Jackie Gingrich Cushman
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Instead of Valerie Jarrett's version of speaking truth to power, we now have our own.

Two governors' races were real wins for the Republican Party in this week's off-year elections. Republican Chris Christie won against the Democratic incumbent in New Jersey, and Republican Bob McDonnell won in Virginia, after eight years of a Democratic governor.

Why are these two races important? Because at a time when the Democratic Party is in power, the winners are Republicans.

Think of this as the Republican Party speaking truth to those that hold power in the White House.

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In New Jersey, Christie presented receptive voters with a clear departure from Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine. And in Virginia, McDonnell managed to oust Tim Kaine, whose party had long been in control of the governor's mansion.

Among the losers was President Obama, who was a big supporter and campaigner for both losing Democratic candidates. This is not good for him, or for the Democratic Party.

The White House and the Democratic Party will attempt to maintain their composure by assuring the public that off-year elections often go to the minority party.

But what they know and won't say is that it is always better to win than it is to lose. Do not doubt they are wishing they had won, while stating that they are not surprised by the losses.

At this point, they will be merely trying to cut their losses and spin the public's attention to a win.

The win they will spin to and the one the Democrats will crow about is New York's 23rd congressional district race.

This race was part soap opera, part reality show and totally confusing to many people. The Republican Party pick, Dede Scozzafava, was challenged on the right by Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. National Republicans soon weighed in on either side of the two candidates. Scozzafava, the more liberal candidate who was picked without grass-roots support, lost ground to Hoffman. She pulled herself out of the race last week, and in a wild move this weekend, she endorsed Democrat Bill Owens, who ended up winning the election.

Seriously -- a plot that could have come right out of Hollywood.

The result?

As of January, Democrats will control the House by 258 seats to 177 for Republicans. The race resulted in one more Democratic vote for the upcoming vote on health care.

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Jackie Gingrich Cushman
