Political Market Correction

Before the election last week, I told people that a vote for any democrat was a vote for Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House. But many people did not see this part of the big picture. What most people saw was big government, do-nothing republicanism, and decided it was time to clean house. Most people didn’t even know who Pelosi is; they will soon enough.



This election was a political market correction. Republicans were overvalued after having their votes increase in the prior 3 congressional elections. People asked themselves: who are we voting for? There is no difference between the Democans and Republicrats, so we’ll vote for the Democans, and then maybe something will get done.



The Republicans in congress were elected on their conservative principles: smaller government, national security, lower taxes, and less intrusion into our private lives; and what have they done along these lines the last 4 years? They finally passed a border fence act, but that was too little too late. In fact, in some ways they did the opposite.



The federal government has made no recent attempt to reign in spending, which would have resulted in a surplus and another excuse to cut taxes, which would help everybody out. Instead, they used the extra revenue from the tax cuts (I know this is hard concept for some people to understand- please see Reaganomics 101) to spend even MORE of our hard-earned money.



Then they told people where to spend their own money. They told us the only legal form of gambling is to get ripped off by state governments for lotto tickets that have less chance of winning than the Duke football team. As long as the state gets money, and not an evil business man.



Instead of worrying about national security and the economy, their priorities were internet gambling, steroids in baseball, and resolutions patting themselves on the back for being such great congressmen.



It’s no wonder then that many in the 109th congress got fired. They were overrated and overvalued, similar to the current housing market. In the long run, conservative ideals, like real estate, have good investment value and the politicians who wield them will have good re-election (re-sale) value. This election was NOT an indictment against conservatism, but rather a political market correction.



Republicans may have lost in the election, but mainstream conservative ideals did not. Most of the newly elected democrat congressmen were moderates and even conservatives, not unlike the republicans that were in office.



Now we have Democans controlling congress and a Republicrat holding the White House. Most likely, nothing will get done for the next two years. And I ask you: how is that any different from the last two years?



Sometimes the best things happen when the executive and legislative branches are held by different parties. Take Newt Gingrich vs Bill Clinton. Spending had never been cut like it was that year, ending in a surplus that was eventually returned to us by current president Bush.



Look at what Reagan did vs the democratic majority in congress. Those tax cuts resulted in an unprecedented peacetime economic growth that lasted until the end of the century. However, I still predict nothing will get done in this congress because of the lack of strong conservative leadership on either side of the aisle.



Congressmen have to learn that nobody is above getting fired in an election, unless they’re in Massachusettes, where I’m convinced there are nanobots in the water that program people to vote the same two jackasses into the Senate every time.



An unfortunate byproduct of this election was that radical socialist Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the House. So much for being a Speaker for the People. I don’t know anybody that agrees with her Stalinist agenda. And ultra-liberal windbag Harry Reid takes over the senate.



Of great humor is that Pelosi, Reid and other radical leftists in congress believe this is a mandate for a liberal democrat agenda. They couldn’t be farther from the truth. They are already putting the most liberal leftists in control of committees. Don’t worry, this will backfire. People don’t want liberals running the nation. Otherwise President Carter would have been re-elected. Moderates and conservatives, yes. Liberals, no.



Make no mistake about it: conservatism is not dead. Michigan voted NO on affirmative action. Arizona voted that English was the official language and said no to child care money for illegal aliens. Seven states said NO to “same-sex marriage” while Arizona decided that it wasn’t worth changing their state constitution over.



Does this sound like liberalism has taken over? Some people believe that Jim Webb (D-VA) is more conservative than George Allen, who narrowly lost his Senate seat. The democratic party thinks they have taken back America. Correction: Americans have taken back America from the hands of idle politicians.



Was it a referendum against the Iraq war? No, but maybe against the way it is being handled. The only currently pro Iraq/terror war democrat (remember many dems change positions depending on which way the wind blows) is Joe Lieberman. Even though the democrats kicked him to the curb, he came back and won in liberal Connecticut as an independent, against a democrat candidate that was supposed to replace him.



Was it because of the economy? Not unless people prefer a recession like the one Clinton left us in 2000. The economy is as strong as it’s ever been. Unemployment is lower than it’s been since the 80’s. There are a dozen job vacancies in my small company alone. Taxes have been held down. They’re still too high for my taste. Economy could be even better with another tax cut, but that won’t happen until at least January 2009. I’m optimistic.



Keep in mind that the media will never let republicans off the hook for anything; democrats are the only ones entitled to that treatment. A democrat congressman can have homosexual relations with a 16-year-old high school boy and get applauded (see Gerry Studz); however a republican making inappropriate IM comments to an 18-year-old gets outed, and furthermore republican congressmen were told they should all resign for this.



A democrat senator can be a former grand master of the KKK (see Robert KKK Byrd) and get re-elected for life; however a republican senator accused by one person of saying “the N word” 30 years ago must never be re-elected.



A democrat senator can leave a woman to drown after driving her off a bridge in a drunken stupor (see Ted Kennedy) and get re-elected the rest of his life; however, I can’t think of any republican senator as dumb as that so I’m failing to draw a comparison.



There is an unquestionable double standard in the media: one side gets a pass, the other gets nothing but scrutiny. So, republicans have to run a tight ship and do what they say, or they’re out of there. That’s just how it works. This should help republicans produce better quality candidates. On the other hand, most high quality men and women don’t want to put their families through such scrutiny.



A market correction every now and again is a good thing. It keeps us from overvaluing politicians that aren’t really doing what they were elected for, and instead just idling, content to maintain their majority. None are exempt from getting fired, except in Massachusetts. See Tom Daschle, former senate majority leader. Never underestimate the power of the voting American people.



One last note: don’t worry about democrats surrendering in the Iraq War. A congressional majority does not mean they take over the role of Commander in Chief. Rumsfeld was simply a fall guy for the general malaise over the war.



Conservatism always wins, and always will. The liberal media could not prevent their arch-enemy president Reagan from winning two landslide elections, and they will not prevent the elections of real conservatives in the future. Keep the faith, broken hearted.



Doug Cooke

Political Analyst



A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them.

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. - P.J. O'Rourke
 

(This is NOT the same as my editorial for the Washington Times)