"Be careful that victories do not carry the seed of future defeats." ~ Ralph W. Sockman
Unlike many of my Conservative blogger peers, I am not going to assign blame for the Republican Party's stunning loss in yesterdays mid-term elections. I'm not even going to look for someone or something to blame.
The American voters have made their choice. The Democrats have won.
God help us.
I have always made it a point to try not to gloat when my team wins. I try very hard not to allow myself to be smug when it appears my predictions have borne out to be accurate. I don't laugh in the faces of foes I have bested. I try to carry myself with grace when victorious.
The reason for this attempt at humility?
Well, in less than a month I will turn 55 years old. In my 55 years on this planet, I have learned several lessons, most of them the hard way. One of them is this:
Egg on the face is not only unattractive. It stings.
However, I know without a doubt, that the Liberal and Democrat commentators that so often offer their comments on my blog will not ascribe to that particular self defensive philosophy. I know they will soon appear here and gloat to their hearts content.
I will do my utmost to bear these commenters with grace and dignity. I will try very hard not to allow myself to be offended.
With that firmly in mind, I console myself with the possibility that sometime in the next two years or so, these same Liberal commentators, who now are feeling so smug and giddy with the excitement of victory, will, in the middle of some cold dark night, wake up soaked in a cold sweat with the realization that their votes helped to destroy, or at least marginalize, what was once the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
They will realize with horror, that the once strong economy is in the dumps. The stock market has plummeted, taxes are so high that even the most financially comfortable among us may not be able to afford them, inflation and unemployment has skyrocketed, crime has increased sharply, terrorists are freely streaming over our open borders and attacking America with brazen regularity. Possibly even with nuclear weapons.
No longer will they hear the stirring strains of "God Bless America" or "The Star Spangled Banner" before a ball game. The phrase, "In God we trust" will no longer be emblazoned on American currency. In fact, if the Democrats have their way, we may be spending Euro dollars to pay the additional governmental fees with which we will be inundated.
They will be risking fines or imprisonment if they get caught worshipping in the church of their choice, unless the church of their choice is a mosque.
They will escape to same sex partners to avoid paying the increased marriage penalty which will only be imposed on a marriage between one man and one woman.
And so on.
Extreme? Perhaps.
But if some of the newly elected Senators and Congressmen succeed in enacting the legislation that they have in the past suggested may be the best course for America, that scenario may not be so improbable.
A few days ago, I sat down and began hammering out a blog entry about the campaign rhetoric being espoused through the various campaign ads in the media. The premise was that they are all promising a change in Washington if elected. Both Republican and Democrat.
My Father used to say, "If it aint broke, don't fix it."
In my humble opinion, I don't see what changes are needed in Washington. The economy is stronger than it has been in decades. The unemployment rate is the lowest in history. The stock market averages are setting new records every week. Taxes are low, We have at least some semblance of security in our country and are working toward making it stronger. We are making steady progress in the war on terror.
We haven't had a terrorist attack in our country since 9/11/2001.
What needs to be changed?
Well, maybe Government spending could be decreased, but other than that, I think we are doing pretty good.
"If it aint broke, don't fix it".
Then I lost my internet connection, lost the entire entry, and due to my schedule, I didn't have time to rewrite it, so it was never posted.
Incoming Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, proclaimed last night, "The Democrats are ready to lead us in a new direction."
What direction is that? Backward? As far as I can see, America was headed in the right direction already. If we change direction, where will we end up?
So, I can no longer say, "If it aint broke, don't fix it".
Because now, it is broke.
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21 comments:
No gloating here. Just a half-hearted sigh of relief that PERHAPS the fallible Dems will do a less horrible job than the fallible Republicans. Perhaps the speed with which we were headed in the wrong direction will slow or even stop. Time will tell.
As to your suggestion:
"What direction is that? Backward? As far as I can see, America was headed in the right direction already."
As you have noted, a majority have disagreed with you that we are headed in the right direction. Pre-emptive invasions, unilateralism, attacks on the Constitution, Government of, by and for corporations, corrupt leadership, sprawl, etc...THESE are the wrong directions and the US would like to see a bit of a new direction.
We'll see if the Dems increased presence in gov't can effect any of that change.
Giddy? No way. I just have a little hope now.
Stunning? Only to people who were in denial.
And, oh yeah, your scenario is extremely extreme. Wacky, even.
Agreed on all. And I think what boggles my mind most is that Keith Ellison actually won. And that Nancy Pelosi - a socialist - will now be only two heartbeats away from the Presidency.
I believe your predictions were not only believable, but probable. Time will tell, won't it.
Apparently much of the country does think something is broken.
Your Scenario is no more wacky than the modern Liberal agenda would appear to the Founding Fathers.
Were they suddenly transported in time to Today, they would not be able to recognize or relate to the Society in which we live, and the Democrats have not even taken Power yet.
I believe that Republicans could probably regain power if they would challenge the Voter Fraud in each and every race perpetrated by groups like AACORN, but Republicans don't do that.
That's the Democrats' bag.
As far as the Direction our Nation is headed, this Nation does not turn on a dime, it turns like an Aircraft Carrier.
This Election was a fluke, and I hope that two years will not be enough time for the Dems to do very much damage.
I will say this, however, Mark...
I believe that the Republicans would have kept both Houses if you had been posting regularly. ;-)
Absolutely, ER. Extreme, certainly, Wacky? Absolutely. Which is why I find it hard to understand why an intelligent man such as yourself would align himself with these nuts.
All of these things and more have been suggested or implied at one time or another by Democratic party leaders.
Wacky? Not just wacky. Insane. You are 100% right, my friend. So why are you still a Democrat?
I think we all really know that this is just a reaction against Bush for what we all think we know about Iraq. Who really knows? Only the media from which we get our "facts".
Is it a coincidence that the most liberal voters are in the most immigrant-saturated areas of the nation? I don't think so. We all know that the "world-stage" doesn't like America for Iraq, and now a lot of immigrated citizens have helped sway the vote.
The real problem that I see here is that the democrats will take this victory (as dan trabue has) to mean that the voters approve of their entire agenda. Issues like|:
"Pre-emptive invasions, unilateralism, attacks on the Constitution, Government of, by and for corporations, corrupt leadership, sprawl, etc...THESE are the wrong directions and the US would like to see a bit of a new direction."
Add to that stem-cell research, abortion laws, homosexual legislation, etc... You get my drift.
The voters, foolishly, voted democrats in to fix Iraq. They don't want the whole shebang, believe it or not.
In fact, I think if the Democrats start running off in the liberal direction on every issue we'll see a massive shift back to the republicans in two years.
Bipartisanship is a joke and we all know that. The parties are literally polar opposites. The dems will do themself more harm than good if they go off as liberal as they want to.
We'll see after two years how the public feels about all of this.
Nice try, Mark, but no ceegar!
Seamus said:
"The voters, foolishly, voted democrats in to fix Iraq. They don't want the whole shebang, believe it or not."
And you know this, how? Via some Vulcan mindmeld you've got happening nationwide?
Still, I would agree that this is largely about Iraq. Surveys taken on election day tell us that there is also a perceived problem with corruption with the Republicans. And after the many (dozens?) of indictments, convictions, investigations, confessions, etc of the Republicans this last year or two, it is a justifiable perception, seems to me.
Tug said:
"Your Scenario is no more wacky than the modern Liberal agenda would appear to the Founding Fathers."
I'd agree, Tug. They may well be surprised at the direction things have gone. But while they may be surpised to see the impact of "liberal" actions, I think they'd be aghast to see the impact of so-called "conservative" actions.
A few quotes:
"Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty."
George Washington
"Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes...known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few. ... No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."
James Madison
"Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it."
John Adams
"All the property that is necessary to a Man, for the Conservation of the Individual and the Propagation of the Species, is his natural Right, which none can justly deprive him of: But all Property superfluous to such purposes is the Property of the Publick, who, by their Laws, have created it, and who may therefore by other laws dispose of it, whenever the Welfare of the Publick shall demand such Disposition."
Socialist Benjamin Franklin!
But here's why I am a Democrat:
"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things – every one. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, ‘Liberal,’ as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won’t work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor." -- Matt Santos, The West Wing
Nice speech, ER. The only problem with it is that unless Republicans are Liberals, it's all false.
See what Republicans have done here
This snippet from a Kiplinger's article restates my point more eloquently:
"Democratic leaders will be pragmatic and more moderate. They may be claiming a mandate, but deep down, they know their gains aren't a victory of ideas. Neither side really offered any. Democrats picked up seats in both chambers only because voters are angry with Bush and the GOP. And many of the new House and Senate Democrats are moderates or conservatives. That's why they won, and they know they won't win again unless they stop the old-dog Democrats from pushing any pent-up liberal wish list."
Oh, bull--- and whatever, Mark. The liberal party today -- the one most likely to give a hoot in hell about everyday people, and to do anything like the acts in my "speech" -- is NOT the GOP. It's the Dems.
I don't give a d--- what the Democratic Party, or the Repub Party was about 100 years ago.
How do you breathe in that little bitty box you live in?
Mark, nice comeback, of course real history means nothing to a liberal.
Hey, powder, you crack me up. "History" means what was, not what you want it to be.
The Republican Party in this country has been its most successul -- at doing the right thing, if not doing the expedient, vote-getting thing -- when it was liberal! That's sort of Mark's point. He claims that all the things I brag on that liberals have accomplished were accomploshed by the Republicans.
Ha. And ha ha. Don't talk "history" to me, boy. You can't handle the history.
Here is one Democrat and Progressive who will not gloat. I have had far too many experiences of being on the losing end to gloat. And, I know that compromise with both Republicans and conservative Democrats will be necessary to get anything productive done--and keep from losing everything in two short years.
No, only on one conservative blog have I gloated. This particular blogger delighted in telling Dan Trabue and myself several weeks ago that we were "irrelevant" and would continue to be so for the foreseeable future. So, on THAT blog I could not help but gloat a little--who's irrelevant, now?
But most conservatives will not be irrelevant (but most weren't advocating nuclear war, either!). They will keep me and other progressives from giddiness and make us try to govern from the center. Since 1980, conservatives have successfully moved the political and cultural center further right. (I am liberal, now, but most of my views were once considered quite centrist as you are old enough to remember.) I would hope that progressives can now do the same--but it will have to be gradual. If we try to push the center too far left too fast there will be a very strong backlash--and quick. I hope we have the wisdom for small steps and for listening to our conservative critics.
In America, no voice should be "irrelevant."
"The Republican Party in this country has been its most successul -- at doing the right thing, if not doing the expedient, vote-getting thing -- when it was liberal!"
Here's a thought: The Republicans of the first half of last century couldn't get elected (at least by "conservatives") in this century. Although, I DO think they could get elected by the people at large - it's just that he'd have to be demonized and swift-boated first by the neo-cons.
By all means, though, run some Hatfield/Rockefeller type Republicans again. It would do the Republican Party great good - hell, maybe they could even win in 2008 that way.
I may even vote for that sort of Republican!
The Swift Boats were able to reasonably point out flaws in Kerry's exaggerated war record (Christmas in Cambodia).
This election was a victory of conservatism. Many of the Dems elected this cycle ran on conservative themes (Jim Webb being a prime example). After 12 years of complacency the Republicans lost precisely because they were seen by the voters as having become just as crooked as the Dems they replaced. It doesn't mean the Liberal leadership will abandon their endless investigations on Bush, tax increases, cutting and running, etc.
The next president will have to embrace fiscal and some socially conservative themes if they want a ghost of a chance to win.
ER, let me rephrase that quote, from a FICTIONAL TV show, to make it historically accurate.
"REPUBLICANS got women the right to vote. REPUBLICANS got African-Americans the right to vote. Democrats created Social Security, creating a crushing tax on Americans, but REPUBLICANS lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. REPUBLICANS ended segregation. REPUBLICANS passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Democrats created Medicare as part of LBJ's War on Poverty -- the greatest social welfare failure in our history. REPUBLICANS -- particularly Richard Nixon,created the EPA and signed the Clean Air Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 into law. What did DEMOCRATS do? They opposed every single piece of civil rights legislation from the 1860s thru the 1960s. They opposed black and women's suffrage. They created black codes to prevent blacks from voting. They created the KKK and lynch law to handle those who fought those discriminatory laws. They have not made a single civil rights advancement in this country's history.
So, why do they believe they are the champions of civil rights when it was religious Republicans who ran the underground railroads, established organizations such as the NAACP and fought for women's suffrage?
They actually believe the myth that the two parties have changed. On one mystical, magical day in the mid-1960s, every Republican changed to the Democrat party and every Democrat changed to the Republican party. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosie Parks suddenly became Democrats and Bull Conners and George Wallace suddenly became Republicans. The goods guys became the bad guys and the bad guys became the good guys.
This is more than gullibility, this is delusion. This is more than brain washing, this is brain disease.
I'm very worried how extreme the left is getting in their country, which is why I jumped ship two years ago.
They put an open Communist, Bernie Sanders, in the Senate. Keith Ellison, a radical Muslim who thinks killing cops is a valid form of social resistance, was just put in the House. I wouldn't be surprised if Comrade Pelosi puts John Conyers (D-Dearbornstan) on the Judiciary Committee to appease the Jihadist lobby.
lone ranger--
Right on. Lincoln and the Religious Right ended slavery. It was Eisenhower that sent troops to Arkansas to enforce desegregation. In addition, Democrats won't even consider that their social programs are responsible for the crime and poverty they've generated in the historical period 1965-2000.
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