Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Elections: Echidne's Assessment



Here it goes: The Republicans won the House. What does this mean? According to Boehner:

"Our new majority will be prepared to do things differently," Boehner told supporters at a Washington hotel. "It starts with cutting spending instead of increasing it, reducing the size of government instead of increasing it, and reforming the way Congress works."
Contrast this with how the linked article begins:

Two years after Obama won the White House, voter anxiety about the struggling economy and discontent with his leadership fueled big Republican gains that toppled Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from power and ushered in a new era of divided government.
So "anxiety about the struggling economy" will result in more tax cuts to the super-rich, more cuts in education and public services, less unemployment compensation and more unregulated markets (such as the financial markets).

That, my friends, just might give the struggling economy the final knife thrust in the throat. But whatever rocks your boat.

I understand about midterm elections as a protest vote. Too bad that the only alternative for protesting now are the very people who got us into this shit in the first place. Or the mad hatters of the Tea Party.

And who knows? Perhaps the economy will rise up on its own, first on its knees and then on its feet. It's possible, though not terribly likely. Boehner's prescription makes it much less likely. What is more likely is gridlock.

I had an odd vision today while watching several election shows at the same time, the sound turned off.

I suddenly imagined myself as one of those white guys on television, opining about the election results, and I realized why it's only a game for them. In my vision I sat there! One of them! Spreading my legs slightly to give space for you-know-what, widening my shoulders and taking more space. I'd move my lips, people would listen and my bank balance would grow and grow!

It was fun. I also realized that this bearded Echidne had nothing to fear from any of the possible election consequences, nothing! No wonder those guys take all this as yet another football game. It's not real for them.