After a good night's rest and a fresh cup of coffee, I'm trying to see the positives in yesterday's elections. And there were positives- the negatives are scary things, involving national security. But let us not forget a few other salient points. Things to be thankful for today:
1. We have now seen, in four separate elections, that every single vote counts. No one should ever feel that "my vote doesn't mean anything" because we are getting closer every time to single digit differences in vote tallies. Your lone vote literally could be the difference in the direction your country takes, on myriad positions.
2. The public gives a damn. Sure, I think most of them were WRONG yesterday- but if the networks were right, then voter turnout was huge. Fewer folks opted out than anybody expected. And in a democracy, that is never a bad thing.
3. The pre-election rumblings of "voter fraud" and "voter intimidation," and the legal teams the democrats were supposedly keeping on standby, are not materialising to make us relive the Florida debacle. Most defeats were handled graciously, without lining up soundbytes and legions of lawyers. I have yet to see my compatriots threatening to relocate to Canada or anywhere else.
4. Many of the newbies on the left side of the aisle campaigned on very conservative positions. There were Pro-life dems, fiscal responsibility dems, even a pro-weapon ownership dem. If their positions were represented honestly, then Ms. Pelosi may find they don't dance to the tune she pipes for them quite so well as she'd like them to.
5. George may finally feel how the administration's leadership has let us down with regards to the immigration issue, and perhaps he'll harden his line against illegals now.
6. We have further evidence the majority of the country supports defending traditional marriage.
It was a bad night for us, no doubt about that. But perhaps the new folks will come up with something useful for us, something beyond "We hate Bush," as a party platform. Hope springs eternal. I have to think that among at least a portion of their party, are a number of people who will take the issue of terrorism seriously, who will recognise that we are in the middle of a war, and that the war must be fought. That the troops must be provisioned, the intelligence funded, the course plotted, and the battle carried through to a victory. It is now their obligation to do so, and perhaps now they can stop shouting about the last two elections long enough to realise that.
3 comments:
That helped, thanks. I generally do believe that everything balances out in our system of government. I also still believe in fate a bit and think that what's meant to be will be. I can only control myself and my choices and just have to live with this until things swing the other way again. And, they will. I survived Clinton, right?
-laurashalo
We survived Clinton. We made it through 9/11 and Katrina. Nancy Pelosi will not be the end of us. :)
I will not begin to speak on this theme.
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