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November 4, 2010

Perspective on the Morning After

Down here we want it all ... a veritable Super Slam breakfast every morning.

The irony is that, of course, "all" resides in the heavenlies.

I am reminded in times like these of the words of one of my law school professors: "A liberal wakes up every morning and says, 'Lord, what good can I do today?' and a conservative says, 'Lord, thank you that my throat was not slit last night while I slept.'" This was his New York way of saying that human nature and a fallen world beckon us to be grateful for even the little things. And furthermore, human nature oftentimes causes us to fail to appreciate the big and really good things, too.

Like you, I am bummed that Greenjeans escaped in Nevada. Every conservative feels this. There were some other near misses in the Senate; in the House, Barney Frank won ... and handily ... and Ruth McClung (what a candidate in AZ-7) narrowly lost in a gerrymandered Demo district.

But still, overall, I am much more than glad to have survived the night, for it was a very good night indeed. The repudiation of all things Obama/Demo at all levels of the federal and state governments was clear. The most Republicans hold office nationwide (federal and state) than at any time since the 1920s. Today, Rush said that 680 Republicans won elections in state legislatures nationwide, in large part due to Tea Party activism. And Sarah Palin? Of her Demo targets, 18 of 20 went down.

And look at the new red Midwest. And Republicans won in the Northeast. They are close even to winning the governor's mansion in CT. Rhod? Are you supervising the count?

As a result of the smashing success, even Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are talking the talk ... now, to ensure that they walk it. Actually, I believe they will do a much better job this time because folks are engaged.

I have seen reports that talk about the strange lack of celebration by Republicans and their supporters. I view this as an extremely good sign.

All this is to say our side is winning and acting like a winner, too. More reason to be optimistic.

You see, when your goal is a championship, a first down is no big deal.

So, let's appreciate the successes we have as we march down the field. Sunny side up, please.

Still, we keep our eyes fixed on the ultimate goal.

Such a focus will help us enjoy the first downs along the way even more.

Note: I am working on a post re: some lessons I think we conservatives can draw from Tuesday's results. There's been some interesting commentary out there, but none of it quite clears a landing zone like a Daisy Cutter.

10 comments:

sig94 said...

DC - can I have a side order of Obama's ass served on a steaming hot subpoena? Call it Chicago homeboy fries.

Sorry Rhod. That's "DC - may I..."

LL said...

With only a small majority in the Senate, the Republicans would have struggled to pass anything. The public would not have understood this, and would have turned on the Republicans for achieving nothing. So retaining Harry has put the Democrats in a bind.

If the Republicans won the Senate, the Democrats would have been insulated from the charge of being obstructionists because on bill after bill, eight or nine Democrats would have joined the Republicans, secure in the knowledge that their votes wouldn’t actually help the bill pass. This would have allowed the Democrats to continue to claim that they are an ideologically-broad party and that it’s the Republicans who are the extremists.

By not winning the Senate, all of that goes away. Now it will be up to the Democrats to create legislation, and they will be stuck with the obstructionist label from both sides as Obama demands they move left, which they cannot do because of the House and the filibuster, and the House demands they move right, which they cannot do because of Obama and their base. That is the worst of both worlds.

Anonymous said...

LL, you are right on the money re: the predicament the Demos are in with the Senate. They are stuck with a functionally unworkable majority ... an angry public ... and 21 Demos up for election in '12. Dynomite!!

Sig, we're serving up Obama Posterior Pie on Nov. 6, 2012.

Rhod said...

That's right Mr. Sig. Ability and permission are not the same, and I've seen you use "may" where you meant "might", meaning that you're substituting permission for speculation. But who's counting usage and grammar errors?

Goomba, that's who. He rapped my knuckles once for using "said" rather than "asserted".

DC, the CT governor's race is going to the Donks, most likely because of poll irregularities in the urban disaster known as Bridgeport. We knew it all along. Any office worth having, for a Democrat, is worth stealing.

Amusing Bunni said...

Well Said, Nickie! I am SO HAPPY Mark Kirk won IL! What a kick in the nuts to bammy...hee hee.
Still celebrating here.

sig94 said...

On the plus side, it looks like NY's 25th CD will be also red. Buerkle is ahead and it looks like the freshman donk ain't gonna close.

Anonymous said...

Let's start tearing down the walls.

Anonymous said...

Rhod, old bean... This election has been like a sharp poke in the chest of a lame duck.

Rhod said...

Wow, Nick. Great simile! I plan to steal it when I can type better.

Starsplash said...

As always I fall outside the parameters of the joke. I am one Christian Republican conservative who wakes up in the morning and wonders what good can I accomplish and woe be unto the fool that should think he can sneak up on me.

Other than that I am glad that the Republicans are taking the 'time to get to real work' attitude.

Like I just said. Somewhere was it here? Taking victory for granted is for the proud and pride cometh before a fall. The humble take it as licence to work.

Let us with gladness disasssemble this obination that has come upon this nation.