So, Obama has won, and won decisively. Whether we have 60 in the Senate and what exactly the House split is remains to be determined, but no question, Republicans are losing seats and Democrats are picking them up.
The last eight years saw modern Conservatism tried in its purest form. Tax cuts for the rich, endless war, get rid of as much regulation as possible and pack the courts and government with people picked not for their competence, but for their adherence to conservative ideology. Republican hacks are going to try and claim that the last eight years weren’t about conservatism because they were high spending, but they were—you can’t have tax cuts and war without spending lots of money. Reagan, whom conservatives claim as their founding father, also ran up huge deficits and a massive debt. It is a requirement for the rest of the conservative paradigm to work.
And so, Change, a solid Democratic majority everywhere, and a mandate to do things differently than in the last eight years. This isn’t a love in for Congressional Dems, nor should they take it as one. Their approval ratings have been solidly in the low twenties for over a year now. The policies they pursued, of allowing Bush’s war to continue, of refusing to end conservatism in Washington, were not agreed with or approved by the majority of Americans.
Instead, this election is a repudiation of Republicans and of conservatism, and a cry from the American people, a demand, to do things differently. If the Democrats do that, if they return to Washington and build a new era which is not fundamentally conservative at its roots, but which is progressive, they will be rewarded with a shift in power which will last a generation.
If, instead, they do as they did in 2006, and go back to Washington and just do the same old, same old, then 2010 and 2012 will be very much in the air.
So our job going forward is to hold Congress to account and make sure they understand their mandate. To make sure that they don’t stop Obama from making the sweeping changes that need to be made.
Americans have just done something very important: they’re repudiated Bushism, Republicans, and conservatism. The next step, having turned away from the wrong path, is to find the right one.
FDL Coverage:
Eastern and Central House Results
Western House Results, Propositions, Governors and Other
Related posts:
- Obama Denies Insurance Mandate Taxes Middle Class, Diminishes Public Option
- Employer Mandate Could Create Jobs
- YOYO, or The End of Compassionate Conservatism
- Mandate + No Public Option = Unpopular Taxpayer Bailout of Private Insurance
- Principled Conservatism: American Conservative Union Caught Whoring Itself Out to Highest Bidder
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Michele Bachmann winning.
Josh Marshall saying that Emanuel has been offered the Chief of Staff and he will be accepting.
We gotta do something to prevent people like Eliot Abrams from getting jobs in a third
You could have gone a very looooooog time before posting that bit of crap news!
~~~ModNote: Edited for content to preserve margins.~~~
Thanks, Ian and Pups.
It’s been great spending this election day with all of you!
XXOO
FunnyDiva
My msg for jayt
We gotta do something to prevent people like Eliot Abrams from getting jobs in a third Republican (mis-)administration.
(somehow, the end got chopped off)
Just a quick hello- but an article I found- something for further consideration, perhaps.
Title: How these gibbering numbskulls came to dominate Washington
Subtitle: The degradation of intelligence and learning in American politics results from a series of interlocking tragedies
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comm…..ush-mccain
Pretty good piece.
Please no, not Bachmann. If we get Coleman back too, I will just scream. I want my Minnesota back!
Less republicans more dems equals not as bad. Sure thought repubs would lose more seats all around in congress. Thanks for all the time you put in Ian. With all the bad shit repukes are doing they are getting away light.
al franken’s gaining. it’s about dead even right now. 89% reporting and he’s down about 200 votes.
Anyone know MN state law? How small a margin to force a recount?
Thanks green warrior! I will keep the hope.
Time to scream, Ironranger.
I remember that when I asked my west Louisiana/ East Texas momma if I was white, she told me ” No, you are yalla, all EDITED BY MODERATOR a**es are yalla”. I have been called everything hateful since adolescence for accepting non-whites as friends. I hope that a Obama presidency will stop the insanity of racial branding, even for those who “pass”.
~~~ModNote: Appreciate your comment, but please watch that kind of derogation, even if it’s directed at yourself. Thanks.~~~
did you see it called? nytimes still hasn’t called it. al franken’s down about 2000 now with 90% in.
Franken 90 votes down with 90% of precincts reporting.
That’s within recount margin in every jurisdiction, newton.
Franken v Colemena hasn’t been called yet.
MSNBC has called the house race for Bachman. Yeccch.
I fully agree about the broad repudiation of Bushism in Washington (Executive and Congress). I’m less sure — much as I would like to be — that there is a clear mandate for a progressive program. As you say, Ian, when you’re mainly rejecting A you have to choose B, but that doesn’t say anything about which of the many possible directions you want to go in next. So it will be interesting to study exit polls to see to what degree Obama voters supported progressive candidates and measures, vs. how much they took a more conservative general position and only deviated for Pres, House, & Senate.
On the good news side, we here in New Mexico, often overlooked, are sending five (FIVE) Democrats in our congressional delegation.
Two of the five are good Democrats and true (Bingaman and Udall). One is probably a blue-dog (Teague, my congresscritter). We’ll see about the other two.
Indiana got smart, just called for Obama by MSNBC.
GOP, y’all better think really, really carefully about 2010. You’re not competitive on the West Coast, nor in the northeast and now the old industrial regions and the north central are ignoring you.
Wanna be a regional party centered in the old south? Keep on keepin’ on, guys.
County dems party young women were shedding tears of joy when the annoucement was made. One fellow said 8 years at least in the whiite house. Looks like the dry spell is over. Bush better not pull any fast ones. Sounds of shredders were heard coming from the RNC and the White House. You know this administration has no traction left in the Middle East. It’s a brand new day.
Would be nice to see more repukes lose their seats in the mid terms.
Bush is already fast ones. They’re dumping shit into the Federal Register early enough that Obama can’t just dump them.
Good night folks.
Enjoy the glow tonight. The work starts tomorrow.
Impeachment would have brought the senate 60+ they dodged a bullet. Nancy will get quail from Texas every year.
At this point the people *have* found what they consider to be the right one. Now we just need the Obama team to execute their plans.
There may be one or two seekers who are on lower rungs and are learning. You might call them understudies and such, but in an administration everyone needs to bring something to the work.
One of the problems of an administration is having enough of the right people with experience and enough new people with skills and enough young people for the future. This means having a lot of people who don’t know each other and who don’t necessarily know the pecking order and it can be confusing. But, it’s really best to have product in various states of manufacture.
Because of this it’s really great to have the transition where many get to know one another and have this running head start so they can become more familiar before taking office.
While the electoral vote difference is big, the popular vote remains tight. We still have a very divided country. For Obama to try to govern from the left could be as large a mistake as Bush 43’s attempt to govern from the right.
As inspiring as Obama’s speech was, McCain’s seems potentially as significant. Is his offer to put country ahead of partisanship in any way real? Is Obama’s promise to represent not Blue America, or Red America, but America real?
Yes, it is a day to celebrate. It is good to see the balance of power shift cleanly to the progressives. Still, I am hoping for a government from the center. We have seen too much partisan hate and insults from the far right.
And too much from the left, as well.
Let’s celebrate. But celebrate not blue, but a rainbow.
Yes, because the rainbow really wants to join in, as they have demonstrated by enshrining their bigotry in California and other places.
We have not seen too much partisan hate. We are entitled to hate them! What the fuck is all this talk; we’re all fight fight fight when they are in control and destroying the place. Now you have the levers of power you want to love them up? Fuck that! Eight years of a progressive agenda please, and if they hate it, tough. They can just wear it.
In response to DrZen:
I fully understand the anger — even the hatred. But we need to get over the divisions, the bitterness, the partisanship, and the divisiveness if we are to heal the wounds that the Republicans visited on all of Planet Earth. I want to bring the people along with the progressive agenda. I do not want to galvanize the opposition. Better they be dis-armed.