Musings on the Elections
It isn't often that one's vote is of such importance as it was here in Virginia last Tuesday. It feels rather powerful to be one of the voters who turned the Senate over to the Democrats. However, I have to wonder whether or not this will truly make a difference in the long run. Sure, the rhetoric flew before the elections crowing about "change" and how everything is going to be oh so different if we vote the Republicans out. But now we get to really see whether they can actually put their money where their mouths are.
The Iraqi War was was obviously the sticking point that drove most to the polls. What change can the Democrats make there? They're going to be stuck between an Executive who has taken unprecedented amounts of power under his "war authority," an American public who is divided between "stop the terrorists in Iraq or they will hit us in the US," and the "pull the troops out NOW" factions. If they do nothing, you can bet that they won't gain the White House in 2008.
And what about the "hot button" issues? I was embarrassed by Virginia's vote to amend the state constitution with a buzz word laden but unworkable piece of hate called the "marriage amendment." Civil liberties are going to be a big hot potato issue in the next two years. My prediction is that the Democrats will side step the personal rights issues in order to dance down the middle in order to elect a Democratic president.
And so we wait and see. Unfortunately, I doubt we'll see much of the change we were hoping for. Politics doesn't quite work that way. Politics is instead about kowtowing to those who pay the bills....aka corporate sponsors. And, as such, most of us don't have any real representation. I hope that I am pleasantly surprised, but there is only one way to find out.