November 09, 2006

CSI: Washington, D.C.

A quickie post-mortem. Scalpel, please.

1) The voters have spoken. Republicans in Congress lost something in the last couple of years - leadership. They've shown very little of it and they became more concerned with trying to protect their own butts than accomplishing the kinds of things that would give voters a reason to keep them around. So...

2) A lot of people - independents in particular - decided they were sick of hearing Democrats say that they could do a better job and gave them the opportunity to prove it. They weren't motivated by a sudden enthusiasm for a Liberal (or Progressive or whatever euphemism you want to use) agenda. They elected moderate Democrats to replace moderate Republicans - plain and simple. If the desires of the electorate were truly aligned with the Angry Left, then Ned Lamont, Lincoln Chafee and several others would be serving in the 110th Congress.

3) This is essentially a test for the Democrats. With control of the House and the Senate, they have no excuses. The time for rhetoric is over. Many of those seats could go right back to the Republicans in two years if they're not careful. They didn't put Democrats in power so they would appease the moonbats by extracting payback or making the President's last two year in office a living hell. Of course, if the Dems really believe otherwise, I encourage them to follow that strategy. The American voter is fed up with partisan bickering. And they don't care who "started it". They don't care about Karl Rove, Al Gore's litigation-fest in 2000 or the bile between the parties that led to the Clinton impeachment. They're beyond that stuff. And, frankly, they have little patience for it.

4) The Republicans have some soul-searching to do. They need to agree on what they are willing to fight for and how to be unified again. But the Democrats have their own challenge. The war between the moderates and the Left that has been held back by a tentative truce in an effort to win will come to the surface as they fight over how they intend to keep the power that they've won.

Conclusion: The responsibility for the next two years rests on the Democrats' shoulders, especially considering that the President is wrapping up the final two years of his second term. Now that the Virginia Senate race is called this can be truly called the "Democrat Congress". They can either get credit or blame. It's their choice.

One side note: Since George Allen showed he was unable to run a decent Senate re-election campaign, it's safe to say that very few Republicans will be taking any Presidential campaign he may attempt seriously. A while back I picked him as my early favorite for the nomination in 2008. At the time, it made sense. Now it makes none. So I'll be paying closer attention to that race starting immediately.

UPDATE:
I received this comment on an earlier thread from "Joe Liarman":

"No, there is a vulnerable Chris Shays in 2008
Ned will be back.
Ned standing up to Joe and Bush opened the floodgates for a national Dem victory.
To that, we thank him"

So Ned Lamont was the catalyst for this control change? By that logic, had Ned Lamont not entered politics and had Joe Lieberman been re-elected as a Democrat, the results of Tuesday wouldn't have happened and the Dems would still be in the minority. Sorry, Joe but you're not taking into consideration normal political cycles. Though that you would rationalize Lamont's loss as some sort of moral victory makes sense. It's what you guys are used to doing after an election.

The reference to Chris Shays is amusing, however. I'm wondering when it's finally going to sink in with these people that they're not the "party of change" anymore. Their whole campaign was "we have to get the Republicans out of power". OK, so that's done. Now what? They can't run on that two years from now.

In 2008, their task will be to defend the status quo. In order to do that, they'll have to actually accomplish something, promote it and use it as a rationale for not allowing the Republicans back in.

I know the concept is a little foreign to these folks but the campaign's over. Now they have to actually do something. Otherwise it's the GOP that'll be campaigning on change in 2008. Hello?

Posted by: Gary at 07:00 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Well said! As a republican I was hopeful, but not surprised at the election turnout. Congrats, Gary, on Joe Lieberman's win. He deserves it!

Posted by: dianeinMA at November 09, 2006 10:07 AM (Eodj2)

2 After a little reflection on the last few days, I have come to the conclusion that the conservative revolt was indeed necessary. I went ahead and voted... and I'm glad I did. I'm conservative, but I couldn't bring myself to not vote. And I couldn't stomach the thought of ever casting a spite vote for a democrat. Anyhow, the deed is done. Democrats didn't necessarily win the election as much as the conservatives handed it to them. It was necessary. I know now that there really wasn't any other way to make the point any clearer. I guess what is really eating at me is the fact that along with the lesson(s) that have been taught, at the same time the liberals have just been rewarded for their despicable behavior the last few years. I guess it's a catch 22.

Posted by: cerebraldebris at November 09, 2006 09:59 PM (QtEb7)

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