Post Election Analysis

Election day was certainly a big deal.  Not often in history does our political system shift the way it did Tuesday.  Here is my analysis of why things happened the way they did:

First, attention was placed back where it should be placed - on the mushy middle.  Both parties need to understand that the extremes of their party are not the drivers.  It is those in the middle, the swing voters, on which we should focus. That keeps our policy and principles relevant.  This is not to say that we should abandon our policies and principles.  But that if we don't translate them into ways that makes sense to the middle, they are worthless because they are not shared or understood. 

Second, voters hate to eat broccoli.  The war in Iraq is good and necessary.  But it is a lot like eating your vegetables.  We should do it, but we don't really want to.  The Administration was forcing us to eat broccoli and, when people have a choice, they say "Enough!"  The Administration's ear has become very tin and (with the resignation of Rumsfeld) no end to it's tin-ey-ness seems to be insight.  Again, this is not to say that the war should be abandonded.  It is to say that without a countervailing message, the press's constant barrage of bad things happening in Iraq is hard to over come. 

Third, Republicans lost the election because of their abandonment of salient issues like Terri Schiavo, stem cell reseach, ethics and accountability, fiscal restraint, and ..... ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION!!  When you fail to stand for something you will fall for anything.  The Republicans stood for nothing and they fell. 

Fourth, ethics issues showed the hypocracy of Republicans as a whole.  Foley was the final straw after Ney, Abramhoff, and Duke.  The week the Foley scandal hit, my wife found a note on her car (which proudly displays a Republican bumper sticker) that read "Are you now going to defend child molesters also?"  Rough.

Here is my outlook:
First, governing is a heavy burdend and the Democrats are finding that out even as we speak.  It is hard to run a party driven by the extremes - just ask Dick Armey.  We will find out in short order if the Dems can effectively keep their party together and if the American people are happy with the Democratic agenda.  All you have to do is see the overwhelming approval of marriage amendments to see that the Democrats reign will be short lived.