Messages From America

November 28th, 2006 at 12:14am B Jon Traylor 199

Is it all 'much ado about nothing', is it history repeating itself, again, or is there an air of climate change in America?  The mid-term elections of 2006 at least have sent three resounding messages.

Voters want a change.  I think the citizens of our country want a government that will listen to them and act on contituent wishes instead of the usual partisan politics.

Voters sent a message to our government that the Right vs. Left, Conservative vs. Liberal stereotypes are not legitimate concerns of average working Americans.  I've personally said a thousand times in radio and print that the aforementioned battles are not important.  What is important and necessary is simply doing the right thing -- vs. doing the wrong thing.  Let us throw "political correctness" out the window.  Let us throw partisan politics out, and let us simply implore some basic common sense and do the damn'd right thing!

Thirdly, I think voters have indicated their intolerance regarding the direction our present President and his Administration have led us.  Sure, this has a great deal to do with our failed war effort in Iraq.  But this dissatisfaction envelops much more... i.e... oil prices, our energy policy (or lack thereof), record budget deficits, illegal immigration, tax cuts that have proved unfair to the working and middle class, seriously increasing trade deficits with what used to be fair trade partners in the world, etc., etc.  The list could go on an on.

Whatever happened to our incredibly idealistically, yet real, government that was 'of the people, by the people, and for the people'???   Perhaps this most recent election is an indication of the lack thereof.  Will one election change everything?  No, obviously not.  Will several elections supplanting and providing for even more radical makeovers in the House and Senate help?  Yes, honestly, I think it will take several elections for the powers at be to finally 'get it.'

As an eternal optimist, yes, I truly believe we are at what could be a very exciting, yet difficult, crossroads here in American history.  Why?  Because after WWII, our society has become rather dumb-downed to what is really happening in Washington.  Washington grew... and grew, and grew and grew.  Society grew and grew.  Technology exploded.  The cost of living and (sorry, but trade deficits) and inflation and interest rates and much more began to withdraw us from the coffee shops and town hall meetings and caused us to be slaves to the most incredible free enterprise economy in the history of the world -- a system that will eventually bankrupt us, at least those of us without solid financial planners.  (But that's another column.)

I'll be honest, I have so many columns floating around in my head, I find it hard to stick to one or two points here.  So, lets try to summarize this:

I voted a split ticket, as usual.  Yet, I'll admit that this election I leaned more Democratic than Republican.  I voted for the person I felt truly represented what I felt was right. (How many hard working, blue collar, middle class Americans even know what the candidates stand for?... you have any idea how much research and study and reading it takes for someone like me to truly go to the polls as an informed, unbiased voting citizen?).  Okay, sorry, but folks, this ol' country boy didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday.  Yet, I just nailed down the problem... and the two major political parties and the campaign managers within their parties feed off of what I just explained as a realistic situation amongst voters. (And yes, thats a separate column.)

Yes, I voted for change.  Some of them were Democrats, some of them were Republican.  More importantly, I voted for the principals I thought were right, particularly in Washington.  I didn't vote to change things in Washington because I love the Democrats.  I voted the way I did because the present administration refused to effectively address the most pressing of numerous problems facing our great country -- all this, after six years of unbridled control in both the Senate and House.

Even the best of horses will eventually get tired of using the same ol' bit and want a new bridle, a new bit, and a change.

-- B. Jon Traylor

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