Stunned. Last night, this morning... simply stunned. Nothing else describes it. Not so much stunned by the changing of the guard (it's inevitable) but by the realization that I was blinded by my own optimism and faith in American fortitude not to see it coming.
As I watched the election returns last night, I was flabbergasted. In my mind, this was a resounding defeat for the American ability to see a job through, to continue to strive for a victory worth winning. Just as the pundits have said, this was a referendum on the Republican-led efforts over the past six years. You'll get no excuses from me -- I supported the GOP in words and actions for the past 23 years because I believe Conservatism is the best ideology for America and Liberal Socialism is an experiment that has failed consistently throughout history.
So, where did it all go wrong?...
I know this won't be a popular opinion but it seems Republicans went wrong over the past six years in two respects: (1) they became too closely aligned with the Religous Right and tried too hard to push that agenda on citizens who still believe (and rightly so, in my opinion) that religion and family are private matters; and (2) they strayed too far for too long from true Conservative principles.
I intend no offense to my Christian Conservative friends. All of them have every desire and every right to want to effect change in our great nation toward what they see is the best course; however, I often disagree with any course that puts more power in the hands of our federal government unless it's for purposes of national defense/security.
While Libertarians today are just a tad too kooky to ever be taken seriously, there was a time and place in Republican history that we were more aligned with rational Libertarianism (thanks to Goldwater) than with the religious Moral Majority. I find myself constantly explaining to Liberals that not all Conservatives are members of the Moral Majority. It's become tedious and frustrating, actually. I've found over the past two years, much to my dismay, that Goldwater Conservatives are probably the minority in the GOP now. And, unfortunately, I think that was partially behind the loss of the Republican majority on the Hill last night. The American people want a government that interferes less with their lives. I'll second that; however, not at the risk of my freedom and security as an American.
I believe the election as a "referendum on the war" was less about a true desire of the American people to cut and run from Iraq than it was about their desire to understand the progress made and the patience required to finish the job. Republicans did not deliver that. With the exception of America's Majority and their ad campaigns, very little was done to help good Americans appreciate all that has been accomplished and why it was the right thing to do. Did Republicans give them all the reasons they needed to hang in there? Nope. There's a great story to tell and it was relegated to the blogs and the Conservative media only. The average American will not go in search of that information on his/her own; the 2006 campaigns were a great opportunity to push that information to the front.
Did we lay out all the accomplishments of the past six years for Americans with respect to our economy? Nope. Many Republicans (at least in this area) were more focused on distancing themselves from the President than they were on laying out for the American people all of the great things they've done to boost our economy. Those tax cuts? Most people don't understand how those tax cuts led to something as simple as our current 4.4% unemployment rate -- isn't that about the lowest in the free world right now?! No attempt was made to help folks understand that. It's not a hard story to tell.
While I mourn the loss of the Republican majority and some really, really good people (especially Representative Anne Northup) who lost their seats in the House and Senate last night, I still look forward with optimism. Why? Because failure this big is simply an opportunity to re-evaluate, improve, and overcome.
The Dems have now earned the right to fail spectacularly in the spotlight of the public eye. They have at least two years to remind Americans why they were booted out of the majority 12 years ago and to prove that Socialism (no matter what you choose to call it) has never worked and never will. Can they do that in two years? With Nancy "Skeletor" Pelosi leading the charge? Oh, you bet they can! Will they be able to re-evaluate, improve, and overcome when they do? Well, it took them 12 years to win the majority back so chances are that they would never manage that in two years time. Look, winning the majority on the failure of the current majority party to tout their accomplishments in a mid-term election is not a long-term winning strategy for anyone. I don't think the Democrats get that... well, not yet.
This could very well leave Republicans re-energized to make great gains in the 2008 elections. If the GOP gets back to its true Conservative roots quickly, by 2008 we will be poised to save Americans from the socialist disaster they opted for last night out of frustration with our lack of focus. Can we get back to those roots? I sure hope so... otherwise, we're in for a long, hard, row to hoe in many fields.
Having typed all this, I feel I must leave you one last thought before I retire for the night:
As I watched the election returns last night, I was flabbergasted. In my mind, this was a resounding defeat for the American ability to see a job through, to continue to strive for a victory worth winning. Just as the pundits have said, this was a referendum on the Republican-led efforts over the past six years. You'll get no excuses from me -- I supported the GOP in words and actions for the past 23 years because I believe Conservatism is the best ideology for America and Liberal Socialism is an experiment that has failed consistently throughout history.
So, where did it all go wrong?...
I know this won't be a popular opinion but it seems Republicans went wrong over the past six years in two respects: (1) they became too closely aligned with the Religous Right and tried too hard to push that agenda on citizens who still believe (and rightly so, in my opinion) that religion and family are private matters; and (2) they strayed too far for too long from true Conservative principles.
I intend no offense to my Christian Conservative friends. All of them have every desire and every right to want to effect change in our great nation toward what they see is the best course; however, I often disagree with any course that puts more power in the hands of our federal government unless it's for purposes of national defense/security.
While Libertarians today are just a tad too kooky to ever be taken seriously, there was a time and place in Republican history that we were more aligned with rational Libertarianism (thanks to Goldwater) than with the religious Moral Majority. I find myself constantly explaining to Liberals that not all Conservatives are members of the Moral Majority. It's become tedious and frustrating, actually. I've found over the past two years, much to my dismay, that Goldwater Conservatives are probably the minority in the GOP now. And, unfortunately, I think that was partially behind the loss of the Republican majority on the Hill last night. The American people want a government that interferes less with their lives. I'll second that; however, not at the risk of my freedom and security as an American.
I believe the election as a "referendum on the war" was less about a true desire of the American people to cut and run from Iraq than it was about their desire to understand the progress made and the patience required to finish the job. Republicans did not deliver that. With the exception of America's Majority and their ad campaigns, very little was done to help good Americans appreciate all that has been accomplished and why it was the right thing to do. Did Republicans give them all the reasons they needed to hang in there? Nope. There's a great story to tell and it was relegated to the blogs and the Conservative media only. The average American will not go in search of that information on his/her own; the 2006 campaigns were a great opportunity to push that information to the front.
Did we lay out all the accomplishments of the past six years for Americans with respect to our economy? Nope. Many Republicans (at least in this area) were more focused on distancing themselves from the President than they were on laying out for the American people all of the great things they've done to boost our economy. Those tax cuts? Most people don't understand how those tax cuts led to something as simple as our current 4.4% unemployment rate -- isn't that about the lowest in the free world right now?! No attempt was made to help folks understand that. It's not a hard story to tell.
While I mourn the loss of the Republican majority and some really, really good people (especially Representative Anne Northup) who lost their seats in the House and Senate last night, I still look forward with optimism. Why? Because failure this big is simply an opportunity to re-evaluate, improve, and overcome.
The Dems have now earned the right to fail spectacularly in the spotlight of the public eye. They have at least two years to remind Americans why they were booted out of the majority 12 years ago and to prove that Socialism (no matter what you choose to call it) has never worked and never will. Can they do that in two years? With Nancy "Skeletor" Pelosi leading the charge? Oh, you bet they can! Will they be able to re-evaluate, improve, and overcome when they do? Well, it took them 12 years to win the majority back so chances are that they would never manage that in two years time. Look, winning the majority on the failure of the current majority party to tout their accomplishments in a mid-term election is not a long-term winning strategy for anyone. I don't think the Democrats get that... well, not yet.
This could very well leave Republicans re-energized to make great gains in the 2008 elections. If the GOP gets back to its true Conservative roots quickly, by 2008 we will be poised to save Americans from the socialist disaster they opted for last night out of frustration with our lack of focus. Can we get back to those roots? I sure hope so... otherwise, we're in for a long, hard, row to hoe in many fields.
Having typed all this, I feel I must leave you one last thought before I retire for the night:
Newt Gingrich for President in '08!
Comments
I am a Christian Conservative (idependent) (thats a mouthfull lol) but do not see myself as part of the organized "moral majority".
While I believe that GWB has compromised his message the past two yrs I did not abandon ship.
I am really sorry this became an election about Bush and not the individual canadates.
As you say--this will be an interesting 2 yrs watching the Dems attempt to force their agenda and a plan they have yet to share.
I am all for Newt in 08!
Bubbi, I obviously worded some of that post badly... I didn't mean that every Christian Conservative lets his/her religion dictate his/her political standing. I know many Conservatives who don't miss church on a Sunday but do not let them interfere with their opinions on government/political issues.
I, too, am sorry that the mid-terms became an attack-fest on Bush that caused people to vote based on his popularity rather than the merits of the individual candidates. I think he's done a good job prosecuting a war that he did not ask for, one that had been declared on us before he ever took office. I only wish he'd been true to the bedrock of Conservative values.
Let's hope Newt runs -- I can't wait to work locally for him if he decides to give it a shot!