Wednesday, November 09, 2011
The calm before the storm
Yesterday's elections should give some hope to Democrats. The bleeding seems to have stopped. In Jersey there was practically no change in the State Senate, Legislature, & County Freeholder boards. Which shows Gov. Chris Christie has his limits. He campaigned hard against incumbent Democrats in some races that were expected to be close & weren't. Not much changed nationally. No great shocks. Mississippi to my surprise turned back the radical notion that a fertilized egg is a person. So you can eat that apple without thinking you're killing a whole tree. Ohio repealed legislation curtailing public union negotiating (although the state approved a symbolic resolution not requiring Ohioans to sign up for medical insurance). Maine restored same-day vote registration, which they'd had for four decades & Repugs ended. In Arizona, a nutty Republican legislator was recalled in an election brought about by a less nutty Republican. Hmmm.
Americans are feeling less surly than in 2010, but probably less certain that either Democrats or Republicans (or the Tea Party) can or will do much to improve the economy. Perhaps Occupy Wall Street did have some influence.The message Republicans should pick up - Gov. Kasich of Ohio heard it, & Mississippi sent it in a way, too - is that extreme or radical ideas may not find much favor in 2012. But even Mitt Romney is talking now about jettisoning Medicare & Title X, which could lose him Florida & the votes of millions of women. & he's the "moderate" in the race. Democrats should stick to meat & potatoes & stop letting Obama choose the menu. Next year, the President may need to ride some coattails, he won't have any of his own.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Americans are feeling less surly than in 2010, but probably less certain that either Democrats or Republicans (or the Tea Party) can or will do much to improve the economy. Perhaps Occupy Wall Street did have some influence.The message Republicans should pick up - Gov. Kasich of Ohio heard it, & Mississippi sent it in a way, too - is that extreme or radical ideas may not find much favor in 2012. But even Mitt Romney is talking now about jettisoning Medicare & Title X, which could lose him Florida & the votes of millions of women. & he's the "moderate" in the race. Democrats should stick to meat & potatoes & stop letting Obama choose the menu. Next year, the President may need to ride some coattails, he won't have any of his own.
Labels: THE election
