This is no time, however, to relax and become complacent in the flush of victory and success. I agree with many political analysts that the 2010 mid-term election results were not necessarily a vote for or validation of the Republican Party and its policies, but rather a rejection and repudiation of the policies and agendas of the Democratic leadership that heedlessly — and foolishly — ignored the wishes of the American public.
One of the more glaring indicators of the public mood is the (still) declining national approval ratings for President Obama, so evident in waning attendance at his last-minute campaign rallies for Democratic candidates in several states and districts and by the reluctance of many Democrats to seek or accept his endorsement and support. Even eleventh-hour attempts by big-gun Democrats Bill Clinton and Joe Biden to rally support for embattled Democratic candidates — most of them incumbents — helped little, if at all. In fact, rumors of meddling and attempts to manipulate and influence election outcomes may have had an opposite effect.
President Obama appears to be on track for a one-term presidency, victim of a self-inflicted and still-apparent disconnect with rank and file Americans — the vast and usually silent majority, many of whom describe themselves as Independents — who turned out in record numbers for this election. His teleprompter-enabled rhetoric has often come across as less than presidential. He referred to Midwesterners as those who “cling to their guns and Bibles”; he exhorted Latinos to “punish your enemies and reward your friends”; and in his overworked “car in the ditch” metaphorical allusion invited Republicans to come along but “ride in the back.”
The reality turned out to be something quite different. Republicans gained 63 seats to assume control of the House of Representatives and gained six seats in the Senate. Even more significantly, Republicans now hold the governorships in more than two-thirds of the states — a reversal of pre-election status — and gained more than 690 state legislative seats nationwide. Monday morning quarterbacks will presume to analyze and explain this political sea change for months or years, but the election results are what they are.
The American people have spoken with a giant voice, though this is not to be their last word on how they want their nation run. They voted for less spending and borrowing, lower taxes, a less intrusive government and a society rooted in the concepts of personal accountability and responsibility, and they expect and demand nothing less from those elected to do their bidding. Should Republicans now entrusted with the job not be mindful of the public mood and demands they’ll join ousted Democrats on history’s scrap pile.
It’s a beginning. With the right leadership and commitment we can finish the job in 2012.
DAVE DAVIS
Yigo, Guam
