Turning Red
The 2010 elections offered no great surprises. A few tightly contested races went to the Democrats, but for the most part we live a in very red country right now.
The Republican party is being held hostage by the Tea Party, with those in office being put on record that they will be targeted if they don’t tow the line. People like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin are holding court, even though they are not in office. If I were a reasonable, intelligent Republican right now, I might be feeling fairly isolated.
Instead I am a retired Democrat, breathing a sigh of relief that my job can no longer be abolished as the Republicans try to shrink the government. I just hope they have no plans of targeting my pension as part of the reduction scheme.
I am rather discouraged about the state of our government. The era of the real statesman seems to be bygone. Instead we are left with elected officials who constantly put party ahead of doing the right thing. Where climate change is still openly denied. Where many would abolish the line between church and state.
Past experience says things will once again swing the other way when the majority of voters realize the new guys don’t have the answers either. This election was mostly about saying the status quo sucks, not about offering up a viable way to fix it.
posted by Barbara at 10:16 AM
6 Comments:
No reason to be discouraged. We're facing the worst economy since the Great Depression and it's amazing that the Democrats weren't punished even worse (although we all know who brought on this mess).
Looking on the bright side, most of the serious clowns, like Angle and Miller, were rejected. Sure, Rand Paul made it in, but every circus needs a few clowns.
Regarding Palin, I think this was a REALLY bad night for her. It can be argued that her support for marginal and extreme tea party candidates helped the Democrats keep the Senate.
This is just how things work (or don't work) in this country. Hopefully, Obama will accept this kick in the pants as a sign to start leading.
Kevin -- You just made my day! I love an optimistic attitude at a time that looks so bleak to me.
And even if things don't turn around, there will always be Ethiopian food to eat, right? :)
"This election was mostly about saying the status quo sucks, not about offering up a viable way to fix it."
A most succinct way of putting it.
I suppose things could have been worse, though the Tea Party-backed candidate won the governorship where I live...
Per your comment, check out the remarks about Canada's Stephen Harper another blogger left for me...
Ethiopian food wouldn't do for me...I need a part-time job, an income stream and good docs...
Personally until we find a way to truly fairly fund elections and stifle the lies of them who drive the herd I believe last Tuesday was the death knell of the last vestige of Democracy in this nation.
Citizens United V U.S. has proven that elections can be bought wholesale with our own money by corporations.
We now live under the corporacracy that Ted Roosevelt killed in 1904 and after a 106 year war the same banks and syndicates that were broken up at that time have consistently waged war against the American people to take back control of the economy. They were trying hard when they crashed it in '29 but another Roosevelt rose from their own class and waged war against them holding them off for another sixty years.
Until there is another of them with a conscience that rises to lead we are going back to a time prior to the birth of the middle class in 1914.
I have of late been called cynical which I translate to mean realist.
7 months ago I said the next place we were going to be hit was in commodities especially grains and earth metals.
Within the next month you will start to hear how the price of oil, dairy, and grain products will be rising from 3-13%.
Follow the money, when congress passed financial reform, speculators and hedge funds moved to the Chicago Mercantile for profit.
It is going to be a ride, that is all I know for sure..
EEK!!!!
Something to scream about even after Halloween.
Oh Boy!
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