Election analysis

Alert reader Reid observed the following, among other things, in part (you can read his entire post in the comments section of the previous post)...

a) The GOP has lost a little touch with the masses within the country.
b) The US Supreme court will likely shift to the left. We need to have consevative intelligent jurists in these seats as opposed to Nancy Pelosi -ites liberally changing all our basic values upon a whim. Scary thought but possibly true.
c) We now have a split in power, making Bush's dealings with Congress more dificult. With the lame duck status he has, he has allowed for a bigger hurdle to overcome to get anything done, and it seems that daily plenty needs to get done.
d) It is high time for those of us on the right side to stand up and be heard.

Clearly, as Reid pointed out, the Republicans have completely forgotten why they were elected back in '94. Conservatives were promised smaller, limited government, the elimination of the department of education (an unmitigated disaster) and the return of education to the states, border security and fast, a reduction in spending and more transparency in government, and finally, safety from Islamic jihadist who want to kill us. What of those things got accomplished over the last 12 years and especially the last six when Republicans had total control of Congress? Answer: only the safety issue, but we could be attacked tomorrow, so we can't exactly say mission accomplished on that one either.

Bearing in mind that all mid-term elections are, in part, essentially referenda on the current President, here's my analysis...

1. Under Bush and the "conservatives" (really, they are neo-cons, not coservatives) the size and scope of government doubled. (anathema to true conservatives)
2. Not only did they not eliminate the education department, they doubled it's funding and the idiotic NCLB program diluted power away from the states and concentrated it in Washington. (centralization of power in the hands of the federal government is by definition, liberalism)
3. The dreadful transportation bill had more pork spending than any bill in history (ie. the bridge to nowhere in Alaska). (big-spending Republicans are liberals in sheep's clothing and cannot be trusted)
4. Bush never lifted the spending veto pen in six years until the federal funding for stem-cell research bill came across his desk. (Being willing to veto a bill on moral grounds but not on fiscal ones is pathetic)
5. The Republican controlled Congress deep-sixed a bill which guaranteed transparency in federal spending because they didn't want Americans to be able to see how their seized tax dollars were squandered.(Nothing in government should be secretive but intelligence gathering)
6. Bush and the power-addicted neo-cons ignored Americans' demand that they secure the border with Mexico. They feared losing votes if they angered the Hispanic population, so they abdicated their responsibility to secure the borders of our country, and offered a appallingly wretched comprehensive-immigration-reform bill. (illegal alien amnesty)
7. And this is the big one for me...Republicans had total control of Washington and managed to do nothing but push through a tax-cut(excellent), attack Iraq(necessary), and shift the Supreme Court rightward(hopefully). That's pretty much it. They could have done so much more to improve America but the trappings of power seduced them into protecting their positions the way Democrats do...by buying votes with money seized from taxpayers.

These are the reasons I vote Liberterian here in Alabama whenever there is a candidate running. Until the Republicans return to the conservative roots and follow through on promises they will continue to lose elections to liberal Democrats who promise taxpayer-funded goody bags to loafing, needy Americans who are afraid to take control of and responsibility for their own lives.

Now for the silver lining from last night: If Republicans had retained control of the House, they would arrogantly assume that we conservative voters approved of their Democrat-like behavior for the last six years and we would have suffered two more years of the same thing. Two more years of Republicans clinging to power by acting like Democrats would be enough, I believe, to sweep Hillary into the oval office (heaven forbid). After last night's spanking, expect Republicans to do some serious soul searching to figure out why they lost, and go into '08 prepared to take back control. Expect SanFranNan to afflict America with 12 years of pent up liberal disaster as well. Two years of Washington liberals showing how inept they are by having to make decisions rather than simply criticize the decisions of others, will set the stage for a Republican to take the White House and hopefully send the Clintons packing once and for all.