Did anyone hear that grinding, screeching sound last night? That sound was the wheels of government coming to a stop. Like sand thrown in fine clockworks, last night’s election results were portentous signs of certain malfunction. Only complete replacement of the fouled gears will return the working mechanism.
It was kind of a difficult election. On one hand we had the desperate, corrupt, page-fondling greed-heads of the Republican party. On the other hand we have the aimless, hopeless, uber-bureaucratic Democrats whose entire political strategy seemed to be to sit in the back of the room and point and laugh. Representatives from each spent ample time on their post-election political pulpits explaining their intent to reach across the aisle to form a new unity government. That type of public emotional grab-ass is a certain prelude to the the vitriol each party will soon be spewing for the other’s lack of cooperation.
Shit is about ready to get much, much worse.
Perhaps the wheels may still turn, if the Democrats can remain on the offensive. With control of both the House and Senate, the democrats can define the content and color of public debate. With hot button issues like minimum wage, the democrats may be able to force legislation down Bush’s throat (or in some other orifice). Whether they can find a cohesive long-term message is still to be determined.
We should all breathe a sigh of relief that the Republicans no longer control federal judicial appointments. In my opinion this is a result to be celebrated.