The way I see it, we're looking at relative gridlock for the next two years. Why? This president and the remaining members of Congress from the democratic party are far left of center. If you listened closely to the comments of Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi, and President Obama, none of them seemed to think that they had over reached in their endeavors to institute their value system on America. Obviously, it would be difficult for anyone to easily come to terms with their massive defeat last Tuesday nor can one expect them to capitulate on their value system but one should expect them to realize that they had misread their proxy from the American public. On the other hand, the Republicans should not assume that they've been given an open ended vote of confidence from the electorate. Americans are a fickle bunch and the GOP is on a short leash.
The way I see it, the voting public wants jobs, jobs, and more jobs. We aren't buying into the new health care legislation, and we're worried about deficit spending. These are the issues that swept so many members of the GOP into office. We're also tired of our nation's power brokers being apologetic for our nation's turbulent history. While we might have warts, we're a proud people who have always found a way to correct our country's mistakes. Does this mean that we're better than other countries? Of course not but, we shouldn't engage in self humiliation either.
So, I have no great hope that much will get done in the next two years and once again, the public will have to make a choice in 2012. Nobody knows what will transpire until then but President Obama most assuredly has his work cut out for him. Will he move to the center? Doubtful. He really believes that his views are centrist in nature. As a creature of academia, he has led an insulated life. Academics exist in the relatively protected world of hypothesis. It is not until you venture out into the muck of reality and get dirty that you put your world view to the test. Unfortunately for us, our president is experiencing this while on the job. Gridlock is what is coming but you needn't fear it. Our two parties have seldom worked together and we shouldn't expect it now. Gridlock leads to checks and balances and these prevent either philosophical viewpoint from completely dominating our landscape. Most of us live somewhere along the fence-line that separates the left and the right and we don't like it when we're forcibly moved in either direction from the middle. The next two years are sure to be an exciting ride!
De Oppresso Liber
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