Opinions On Eveything

It's been a long time since I last posted anything. Quite frankly, I had very little of interest to talk about that is, until now.

I'm a huge U.S. political junkie. I've always found the American political system to be far more interesting and actaully more powerful in terms of how the vote matters. In Canada the parliamentary system can make voting to be a futile exercise. It's kind of hard to have a meaningful vote when a Majority government can be had with only 40% support.

Last night's mid-term elections was one of the more interesting national elections i've seen in a long time. As we all know the Democrats have been painted as extreme left wing liberals while the GOP tries to make itself out to be the social and religious voice of America. Yet during this election season I believe we've seen somewhat of a shift. The Democrats have slowly and with very little media recognition moved to the center of the political spectrum. It doesn't hurt when the GOP hurt itself with ill-timed scandals that struck at the very heart of the GOP "moral authority". The Foley scandal and the fall from grace of Rev. Ted Haggard exposed the Right as a morally bankrupt and corrupt political body. That's not to say the Democrats are angels but they stuck to their message while not really stubbing their toes.

If you look at the makeup of the new congress you'll see that the Democrats, while disparate and a big tent party are generally more middle of the road centrist. This time the label of left wing wackjob liberals didn't stick. The insistence of the Bush admin to "stay the course" in Iraq while stubbornly refusing to listen to different views increasingly frustrated the American Public. The Democrats didn't overplay their hand this time. They emphasized a need for change while dropping the 2004 mantra of "cut and run". This time they were wise to say that change is needed, that there needs to be new tactics in the war in Iraq. It was this moderate speech that hit home with American voters.

I don't think the democrats should take this vote as a mandate but rather a cautionary handing off of power to a different group in the hope that they'd reign in the excesses of the last 6 years. In fact the democrats HAD to move to the center in order to gain votes. If they just revert back to a extreme liberal program then they'll lose A LOT of votes in '08.

Let's look at Connecticut, Ned Lamont is the poster boy for the Liberal Left. He did a great job of bringing the blogosphere and Liberal internet users to his side but look who won the state. Joe Lieberman was basically ousted because he was viewed as being too buddy-buddy with the Bush Admin but in truth Lieberman is one of the most rational and centrist politicians in DC. this was the reason he won last night. He isn't one to gravitate to extremes but rather to work within the framework of partnership and common sense.

This was a rejection of the Liberal wing of the Democratic party. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would be wise to recognize the Conn. result as a micro expression of the overall macro level feeling throughout the country. The United States has finally (IMO) reverted back to its natural political disposition of being middle of the road while leaning toward the left or right without going to the extremes.

The resignation of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and President Bush's conciliatory tone today could be a sign of change in Washington DC. This could be a time for compromise and partnership. On the other hand it could just blow up in everyone's face and we'll be back to "politics as usual".

I surely hope that the next couple years leads to productive and co-operative bi-partisanship in DC.