My Take

Well, every yahoo who can string together a few words is commenting on the election results.  Reckon I might as well, too.

Back when the health care reform was passed, lots of folks said they were going to remember it come November.  Looks like they weren’t kidding.  Not only did Congress pass a bill few people understood, they pushed through a bill they said had to be passed now or else.  According to polls at the time (and now, for that matter), a majority of people were agin the bill.  When people found out it was going to be 2014 before most of the major provisions kicked in, folks really got to wondering what the rush was when about 10% of Americans don’t have jobs.  Have said it before, folks ain’t gonna be happy ‘til there’s more jobs out there.  FDR figured that out and created several job programs.  Didn’t really help the economy at the time, but people felt better cuz they had paying jobs.

One exit poll I saw last night said people were mad about the economy first then health care reform then a list of other things including taxes, the war, and some other things.  Another poll I saw said just as many people were wanting to “fire” Nancy Pelosi with their votes as were wanting to send a message to President Obama they ain’t happy with his agenda.  Thought that was kind of interesting.

There are several other things I found interesting about the election.  In no particular order:

• Maybe it was just my perception, but seemed to be several media folks with long faces last night.  Not really sure what that means.  Can say I saw one Chicago reporter talking about the e-mails and tweets she was getting from the Dem party and President Obama asking the recipients to encourage people to get out and vote.  One can only wonder why she would be on those e-mail lists much less reporting on the content?  Maybe she’s on the Pub lists, too, but they just weren’t sending out that stuff. Yeah, right.;
• The last time the Pubs gained this many seats at once was right after Social Security was passed, which was very unpopular when it was passed, too;
• Was reminded last night if the Pubs do manage to pass a bill reversing the current health care reform bill, it will have to be signed by Mr. Obama, who has the power to veto it.  Just sayin’; 
• Many Dems wanted nothing to do with Obama during this election and actually called on Bill Clinton to campaign for them rather than the president.  Neither one of ‘em seemed to have helped much;
• Guess the American people didn’t really give the Dems a mandate back in ‘08.  Or, if they did, it was quickly revoked.  Voters sure can be fickle sometimes;
• Some exit polls reflected Pub voters think the gov’t is going too far and the Dem voters think the gov’t ain’t going far enough.  What a shock;
• All of a sudden, the Dems think both parties should work together rather than just one party dictating everything.  Imagine that;
• The Pubs claim they are not interpreting this election as being given a mandate…for now.  They say this is the American people saying it’s time to put up or shut up.  Voters ain’t happy with the Dems and the Pubs are the only alternative.  Imagine if they don’t like what the Pubs do the next two years, they’ll kick them out, too;
• California elected Dems in the two major races but weren’t so liberal-minded when it came to Prop 19, which would have legalized marijuana.  Got voted down by a purty healthy margin.  Guess they don’t want their weed taxed.  How anti-establishment of them;
• The Tea Party did fairly well.  They won some and they lost some.  Hear they don’t want to be a third party.  They just want to reform the GOP.  Think they would be better off splitting off on their own.  They’ve tapped into a lot of voter anger.  If their candidates in DE and NV hadn’t been so out there, they probably would have won those seats, too;
• Maybe it’s just me, but think the media is giving Sarah Palin a little too much credit for last night.  Yes, she endorsed some people who went on to win.  But, think people voted for those candidates despite Mrs. Palin rather than cuz of her.  Have my doubts many people will want to vote her into the Oval office as I heard insinuated several times last night.  Only time will tell…

Hope both parties learned an important lesson with this election.  While sometimes you have to show leadership courage and take folks down a path they may not want to go, there are times you have to listen to what the people are tryin’ to tell ya and change accordingly.  Ultimately, we voters have the final say-so on your job performance.  We the people have the power to pick and choose our leaders, and we ain’t afraid to use it.

Anyway, that’s what this yahoo thinks about the election.  Whether you are happy with the results or not, they are what they are.  It’s long been past time for folks to come together and find solutions rather than being hard-headed ninnies thinking they are the only ones with the answers.  If this bunch wants to be the latter, reckon they’ll find out who’s boss two years from now, too.

Y’all have a good one.

The Tea Party: Good or Bad?

Gonna do things a little differently this time.  The usual reader knows I normally cover a variety of topics in each blog.  But, been seein’ and hearin’ so much about the Tea Party, feel the need to devote a whole one just to them.  Not asking you to be fer or agin what I’m gonna throw out there, but hope you’ll take a little time to think about it.  If nothin’ else, hope you enjoy this week’s soundtrack.

Saw a headline the other day asking if the Tea Party is good or bad for the country.  They’ve obviously been getting a lot of press ever since they surfaced a couple years ago.  Most of it ain’t been very flattering, either.  Generally, they are portrayed as angry citizens who are against anything that the government, specifically President Obama, stands for.  Both the Pubs and Dems are running smear campaigns against them.  The mainstream media is falling in lock step and pouring fuel on the fire that Tea Party members are nothing more than a bunch of nutcases.  Can’t really remember any stories that are portraying them in a positive light.  If you know of any, hope you’ll post a link in the comments below so I can read it.

Will admit that I don’t really know all that they stand for.  But, have a real hard time believing they are ALL loony tunes.  Think they were a little quick to jump on the anti-Obama bandwagon (think they started protesting him before he even took office, could be wrong about that, though), but that don’t necessarily make ‘em crazy.  From what I can gather, they mostly believe the government is becoming too intrusive into our every day lives.  Based on their name, would think they feel like we are being taxed without proper representation, too.  Although we don’t always want to admit it, these are two of the basic premises our country was founded on.

With all this being said, here’s a few things been chewing over in my gray matter about these folks:

First, would like to say I think the Tea Party is good for America but not necessarily why you might think.  Have said before there’s a lot of people in this country who don’t officially identify with either major party we currently have.  They basically vote for whoever, in their mind, is the lesser of the two evils.  And, even if a politician is elected with 60% of the vote, there’s still 40% out there who might think their voice is not being heard. (Kind of lends credence to that whole “taxation without representation” line of thought)  Unfortunately, folks who feel this way generally tend to tune out of political discourse rather than getting more involved, even to the point of refusing to vote.  To me, the Tea Party is a place for some of this “silent majority” to vent their frustrations, get involved, etc.  Anything which gets more citizens involved in the political process has to be a good thing.  After all, at this time in our history, less than 50% of the people eligible to vote actually use this right men and women have fought and died for us to have.  That’s a pretty sad statistic if you ask me.  If the Tea Party can get more people out to vote, on a regular basis, I say more power to ‘em!

Second, think they are good for America cuz they have gotten the attention of both the Dems and Pubs, especially in this election cycle where several candidates they’ve backed have won their respective primaries.  Both sides are doing all they can to discredit them.  Since they are agin big government and more taxes, the Dems don’t see eye to eye with them.  Since the Pubs are losing a chunk of their supporters to the Tea Party, they’re not real happy with them, either.  Neither party has been this concerned about outsiders since Mr. Perot won about 10% of the vote in the ‘92 presidential election.  That’s the last time both parties actually listened to folks besides their “base” supporters in my opinion.  It’s time for politicians (and voters, too, for that matter) to realize folks outside of their hardcore supporters have ideas, too.  There are a lot more of the “middle” folks out there than extremists of either party, too.  So, if the Tea Party folks will remind the D’s and R’s they need to listen to ALL of the people (or at least more folks outside of their inner circles), I say more power to ‘em again!  

Third, if they want to be taken seriously, they need to do a better job of checking out the people they’re supporting in the elections.  The lady in Delaware is really coming across as a whacko.  She’s the subject of more punch lines than debates.  (She’s a good example of someone both parties are railing against)  The dude in Kentucky comes across as a little out there from time to time, too.  While few people could withstand the rectal exam that the media puts candidates through today, probably could have found some folks that had a few less cobwebs (or cauldrons) in the closet.  On the other hand, given the state we are in cuz of the so-called “normal” politicians, could be time to shake things up a little…But, for long-term survival, you need to have candidates more average Janes and Joes can relate to.  So, this is definitely one area they will have to improve on.

Fourth, they need to find a format where they can get their story out without coming across as being angry and irrational.  This will be the hardest thing for them to overcome in today’s world of the soundbite.  Unfortunately, if your ideas can’t be condensed down to 60 seconds or less, many people lose interest.  And, the TV media ain’t gonna give you any airtime without a visual hook of some sort.  A politician speaking rationally behind a microphone don’t cut it in their world.  But, if one or two (or more) of their candidates somehow manage to get elected, you can bet there’ll be a lot more in-depth coverage devoted to them.

Overall, I think they are a good thing for America whether you agree with their platform or not.  Are they the best answer to all our issues today?  Probably not.  Not now, any way.  But, ultimately, they are getting more people involved in the political process, which is a good thing.  Who knows?  IF they can find some viable candidates (which may be easier said than done), they could actually survive and become a viable third party (or maybe even a second party).  After all, there was neither a Democratic nor a Republican party in the first several elections inside our great nation.  You just never know what may happen…If nothing else, maybe they will show some of our “mainstream” politicos there’s a bunch of folks who are tired of the same ol’, same ol’, and it’s time they start working together to get things done before it’s too late. 

Appreciate you hangin’ in here with me.  Like I said earlier, not asking you to agree with my thoughts, just hopin’ it will spur some of your own. 

Y’all have a good week.