I really do not think the GOP wave means the voters want nor expect the new members of Congress to help, cooperate with, or even allow the Obama/Reid/Pelosi agenda to continue. More likely, the last two elections were firm repudiations of Obama and the socialist agenda. People had wondered if conservatives could win the Senate this time. In fact, we won everything that wasnt nailed down. Take Arkansas. 37 year old Republican Tom Cotton didnt just defeat incumbent Mark Pryor: he slaughtered him, 57%-39%. Defeat was shocking enough; coming in under 40% is a humiliation. In a state where, for most of our lifetimes, Republicans held only one federal office, the GOP now holds both U.S. Senate seats, every U.S. House seat, and every state constitutional office (GOV, Lt GOV, etc.) Where the ever-popular Mike Huckabee never held even 1/3 of either house of his legislature, Republicans took 64 of 100 state house seats and 24 of 35 state senate seats. That rout was a microcosm of the national scene. Democrats lost governorships in Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and even Obamas Illinois. With 31 governors, Republicans are at a high water mark in the modern era; and Democrats now control outright only 7 state legislatures, Republicans 24. The GOP held territory - like Rick Scotts Florida - was expected to shrink but gained instead - like Colorado (which the GOP had supposedly lost CO forever), from the U.S. Senate to the state senate. Plenty of people pointing to the cyclical nature of politics, suggest this seems a lot like 2006 and 1994, and will likely reverse again. If Republicans dont screw it up, this seems to me to be more like realignment. Republicans may yet again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory but it doesn’t have to happen. In 2006 and 08, Democrats simply seized opportunity provided by previous GOP failures. Republicans paid the price of those failures which turned out to be eight years in the wilderness with all the dire policy reversals that go with such squandering. All the above serves to illustrate my bigger point, the socialist impulse, a function of the Industrial Age, has been thoroughly washed. The outgrowth of a time when society organized itself into giant factories and giant unions, then into giant governments remaking every institution in that socialist image, when the hive mentality which necessarily accompanied that became overly stifling in the Carter years, Ronald Reagan was elected to unleash an entrepreneurial revolution. Personal and national wealth grew. The Gingrich Republicans continued that until they lost their way. That entrepreneurial impulse didnt die. Technology ensured that. A world in which anyone can build a factory in their spare bedroom with a 3D printer - not far removed from a Star Trek replicator - is inherently liberating. The USA increasingly sees government as hindrance rather than help. PayPal alone enabled the creation of several million small businesses. None of them needs or wants a union. In 2006 and 2008, Democrats wanted the full-blown revolution but got an experiment in a very discouraging European socialism. It brought the never-ending Great Recession, HealthCare.gov, Obamacare itself, an IRS run amok, a Reid-led Senate that refused to pass anything for four long years, and ever greater regulation with its ever-increasing penchant for rule by diktat. The “change” came, and while it took years, it destroyed whatever Obama “hope n’ change” that came with it. Socialism is destructive anywhere and everywhere it is tried, even here. When Republicans lost, it was because they lost the confidence of their coalition, who began believing there was not a dimes worth of difference between the parties. Eight years later fewer say that, but theyll say it again if Republicans dont prove it false, convincingly. One last point: in the 2014 mid-term, Republicans are characterized by brilliant, highly-educated, youthful candidates like 37 year old Tom Cotton and 44 year old Joni Ernst. These made stark contrasts with 74 year olds Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, just as (for two examples) 43 year olds Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio might against 67 year old Hillary Clinton. Most importantly, the Democrat advantage among young voters has dropped, in Michael Barones words, to the vanishing point. With the youth vote coming back to Republicans, it’s likely time for Republicans to meet them where they are. New jobs and opportunities born of smaller government, fewer and less onerous regulations, and honesty in governance and judicial prosecutions will do it. PL Booth, blueeyeview.blogspot 11/10/14
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 20:04:28 +0000
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