Mid-Term Elections

Well... tonight was the night and for the most part there were no surprises. Republicans took the house and Democrats will almost definitely hold on to the senate (I say almost definitely because all the numbers aren't in but CNN projects they'll hold it).

Tomorrow we'll wake up to a new America. That doesn't mean that things will change right away because we are talking about politics here but it does mean that the conversation will change from "Why haven't the Democrats done anything to save our jobs?" to "What are the Republicans going to do about it?" I've said it before and I'll say it again... I'm a strong Democrat and we took a beating tonight in the house and governors races but that was expected. What is rare is for the house to switch and the senate to remain the same, so we'll have to wait and see what results that will have on legislation.

Now that the Republicans have control of the house, I hope (because they got what they wanted) that they'll be able to make some compromises and I really really hope that the Democrats don't take this as an opportunity to become what they've been railing against; the party of "no." As I've said many times before in this blog, it's less about who's in power and more about what both sides are willing to compromise on in order to get things done for the country. Now, more than ever, there is an opportunity for Obama to take the high ground and say to the Republicans that he and Democrats are willing to work together to get America back to work and stop the build-up of debt. There are real issues which need addressing and while I believe the Democrats have answers that are closer to correct, they're not always going to be correct and what's important is for members of congress to be able to reach an agreement and get something done.

As far as predictions for the future are concerned, the gubernatorial races are more significant than people think. In many states the governors have a large say in the redistricting process. This republican takeover of many governorships coincides with the census (when redistricting is done) which means that in a republican controlled situation, redistricting will favor republicans and districts will be created in order to preserve republican seats. That means that looking forward, because of this swing toward the right in governors races, we could be seeing the republicans holding a significant amount of power for years to come.

As a final note, in 2008, after sweeping house, senate and presidential races, the media declared the republican party nearly dead. Two years later, here we are. Look at a map of this election if you want to see just how "dead" the republican party is. This country swings back and forth and while there may be predictions of doom and gloom for Obama's ability to get things done and the fate of the Democratic party, my response is... just wait and see.

That's all for now. See you next time!