The bottom line is: it can actually work better when we don’t always get our way. Compromise is good. It is a check and balance. We have a brilliantly designed government in that it has checks and balances. These become ineffective when one party controls all branches of government and is willing to sacrifice the integrity of our system to gain advantage for their particular political ideology. It’s lame when the Left does it and it is lame when the Right does it. Dammit, we are Americans first and Democrats, Republicans or Greens second. We should all agree on that. Put the system first and your ideology second. We all do better when we all do better.
The Right Wing pushed us too far. They are good folks and they mean well but they go too far when left unchecked. The lack of meaningful compromise has not served us well. You don’t have to change parties or make long term commitments, you just have to cast a vote that you think will lead to a better, yet sustainable, United States of America.
The message we are going to send to Bush is that, yes, we are paying attention and talking the talk isn’t good enough, you have to walk the walk. It’s not politics when you are a leader, it’s policy. We are not cool with fiscal irresponsibility. We are not OK with less constitutional rights. We think it is fucking insane to send the world the message that we would weaken the Geneva Conventions in regards to POWs. Dot, dot, dot.
So vote for balance. A Bush White House, in partnership with a Democratic congress, may be a recipe for healthy compromise. Americans, when asked, believe that we are best off when there is a balance of power. Let’s vote for that. Today. Go vote, right now, for balance.
lolife 
Sean, I want to explain that my post was sincere. Politics has become a vicious cycle and I’ve decided to do my own little part to try and end it. I don’t think it will work, at least the signs are not good, but I’m going to try.
My congratulations to the Dems for winning are sincere. We have to accept results when the democracy speaks and give our full support (not blind loyalty, that’s different) to the elected leadership. This is what I am doing. When I say “you guys drive,” I am not being sarcastic or facetious. I believe change is sometimes good and I am willing to give the other side of the isle an opportunity to do better.
If you start with the premise that the right has fucked it up so bad that you can never fix it, you are not only cheating the people of this country who deserve a government that actually works, you are cheating yourself by setting yourself up for failure. You are a victim, you can’t ever succeed because the deck is stacked against you, who can blame you if you don’t succeed, and the evil righties have screwed the pooch so badly the situation is hopeless. That’s a pretty convenient excuse.
I could list dozens of reasons why policies of the Clinton administrations set this country up for all the disasters that followed but I’m not going to do it. I’m going to take my lumps and admit that the current administration made massive mistakes and they could have done better, despite what happened before.
To paraphrase Rumsfeld, you must govern the country you have, not the country you want.
So please, do a good job. I actually hope the left succeeds in making us safer, improving our economy (even more) and increasing the respect for this country in world opinion. I really do.
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Yeah, it could be a trap. They make the mess, we fail in cleaning it up and then come in and say “See! You guys suck.”
We’ll know the truth.
I believe leadership is possible, good decisions are possible and actual progress can be made. Progress. Nice word, isn’t it? Sort of reminds one of the word “progressive”. Give progress a chance.
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It’s quite a bind we’re in, that’s for sure. The Republicans have set up a scenario that will be tough for the Democrats to come out of looking like they are leading, and, knowing the Republicans, I doubt that they’ll let anything happen easily.
My simple and perhaps over-simplified perspective is that the Democrats will be able to put the brakes on some of the policies that have been enacted by the Currant Occupant.
Iraq is a huge mess and will be a huge mess for a long long time, no matter what the Democrats do or don’t do. I don’t really see what options there are that are going to really work: partition the country, withdraw our troops, or strengthen Baghdad with more troops. Any of those will ultimately cost more lives. It’s a mess and we shouldn’t have gone in to begin with. Silly President, Wars are easier to start than end.
The other thing about the election is that the Democrats did win, quite handily in many cases, especially with the gerrymandered redistricting that has happened. I don’t know how long the Democrats will be able to hold on to a majority to be honest. It is as if the Republicans have moved the country so far to the right, that any move to left will be moderate or conservative in nature. Oh well. Saying ‘you guys drive for a while,’ to me is a cop-out. Make the mess and then we’ll have someone else try and clean it up, except that the mess is so bad, that they won’t be able to clean it up, so we’ll go back to the mess makers. Quite a strategy, if you ask me. We are all in this whole pile together and hopefully people can work together on some level to get things done. Or at least apply the brakes.
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Congratulations! You guys got the wheel (I think the senate is going your way too) so please do something positive with it. I am fully supportive of the new leadership and I will continue to be as long as they operate honestly and in good faith for us, the citizens of this country.
I am glad that Rumsfeld has stepped down. If you read my previous posts I had said that I thought he was a stubborn, prideful old man (or something to that effect) and that I did not think this war was being prosecuted very well.
I think the President was extremely concilatory in his comments today and should be commended for that.
You guys drive for a while, lets see where you lead us!
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I could not agree with you more! I often think that the fact that we are all Americans gets lost in the Republican vs. Democrat fight. In the end no matter what side we are on we want the same things: a place to live that affords us freedom, prosperity, security, and most important for me as an American is my kids and their kids will have a better place to live because of the things we are doing today.
I think that the checks and balances is hard to argue with because that is what are country was founded on. We have three branches of government and one of those will never be able to hold all of the power. But the issue isn’t so black and white now. Both sides have gone to far to there perspective sides that it is hard to not vote party lines. As a Republican when I look at politicians there are really two things that I look at.
1. What are their Social Leanings.
2. How Fiscally Responsible are they.
Those are the two issues that drive me. I will 9 out of 10 times vote on their Social Issues.
So while I agree that balance in any situation is great, It is harder to vote for balance when issues come into play. Fisscally these so called Republicans in there are worthless and socially they are doing the same thing slowly going away from the values that is the GOP. I can’t speak for the Democratic Party but it seems not to be happening there.
There is a difference in Republicans and Conservatives, we are under one umbrella but the Republicans are straying to close to the middle and acting like democrats both fiscally and socially and in my opinion a lose today would send a clear signal to the Republicans to get back to basics and gear us (the base, the voter) and them (the Strategist and the Candidates) up for 2008 which in the end is more important then midterm elections.
One idea which I am surprised you did not mention was “Voter Runoff” but that is another post for another topic.
Sorry to have turned this post into the GOP Hour!! I now have to go vote, get some wine and watch the numbers come in.
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