It may be November, but there's spring in my step
And most of my friends' too. I don't think I need to say why. Things are gonna change around this town because there's a great deal of "trickle down" from the elections -- many jobs will be shifting around (cross your fingers that one shifts in my direction) and so will real estate. Hopefully some of the ugliness will go away too, but I'm not counting on it.
The final counts on both sides aren't in yet, but the trends are fantabulous. Dems now hold the majority of the governorships (first time in a decade). Wo-hoo! Another woman in the Senate (McCaskill in MO). Double wo-hoo! But I'm still holding my breath on the VA Senate race. Talk about a nail-biter! And, Montana is too close to call. Please, please, please -- no replay of the crap we saw in Florida... let's have some dignity here folks. But I admit to being cheerful at saying "Buh-bye" to Santorum and his presidential aspirations (talk about ugliness!).
Whether or not the Senate goes Dem, I really hope that the Dems learned from the arrogance of the Republicans back post-1994... which means, that yes, folks wanted and voted for a change but don't jam the extreme stuff down anyone's throat. The Republicans got giddy with power, thought they had a mandate and drove the country towards the hard right after they won Congress -- and that was a mistake. President Clinton used his opposition position to show the country just exactly the shenanigans they were trying to get away with. So, while I agree with most liberal positions, I hope the Dems don't try to impost an uber-liberal agenda. It won't work.
First of all, too many of the Dems that won are moderates, could even wear a Republican team shirt and be credible. They won't support an extreme policy agenda, and if they did, they wouldn't survive the next elections.
Second, W. still has the advantage of a bully pulpit and the veto power. He can easily demonize an uber-liberal agenda (heck, he already does that) and play the "I told you so" game ("See what you get for voting for the Demo[n]crats? I told you not to vote for them!"). But he can't do that with a more moderate one. He can try, but it will be much harder. And I think Nancy Pelosi is smart enough to play that game and probably best him, as well.
Third, we don't have a prayer for a scintilla of progress if the House doesn't start off with baby steps. Like raising the minimum wage. And stem cell research (even if W. will veto it again). So, the Dems need to get to work, not play political games. And that means moderation. Progressive but not extreme.
I'm particularly happy that we won't be seeing bullshit like a federal marriage amendment getting a vote (even if that horrible woman Musgrave was re-elected) or court-stripping legislation. And let's have some accountability in government. Now the House will no longer be W.'s lapdog, and the country will learn the truth behind some of these ethical scandals.
And Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House -- that's #3 in line for the presidency -- how freakin' cool is that?
But best of all, those ubitquitous and annoying political ads are GONE for another two years. Yay! No more messing around with my TV-watching...
The final counts on both sides aren't in yet, but the trends are fantabulous. Dems now hold the majority of the governorships (first time in a decade). Wo-hoo! Another woman in the Senate (McCaskill in MO). Double wo-hoo! But I'm still holding my breath on the VA Senate race. Talk about a nail-biter! And, Montana is too close to call. Please, please, please -- no replay of the crap we saw in Florida... let's have some dignity here folks. But I admit to being cheerful at saying "Buh-bye" to Santorum and his presidential aspirations (talk about ugliness!).
Whether or not the Senate goes Dem, I really hope that the Dems learned from the arrogance of the Republicans back post-1994... which means, that yes, folks wanted and voted for a change but don't jam the extreme stuff down anyone's throat. The Republicans got giddy with power, thought they had a mandate and drove the country towards the hard right after they won Congress -- and that was a mistake. President Clinton used his opposition position to show the country just exactly the shenanigans they were trying to get away with. So, while I agree with most liberal positions, I hope the Dems don't try to impost an uber-liberal agenda. It won't work.
First of all, too many of the Dems that won are moderates, could even wear a Republican team shirt and be credible. They won't support an extreme policy agenda, and if they did, they wouldn't survive the next elections.
Second, W. still has the advantage of a bully pulpit and the veto power. He can easily demonize an uber-liberal agenda (heck, he already does that) and play the "I told you so" game ("See what you get for voting for the Demo[n]crats? I told you not to vote for them!"). But he can't do that with a more moderate one. He can try, but it will be much harder. And I think Nancy Pelosi is smart enough to play that game and probably best him, as well.
Third, we don't have a prayer for a scintilla of progress if the House doesn't start off with baby steps. Like raising the minimum wage. And stem cell research (even if W. will veto it again). So, the Dems need to get to work, not play political games. And that means moderation. Progressive but not extreme.
I'm particularly happy that we won't be seeing bullshit like a federal marriage amendment getting a vote (even if that horrible woman Musgrave was re-elected) or court-stripping legislation. And let's have some accountability in government. Now the House will no longer be W.'s lapdog, and the country will learn the truth behind some of these ethical scandals.
And Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House -- that's #3 in line for the presidency -- how freakin' cool is that?
But best of all, those ubitquitous and annoying political ads are GONE for another two years. Yay! No more messing around with my TV-watching...
<< Home