Bob McDonnell won Virginia. Or as the Associated Press put it “Conservative Republican Bob McDonnell’s victory in the Virginia governor’s race over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds was a triumph for a GOP looking to rebuild after being booted from power in national elections in 2006 and 2008. It also was a setback for the White House in a swing state that was a crucial part of Obama’s electoral landslide just a year ago.” No matter how you say it, it seems the future of the coming elections is all ready being decided.
Well, maybe not decided. But these small packs of elections can help find trends in the upcoming major election. And by upcoming, I mean slightly after the Mayans say we’re all gonna die. So if their right we don’t even have to worry. I’m going to assume we do, though. But I digress.
With Republicans winning elections again the future for 2010 and 2012 could be a bleak one for Democrats. If they hope to win two things must happen. First, Obama must do more. This is not a personal critique, but an observation of the mindset of his opposition. Though whatever he does will likely be too little, even if he is elected out of office he can at least look back at his accomplishments. If he wanted to be sneaky he could make them hard to undo, since Republicans seem to like undoing Democratic legislation. Not that it is limited to a single party.
Second, unify. This is relatively easy, in election terms, simply stand behind the guy you elected. Clinton, stay. Good Secretary of State. You may not be able to unify with policy, for good and for ill, but if you unite under one banner for voting you have a chance.
To play the other fence, Republicans, please, stop with the neo Nazi conservatives. You are running out of states that support you, and the ones that do are low on electoral votes. Find at least some middle ground. You don’t need to go full blown moderate, though that would be nice, but find someone who knows how to turn on a computer and use e-mail. And no Palin, please, as much fun as writing about that would be, let her run for another office and get some more experience.
Undecided voters, it’s your turn. This may sound hard, but remember you are the majority of voters now, so listen very carefully. Vote. Libertarian. 2010. There are enough people now if you are sick of the two major parties, you can vote for a third party, and it can mean something.
One last aside, to all of you elected officials. There’s bi-partisan cooperation, and then theirs you guys. The health care thing shows promise, but as long as you guys keep things like a tug of war between your platforms, it’s no wonder I want to vote for Bob Barr. And if you can’t play nice together like five-year-olds at school, then maybe I won’t be alone.
