now, I don’t think it will derail anything. I think the gun stuff will make more of a difference in 2014. Gun nuts won’t forget, the casual gun grabber will. Gun nuts will punish the Democratic party.
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