It’s over! What do we do now? The election permeated most of our everyday lives and left in its wake the ability to compare and analyze only incremental differences to that of 2008 presidential and 2010 congressional. Those incremental differences speak volumes when it comes to the future of politics and probably the Republican Party. How much of an influence were the far left and far right fringes that seemed to control politics up through November 6, 2012?
Well, let me put it this way. I have been called every name in the book up to now for simply providing facts with which readers could form conclusions. However, it became obviously clear that “fringers” would read articles having already pigeonholed the writer and interpreted the content through one of two lenses making it impossible for them to be objective. How serious was this phenomenon? In one article I took sections of each campaign platform word for word with a few minimal sentences to lead in and explain each only to see comments on blogs at the end calling the writer biased or a “kool aid drinking partisan pen man;” humorous to say the least.
Alliteration aside, what was the lasting impact and what do we do moving forward now without talking heads out there on cable news making a mockery of our electoral process? Well… nothing. The results were clear. Not loud, but clear enough to have each politician in Washington praising each other on “hard won victories,” regardless of party affiliation. Yes, you read that correctly. What do they know that we don’t?
Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner wishing the President luck and saying he looks forward to working together. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer publicly praising Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. The President praising John Boehner and saying in relation to some of his own legislative proposals, “I am not married to all of my ideas, I am looking forward to compromising and hearing what members of congress have to say.” This was pleasing to many voters on both sides so it’s too bad it took place after the election.
However, before the election President Obama benefited from a bump in the polls when he and New Jersey’s Republican Governor Chris Christie put the politics aside, with only 72 hours to go before the polls opened on Election Day, working together to administer the relief efforts from hurricane/super storm Sandy. Making the media rounds together, praising each other on television together, need I go on? Chris Christie may have become more popular among Democrats that week and support dwindled among Republicans, some of whom called for him to recommit for Romney after the disgusting display of, umm, real good public service.
So with these displays of rhetoric going on directly before and right after the election one could easily chock this up to the usual feel good lies that we all want to hear while we secretly chide for the negative ads ripping up the other side’s candidates. One gets the sense though that something is different this time. What do these elected officials know that we don’t? It’s like they have been scared straight. Is it the looming “fiscal cliff” a term th
