This is what we have learned — if we give the Republicans their way, we don’t get good policy, we get more politics. Even though they control every branch of government in this country, the Right is not concerned, apparently, about making good policy. They still use every possible opportunity to bolster their political power. I’ve always thought that if the Right was correct and I and the rest of us on the Left were wrong, then we would be seeing the proof of that right now. We gave them the keys and we said “OK, drive” and where have we ended up? NOWHERE.

A quick roll-call: Iraq is a mess. The debt and the deficit are at an all-time high. Oil prices are at an all-time high. People with health insurance are at an all-time low. The rich are much richer and the poor far worse off. Science is under attack in our schools by people who think that divine intervention is a more appropriate explanation than the results of rigorous scientific research. Many states have modified their constitutions to encode prejudice against same-sex couples. The globe is heating up, perhaps to an uncorrectable degree and the bulldozers are heading up to pave the last great wilderness in America so you can save $0.10/gallon when you fill your SUV.

The bottom line here, folks, is that if the Right is correct and the Left is wrong, it should be obvious by now. They’ve had all the power, they had their way on everything — where is the success? Where are the crowds of cheering people?

There are none. Even their own base is trying to keep down a gag reflex. The Republican agenda is not, apparently, about good policy, it’s about politics and power. What they do with the power is further a dogmatic agenda of class warfare and religious intolerance. Face it folks, they suck at this.

Over the next 3 years we need to show them the door and try to elect leaders who are results oriented instead of moronic ideologues. We can do better. We must do better. We will do better.