Jon Stewart's Election Day forecast: Strong GOP winds mixed with showers of fear and disenfranchisement

Jon Stewart&#039;s Election Day forecast: Strong GOP winds mixed with showers of fear and disenfranchisement

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

last updated 8 January 2015

Jon Stewart's (potentially) final installment of Democalpyse 2014 gives you a sense of where he thinks today's elections will leave Congress: "Come on, Republicans! Just Go Ahead & Take Over Already." Fox News blames the Democrats' poor prospects on lack of a serious message — though, Stewart notes, Republicans are hardly running on "rational argument"; he summarizes their platform as: "Vote for us or get beheaded while pooping blood."

But Stewart also sees another reason behind the GOP's expected gains: A bunch of voter ID laws that happen to keep inordinate numbers of minorities, young people, and women from casting ballots. "Far be it for me to question anyone's motives," Stewart said, "but come on, a lot of these laws smell pretty voter suppression-y." Texas has one of the strictest voter ID laws, but plenty of states that may determine control of the Senate, like North Carolina and Kansas, have needless ID restrictions, too, he said. Hey, at least if Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) becomes Majority Leader, Daily Show viewers will get a lot more of Stewart's patented Cecil the Turtle impression. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.