Under New Management
Well, the votes are in and the Republicans are out! I've been avoiding heavy political commentary but today it's necessary.
I think this will be a good thing for the Republican party in the long run. Yes, a lot of good people lost their jobs but so did a lot of dead wood. The Democrats had forty years in control to sink to the terrible low achieved by 1994 while the Republicans made up for lost time and did the same in only twelve.
So, will the Republicans come back stronger in two years? Only if they learn the lesson from this election that they cannot think themselves above the common man. Our political leaders tend to think themselves aristocrats, untouchable in their Capitol Hill palace. This happens to both Democrats and Republicans once they taste a bit of power.
Nor should they take their base for granted and try to be more liberal than the other side. As the saying goes, "Given a choice between a Democrat and a Democrat, people will vote for the Democrat every time." There needs to be a clear distinction between the two parties. If Republicans really think the federal government is too big, don't keep voting for more spending. Spending is spending whether spent on Democrat or Republican sponsored programs.
Melissa thinks the Democrats will make fools out of themselves in the next two years, allowing a Republican to gain the White House. That's as valid an option as any out there and the prevailing attitude among Democrats regarding the war in Iraq adds weight. This war has been characterized as another "Vietnam" by many and now we have the chance to see if that's true.
So, now that Democrats are in change, will the rest of the world suddenly start liking us?
I think this will be a good thing for the Republican party in the long run. Yes, a lot of good people lost their jobs but so did a lot of dead wood. The Democrats had forty years in control to sink to the terrible low achieved by 1994 while the Republicans made up for lost time and did the same in only twelve.
So, will the Republicans come back stronger in two years? Only if they learn the lesson from this election that they cannot think themselves above the common man. Our political leaders tend to think themselves aristocrats, untouchable in their Capitol Hill palace. This happens to both Democrats and Republicans once they taste a bit of power.
Nor should they take their base for granted and try to be more liberal than the other side. As the saying goes, "Given a choice between a Democrat and a Democrat, people will vote for the Democrat every time." There needs to be a clear distinction between the two parties. If Republicans really think the federal government is too big, don't keep voting for more spending. Spending is spending whether spent on Democrat or Republican sponsored programs.
Melissa thinks the Democrats will make fools out of themselves in the next two years, allowing a Republican to gain the White House. That's as valid an option as any out there and the prevailing attitude among Democrats regarding the war in Iraq adds weight. This war has been characterized as another "Vietnam" by many and now we have the chance to see if that's true.
So, now that Democrats are in change, will the rest of the world suddenly start liking us?
Well, we might start liking you again. I think we're going to wait and see what you do next.
It'd probably help if Bush gets relaced by Barack Obama or someone like that.
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Personally, I really don't care if you like the United States or not. We have to do what's best for the U.S. and that will put us at odds with many others. Just like Canada must do what's best for Canada. I don't see you making laws and international dealings just to please us down here, and neither should we do so just to please you.
That's not to say we can ignore international law (or our own for that matter) as we see fit, as the Republicans tend to do. But Democrats go to the other extreme and want to put the United States in submission to the fancies of other governments. They act like insecure school children, running around doing things to please others instead of doing what's right.
The happy medium would be looking out for the best interests of the United States by ensuring liberty and freedom around the world.
Really, as you sort of mentioned in your prayer, everyone likes to rail against the U.S. until something awful happens. It's always "Down with America! Now where's our foreign aid?" I think you would really dislike the world if the U.S. left the international scene.
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Err, that should be 'replaced.'
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Oh. I thought you were referring to tightening the strings on his straight jacket, or something.
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James wrote: Melissa thinks the Democrats will make fools out of themselves in the next two years...
I think that's a given. The next question is "Are Americans bright enough to notice?" or, if you care to be generous, "Are Americans bright enough to notice through the protective smoke screen the liberal media will throw up?".
And when I say "the liberal media", you may read that as "the media."
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I'm tired of bashing "the media". It is what it is and enough people actually think "the media" is conservative so that it won't change anytime soon. We can look for scapegoats but the ultimate problem rests with how the Republicans conducted themselves for the past two years.
We aren't going to change "the media" - it may collapse due to other forms of communication such as the Internet, but that's a slow process. Besides, "the media" will just incorporate the new technology and keep going.
I happen to think Republicans voters made a conscious decision to either not vote at all or vote against Republicans to "teach them a lesson". I think we can accurately call this "cutting the nose off to spite the face".
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