The Democratic Victory

Time to share a few thoughts on the famous and earth-shaking victory the Democrats achieved two weeks ago today. It was the culmination of a monumental shift in public opinion away from the Iraq War and our out-of-touch president. It was a resounding rejection of the corruption in Congress and the cynicism which the Republicans used to excite their base. Republicans did not win a single seat held by Democrats in either house of Congress. They lost several state legislatures. And in many places that remain "red" states, Democrats did better than they have in a very long time.

The GOP made it easy for Democrats to reclaim the majority because they had essentially abandoned reason. Their objection to stem cell research, their denial of global warming, their contempt for teaching evolution all flew in the face of science. The foundations of the Iraqi war were built on sand, and the truth about the failure of the war could not be denied any longer.

In the end, evangelicals came to see the GOP as a cheating spouse, who was using the relationship merely for personal gain. The GOP said a lot of nice words and made many flattering promises, but in the end, the evangelicals saw, the real power brokers of the GOP didn't share their goals. We've been saying this for some time: The Republican Party uses religion, nationalism and race to whip up emotional support for a number of policies which no sane majority would ever support. I'm sure Republicans and bible-thumpers will try to patch things up for the sake of expediencey, but I hope that cynical relationship has been permanently soured.

But now that Democrats control Congress, what next? I hope for a steady drumbeat of easy-to-understand legislation which has wide popular support. Send Bush dozens of simple, one-issue bills and dare him to veto them. When he does, try to override the veto, and use the GOPs votes against them in the next elections. The vast majority of Americans want to act on global warming, repeal oil-industry subsidies, tax the rich fairly, give troops body armor, reform the Medicare drug program, increase the minimum wage, etc. There are a whole lot of good, popular, not-too-controversial ideas out there for moderate, sensible legislation which have been building for the last six years or longer. Unleash them! Do real legislative work, and the voters will reward you, Democrats!

I also applaud the Democrats for promising to be more aggressive on oversight. I have no desire to see witch trials or Whitewater-type persecutions, but I do want Democrats to get government working properly again. We have a whistleblower protection agency which hasn't protected any whistleblowers for years. We have agencies simply refusing to enforce environmental legislation. Goverment offices which look for waste and fraud have been de-funded and de-staffed. And of course, the problems in Iraq, Iran, North Korea and elsewhere are ongoing. It's time to shine some light in all those places.

I'm a staunch supporter of Democratic candidates, but for me right now, they are a means to an end. I strongly supported Democrats in this election, but I did that as a citizen, not as a political player. I want to see our country head in the right direction again, and I have a LOT of criticisms of the Dem. party.

I guess my feeling is, "OK, we've given you guys another shot. Don't disappoint us now by getting too enamoured with your own power."