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Election Fallout
Nov. 9th, 2006 10:10 amAbout $2.6 billion was spent on the 468 House and Senate races. Scandalized? Don't be. Americans spend that much on chocolate every two months.
-- George Will, Nov 9, 2006
It's interesting that most of the press is calling the latest election The End of the Republican Revolution, rather than, say, The Year of the Democrat, or The Revenge of the Blue. It's true the numbers are different (29 seats gained by Democrats in this election rather than the 54 gained by Republicans in 1994), but I think there's a message difference as well. Republicans were (more or less) united under the Contract For America. Once the various Contract proposals passed, died, or were altered, the Republicans devolved into normal politicos of any ruling party, with the typical spending, earmarks, gerrymandering, and influence peddling. This election really does mark the death of a concept, with Republican pundits from Limbaugh to Will feeling that the Republicans deserve their fate for abandoning conservatism's (theoretical) principles of small government and fiscal discipline.
While the GOP pundits are looking to 2008 for a new crop of conservatives -- not neo-cons, but honest (heh) conservatives -- it does point out a flaw with the current Democrat takeover. In '94, the Republicans were (more or less) united behind the Contract. This election has brought in a wide variety of Democrats, from the Murtha-backed doves, to the tougher Lieberman/Clinton foreign policy gurus. This year saw the election of more Jewish Representatives in history (now 30), mostly Democrats, in a time when Iran is making veiled nuclear threats toward Israel.
I'm not particularly worried about Pelosi's liberalism -- look at Gingrich's conservatism, not to mention Tip O'Neil's ideological battles with Reagan. I am concerned that with a thin majority, she's going to be herding cats if she's going to try to muscle the Democrats into a united lawmaking body. I'm not sure she (or anyone) can do that.
Which means lots of gridlock, so I'm happy :)
-- George Will, Nov 9, 2006
It's interesting that most of the press is calling the latest election The End of the Republican Revolution, rather than, say, The Year of the Democrat, or The Revenge of the Blue. It's true the numbers are different (29 seats gained by Democrats in this election rather than the 54 gained by Republicans in 1994), but I think there's a message difference as well. Republicans were (more or less) united under the Contract For America. Once the various Contract proposals passed, died, or were altered, the Republicans devolved into normal politicos of any ruling party, with the typical spending, earmarks, gerrymandering, and influence peddling. This election really does mark the death of a concept, with Republican pundits from Limbaugh to Will feeling that the Republicans deserve their fate for abandoning conservatism's (theoretical) principles of small government and fiscal discipline.
While the GOP pundits are looking to 2008 for a new crop of conservatives -- not neo-cons, but honest (heh) conservatives -- it does point out a flaw with the current Democrat takeover. In '94, the Republicans were (more or less) united behind the Contract. This election has brought in a wide variety of Democrats, from the Murtha-backed doves, to the tougher Lieberman/Clinton foreign policy gurus. This year saw the election of more Jewish Representatives in history (now 30), mostly Democrats, in a time when Iran is making veiled nuclear threats toward Israel.
I'm not particularly worried about Pelosi's liberalism -- look at Gingrich's conservatism, not to mention Tip O'Neil's ideological battles with Reagan. I am concerned that with a thin majority, she's going to be herding cats if she's going to try to muscle the Democrats into a united lawmaking body. I'm not sure she (or anyone) can do that.
Which means lots of gridlock, so I'm happy :)
