In many ways, this election
seemed like a tantrum, perhaps a final tantrum from those who expect the
America of the myth to be restored, the American dream, high wages for
plentiful jobs, home with two cars, sending kids to college but that America no
longer exists (if it ever truly existed) and its never coming back.
In its place is an America of
diminished resources that taxes its depleting assets and morality even further in
the building and maintenance of an empire it cannot afford and which much of
the world rejects. This is of course
including the endless armed conflicts the US feels the need to inject itself into.
The answer or at least one of
the answers is an end to the two party duopoly of power. Until then, here a few observations on this
election.
1.) Clearly this was a wave election. Losing the governorship of Maryland and almost
losing (as of this writing) a senate seat in Virginia are examples of losses
the Democratic party did not expect. Whether
it be avoiding a run-off in Georgia or retaining the governorship in Florida, the
Republicans exceeded their wildest dreams.
2.) I'm not a Democrat but I
do think a lot of the Democrats who lost tonight (espc. in senate races) such
as Grimes in Kentucky were too quick to run away from the president and their
own party in general. What kind of message does that send to the voter?
3.) While there is no doubt
that Republicans make efforts to drive down voter turnout from constituencies
that vote Democratic (poor, African Americans etc.) and some of these efforts
are illegal/unconstitutional, I must say that I do not see the problem with requiring
a photo ID for voting - You need one for everything else important and while
there may not be widespread fraud now the potential is certainly there. If the
argument is some elderly or poor people don't have access to a driver's
license then there should be a voter's card given to those who can prove they
don't have the resources for obtaining another form of photo ID or even better
and easier a national ID card which everyone would be required to present when
voting. And no, a student ID is not a valid form of ID. At the university I
went to, the foreign students had the exact same ID's as those who were
Americans.
4.) One thing I really don't
like is when they call a race based on exit polls before even one vote has been
counted. I understand a certain result is likely in some cases but it would be
nice to see the trend emerging ,at least 20% or 25% of the votes counted
perhaps, before calling a winner.
5.) Scott Walker’s
re-election which is too bad not just because he's anti-working people,
anti-education etc. but because rumor is he is planning to run for the
Republican nomination for president 2016 . He will not run had he lost
re-election. With his non-threatening demeanor, he could be a formidable
national candidate.
6.) Harry Reid (and Nancy
Pelosi) need to step down from their leadership positions. Neither has shown much leadership as of late
especially Reid who made no effort to push through contentious legislation nor
confront Republicans. I think we could
have had immigration reform had Reid (and the president) been willing to work
with the House of Representatives.
7.) Marijuana legalization in
Oregon and Washington DC was good news this evening. I hope this trend continues.
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