HackerHaus

So now what?

Yesterday, the American voting public showed up to express themselves in record numbers. As a result, Election 2010 has turned out to be the largest Congressional upset since World War II, with results exceeding the auto-erotic expectations of even the most rabid Fox News GOP sycophant.

Last night, incumbents lost big.  The question that sits like a rock in my mind, however, is:  Who is going to lose next?  More importantly, when is the population of the United States, as a whole, going to start winning?

So-called “Tea Party” candidates both won and lost, yet claim this as the beginning of a “new era” in GOP politics.  “Tea Party” wins in some earlier Senate nomination races actually lead to GOP losses in those same races, ultimately directly resulting in the GOP failing to claim a majority in the Senate.  I would seem that, in a few cases, philosophy won out over old-school party loyalty.  Is this a good thing?  Only history will tell.

Republicans claim this is a repudiation of the sitting President (mid-term elections always are) and his policies.  Some made conciliatory remarks to “Tea Party” members.  How will this experience, coupled with the past 4 years, inform and moderate how they choose to do business?  Only history will tell.

The President earlier suggested that this sort of outcome would merely be the result of fear and anger on the part of his “enemies.”  Others have opined that this election was more about an inspired Republican turn out versus an uninspired Democrat turn out.  What does this mean for President Obama’s future?  Only history will tell.

And what of the Independents who helped carry Barack Obama to the Presidency 2 long years ago?  It would seem that many, if not most, of them have defected.  I, myself, am a registered Independent.  I always keep my votes secret, but without giving anything away, suffice it to say that I cast votes for Republicans, a Democrat, and several Libertarian candidates.  You might even be surprised at how I voted on Arizona’s Proposition 203.

Finally, in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, which is heavily Hispanic, incumbent Congressman Raúl Grijalva, famous in AZ for his nationwide call for a boycott against Arizona over SB1070, appears (at press time) to have quite literally eked out a narrow victory.  His win itself seems somewhat less significant than the fact that (as of this moment) he only won by a statistical handful of votes in a district that should have, by common Pop Culture wisdom, been his for the taking.  What does this say?

This morning, an acquaintance shared something so profound and dead-on, I wish I had written it, myself:

“If you want the state to intervene overseas, you’re a conservative.  If you want the state to intervene domestically, you’re a liberal.  If you want both, you’re “middle of the road.”  If you just want to be left the hell alone by this insanity, you’re some kind of a dangerous radical.” — Adam Muntner

Since Adam said it all, I have nothing left to say.

Image by Reuters

President Obama wants voters to remember that “GOP policies failed to prevent the recession.”

What he doesn’t seem to grasp is that We, The People, do remember.

We remember that Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro Pelosi became Speaker-elect on November 16, 2006 and assumed power on January 3, 2007 at the start of the 110th Congress.  According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the recession began in December 2007.

We, The People, remember.

Respectfully, Mr. President, We, The People, see clearly that your suggestion that Republicans were “behind the wheel” when the metaphorical car was metaphorically driven off the metaphorical road is simplistic at best and displays either your lack of depth or your level of disdain for Us.  Your suggestion that Republicans “gotta sit in the back,” was insulting, dismissive, and, had it been made by a white Republican toward your party, well… we all know how that might’ve ended.  Respectfully, Mr. President, Pelosi Democrats were “behind the wheel,” as you so Presidentially put it.

As eloquent an orator as you are, Mr. President, you cannot undo or change history with a stroke of your verbal pen.

Was there any GOP-sponsored legislation in place that lead to the recession?  Almost certainly.  But if we want to play the way-back game, we can also bring up that it was President Jimmy Carter who signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, which required lending institutions to give home loans to people they knew would never be able to pay them back… all in the name of being “fair” to people who wanted to own a home despite their inability to financially support that choice.  We can also bring up that it was President Clinton’s asking for changes in the law in order to “deal with the problems of the inner city and distressed rural communities” that lead directly to the recent housing market crash.  How far back do we want to go?  Even a “CSI” fanboy can see that there is blood on everyone’s hands at this crime scene.

Because it’s apparently easier for a We, The Brain-Dead People, to understand, Pop Culture assigns all successes and failures to the Presidential figurehead, depending on what is popular at the time.  GWB’s war in Iraq, for instance, proved to be very unpopular.  But how often are the names of the Democratic members of the Congress and Senate who voted to support it, then later used it as political ammunition against him, mentioned?

I, personally, am sick of both the Democrats and the Republicans.  I’ve even seen some rename them to Democans and Republicrats, suggesting there is really little difference between the two (other than to whom and how they pander).  I’m sick of the Democrats telling me that I must feel guilty for something that isn’t my fault and that my money really belongs to someone else.  I’m sick of the Republicans telling me that the only thing scarier than a raghead is a gay raghead who wants to get married and join the military.  Stop it.  You sound like children.

Mostly, I’m sick of both sides thinking they are smart enough to manipulate me without me catching on.  Stop trying to use fear and guilt as weapons.  Not only is it transparent and ineffective, but every time you try to foist that upon me, I have that much less respect for you.

This is why I’m a registered Independent.  Do we need a 3rd party?  No, I don’t think so.  I think we need at least 5 parties to make sure that no one extreme arm of any extant party (I’m talking to you, D’s and R’s) can seize power easily.  I also think it should be illegal for anyone who has ever been a lawyer or even earned a JD degree to ever serve in the Congress.  This is, perhaps, the most dangerous, incestuous special interest group in the federal government, voting on laws that only one of their own can interpret, preserving their own job security and power.  And don’t get me started on term limits…

But I digress.

What has been swept under the cognitive rug in this case is that it is the Congress which controls the purse strings and sets the legislative agenda.  The President can make suggestions, but unless he has Chicago-style thugs out threatening to break kneecaps, he can’t force the Congress to do anything.  That’s the idea of co-equal branches.

I’m not suggesting that the GOP would’ve hypothetically done any better.  But I am suggesting that, should We, The People hand them the baton tomorrow, they had better not screw it up or they’re finished.  I do find it funny, though, that the GOP has been dubbed “The Party of NO” as though this were a pejorative.  Is it wrong to say “no” to a syringe full of poison?

Should the GOP take control of the House tomorrow as is being predicted, this is what I suggest the new Speaker-elect say:  “Mr. President:  We won.  Your agenda is finished.  Starting on the 1st day of the 112th Congress, we begin with The People’s business of undoing the harm that you and our predecessors have done to America.”

I know this won’t happen for two reasons:  Nobody has the balls to say it, but more importantly, nobody has the balls to actually do it.

I, for one, say “bring on the gridlock.”  Political in-fighting in Washington is good for all of us.  If you don’t believe me, watch how the economy and Stock Market respond to a (predicted) GOP victory.  The economy and market are always stronger when no one party is in control of both branches.

Tomorrow, November 2nd, 2010, please go out and vote your conscience, whomever you support.  But please… make sure your vote is informed.  November 3rd is too late.