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Wednesday  January 20, 2010


Today's Zinger:

We The People:  The REAL Majority

The Morning Briefing:

Isn't it a little ironic that the man that helped propel Barack Obama to the Presidency, the man that turned on Hillary Clinton and passed the liberal torch to Barack Obama, the man whose name is synonymous with health care, the man that held his Democratic Senate seat for 45 years and the man who was known as the Lion of the Senate would relinquish his seat to a Republican just a few months after his death and exactly a year after Barack Obama was sworn in to office?



 

Despite last nights special election being a state (Commonwealth) election, this election riveted the nation to the television as results started coming in.  Elections have consequences and this election has enormous consequences for the Democrats and the Republicans alike. 

Zinger looks at the implications for the Democrats after losing their filibuster proof majority, the implications for the Republicans and how people with various political views interpret the reasons for this stunning upset.

 
Who Said It:

"Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy.  Deceit is a poison in its veins."


The Discussion:

Since his election, Barack Obama seemed to think that his mere presence, with his engaging smile, handsome frame and smooth talk was enough to convince voters to follow him.  It certainly appeared to work in the past.  However, that may have changed.  He showed up in Copenhagen to save the Olympics, but he finished last.  He showed up in the November elections to save the political career of John Corzine, only to be rejected.  He showed up in Virginia, but once again his candidate was defeated.  Now he has shown up in Massachusetts, where Martha Coakley represented the critical 60th Senate vote to give the President the ability to pass his broad, sweeping legislative agenda without regard to the minority party.  Once again his candidate lost. 

Last night was one of the most riveting state elections I can remember.  The Commonwelath of Massachusetts elected a Republican as one of their two State Senators.  Massachusetts has historically voted blue (Democratic).  This special election was to fill the US Senate seat vacated by the Lion of the Senate (Ted Kennedy) when he passed away, last Fall, from cancer.  To think the people of Massachusetts could elect a non-Democrat to Ted Kennedy’s seat.

It is almost ironic that it was Ted Kennedy that propelled Barack Obama to the Presidency when he turned on Hillary Clinton and passed the liberal torch to then candidate Obama. It was Ted Kennedy’s efforts, even while battling cancer, that helped elect Barack Obama President of the United States, and it is Ted Kennedy’s seat that was lost to the Republicans.

As I read the various articles published in the daily newspapers across the country this morning and read the articles on various left and right wing blogs, it is clear that everyone is interpreting the results to fit their own political agenda.

The Democratic National Committee says the voters rejected Martha Coakley because she was not a good candidate and ran a poor campaign.

Many Liberals see this as a wake up call for the administration to leave the rhetoric behind and start accomplishing something.

The angry Liberals claim Conservatives and Independents were swayed by Scott Brown‘s good looks and his pin-up past.  They also claim they lost because the President is not strident enough in adhering to his agenda.

The Progressives see this as a bunch of angry people, who looked menacing at the polls.  These people feel that President Obama is going to change our nation for the better and Conservatives and Independents just can’t get over the fact that a black man is in office and they support Brown because they are racist.

The Conservatives see this as a message to Washington that they are tired of big deficits, the talk of more and more taxes, the political sniping at business and the wealthy and the clear disregard by the Congressional leadership of their point of view.

The far right see this as a total rejection of the Obama Administration’s agenda and a reason to question why he was really elected to begin with.  Was he elected for his agenda or was he elected as a vote against the Bush Administration and the belief that McCain represented four more years of the same policies?

Interestingly, everyone agrees that this election is very significant, yet I have heard no one say lets ask the voters why they voted the way they did.  There appears to be no interest in true market research to understand what just happened.  I guess if each group is allowed to rationalize the result to fit their political agenda, it allows them to keep their head in the sand and not deal with the realities of the day.  It allows them to hold on to their beliefs, even if facts prove them wrong.  Cognitive dissonance is an interesting phenomena.

This election had national implications.  This election was a referendum on the Obama Administration and Congress.  Clearly, this is not the change that the majority of people are looking for.   As the old saying goes, elections have consequences and this election will have huge consequences.


The Conclusion:

The majority of people in the United States believe that the President is focusing on the wrong things.  Maybe, as Bill Clinton said “it’s the economy stupid”. Maybe, it is the fact that when one political party dominates Congress we no longer get representation of the people, but rather greedy and power hungry politicians forcing their will.  This has happened in the 80’s, 90’s and now the 00’s.  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was speaking for all Americans when they said enough is enough.  Now the question remains, can the Nancy and Harry show hear the people while they remain sequestered behind their closed doors deciding what’s best for America?

This election offers the hope that the Democrats will become more inclusive.  This election offers the hope that the Republicans will have to become part of the solution rather than sitting on the sidelines watching the Democrats self-destruct.  I doubt this election offers hope that the most liberal of all US Senators (Barack Obama) will alter his path forward and start managing from the middle, where the vast majority of American's political views lay, and not the far left.

This election offers the hope that this President stops talking about change and starts accomplishing the change that the majority of American's want; return people to work, rebuild our economy, stop the deficit spending, implement reform of financial regulations.  Nowhere did you hear cap and trade.  Nowhere did you hear health care.  These are the two initiatives that have dominated this administration during its first year.  The first year has been filled with political payoffs, bribes and partisan fighting.  Americans all across the land are saying to the Administration and Congress, through the Massachusetts election, its time to stop the partisan bickering and get to work on those things that are critical to the financial recovery of our nation.


Who Said It:

"Integrity is the lifeblood of democracy.  Deceit is a poison in its veins."

                                                                                                                                             Ted Kennedy

Today's ZingerToon:

             

      

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