I'm stunned.
The dust has barely settled and some of the races are still being decided, but just a few hours after all the polls have closed, clearly an election wave has occurred. It has swept the Republicans back into power in the House of Representatives by a wide margin as they have gained well over 60 seats, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been fired. A swing that large has not happened in a few generations. In a normal mid-term election, 3 Senate seats on average change hands; this time, the Republicans gained 6 and nearly ousted a sitting Majority Leader. And in governorships, add 7 to the GOP column in a redistricting year. The state and local races have also seen Republican gains and sweeps across the board.
Clearly, America had something to say in this election. To analyze what we said, examine a few recent quotes from our elected leaders.
"The question I'm going to ask myself and I ask of all of you, is there enough serious effort that in a month's time or a few week's time or six weeks' time, we could actually resolve something. And if we can't, we've got to go ahead and make some decisions, and then that's what elections are for.” -President Obama
President Obama made this statement near the end of the health care summit. Little did he know that it would have serious overtones for the future. America has by and large rejected his signature legislative accomplishment in Obamacare. By wide margins, we cringed at the process that jammed this unpopular piece of legislation down our throats and have steadily said repeal and replace it. So, he was right, this what elections are for....and clearly, he misread or did not listen to the American people on health care reform.
"But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." -Speaker Pelosi
Oh, pardon me, that would be former Speaker Pelosi......
Another health care quote, however this one has a more far-reaching and open-ended meaning. This quote, to me, shows the pure hubris and ego that America can't stand in politics...and politicians that do little else but talk down to us. We, the American people, should know or be given the opportunity to read for ourselves what is in every bill before it becomes law. Even more importantly, we expect our elected representatives to know what they are voting on. Clearly, in the Obamacare and stimulus bills, they did not. We don't like that, or the ego that is implicit in this quote. We don't need "Nanny" Pelosi or any other government official telling us what is best for us....to simply shut up and take our medicine. Perhaps a bit more listening and a bit less preaching would have served the former speaker better.
"We've got to learn to explain and communicate what we've done a lot more clearly." -PA Governor Ed Rendell
I will hedge a bit on Ed. I respect Ed's willingness to clearly define what liberal values and government are about. He is at least willing to have a civil bipartisan exchange of ideas. However, this quote quite nicely sums things up for the Dems. You see, the Democrats in charge did not miscommunicate, they mis-legislated. A pig with lipstick is still a pig, regardless how beautiful you describe it to be. Turns out Obama's election was not the sweeping liberal mandate the Democrats wanted, and as a result, the Dems completely overreached and flat refused to listen to us. No, Governor Rendell and company, you did not get the message wrong, you got the policy wrong. No, Ms. Pelosi, the Tea Party Movement is not astroturf, it is real and just ran you over. No, Mr. President, the American people are not your enemies, we are patriots for standing up and saying "no more."
So, we have seen an election wave in 2010. And with that wave, the American voice can be summed up with one word: WHOA! We did not vote for all this government, all this wasted "stimulus", all this ego in our politicians. Mr. President, time to stop and change course, and we are watching to see if you finally listened.
With my small blog, I can only encourage the Republicans to remember that what is past is prologue. By that, do not misinterpret this as a mandate, this is a chance to show you have learned your lessons and are now listening to us....this is a check-and-balance on too much government. Use it wisely, do not overreach and overspend, be sure to cut taxes and spending, allow our free enterprise and markets to work, and above all listen to the American people....because that wave can always flow the other direction.
The dust has barely settled and some of the races are still being decided, but just a few hours after all the polls have closed, clearly an election wave has occurred. It has swept the Republicans back into power in the House of Representatives by a wide margin as they have gained well over 60 seats, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been fired. A swing that large has not happened in a few generations. In a normal mid-term election, 3 Senate seats on average change hands; this time, the Republicans gained 6 and nearly ousted a sitting Majority Leader. And in governorships, add 7 to the GOP column in a redistricting year. The state and local races have also seen Republican gains and sweeps across the board.
Clearly, America had something to say in this election. To analyze what we said, examine a few recent quotes from our elected leaders.
"The question I'm going to ask myself and I ask of all of you, is there enough serious effort that in a month's time or a few week's time or six weeks' time, we could actually resolve something. And if we can't, we've got to go ahead and make some decisions, and then that's what elections are for.” -President Obama
President Obama made this statement near the end of the health care summit. Little did he know that it would have serious overtones for the future. America has by and large rejected his signature legislative accomplishment in Obamacare. By wide margins, we cringed at the process that jammed this unpopular piece of legislation down our throats and have steadily said repeal and replace it. So, he was right, this what elections are for....and clearly, he misread or did not listen to the American people on health care reform.
"But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it." -Speaker Pelosi
Oh, pardon me, that would be former Speaker Pelosi......
Another health care quote, however this one has a more far-reaching and open-ended meaning. This quote, to me, shows the pure hubris and ego that America can't stand in politics...and politicians that do little else but talk down to us. We, the American people, should know or be given the opportunity to read for ourselves what is in every bill before it becomes law. Even more importantly, we expect our elected representatives to know what they are voting on. Clearly, in the Obamacare and stimulus bills, they did not. We don't like that, or the ego that is implicit in this quote. We don't need "Nanny" Pelosi or any other government official telling us what is best for us....to simply shut up and take our medicine. Perhaps a bit more listening and a bit less preaching would have served the former speaker better.
"We've got to learn to explain and communicate what we've done a lot more clearly." -PA Governor Ed Rendell
I will hedge a bit on Ed. I respect Ed's willingness to clearly define what liberal values and government are about. He is at least willing to have a civil bipartisan exchange of ideas. However, this quote quite nicely sums things up for the Dems. You see, the Democrats in charge did not miscommunicate, they mis-legislated. A pig with lipstick is still a pig, regardless how beautiful you describe it to be. Turns out Obama's election was not the sweeping liberal mandate the Democrats wanted, and as a result, the Dems completely overreached and flat refused to listen to us. No, Governor Rendell and company, you did not get the message wrong, you got the policy wrong. No, Ms. Pelosi, the Tea Party Movement is not astroturf, it is real and just ran you over. No, Mr. President, the American people are not your enemies, we are patriots for standing up and saying "no more."
So, we have seen an election wave in 2010. And with that wave, the American voice can be summed up with one word: WHOA! We did not vote for all this government, all this wasted "stimulus", all this ego in our politicians. Mr. President, time to stop and change course, and we are watching to see if you finally listened.
With my small blog, I can only encourage the Republicans to remember that what is past is prologue. By that, do not misinterpret this as a mandate, this is a chance to show you have learned your lessons and are now listening to us....this is a check-and-balance on too much government. Use it wisely, do not overreach and overspend, be sure to cut taxes and spending, allow our free enterprise and markets to work, and above all listen to the American people....because that wave can always flow the other direction.
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