The Midterm Elections Don't Reflect That Poorly on the Democrats
I am a student of the political process. I was a Political Science major in college who could not be involved in politics due to a city job. I am aware of the importance of political participation by our citizens and I work hard in my ward to stay involved and to get my neighbors involved. I barely had a chance to gloat in a Tom Wolf victory for Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania before I had to study the impact of the Republicans regaining control of the Senate. This supposedly portends bad tidings for President Obama and doom and gloom for Democrats.
The recent gains by the Republican party call to mind the advances made during 1994. Can anyone remember the bluster with which Newt Gingrich proposed and marketed the Contract with America at the time. This Contract occurred during the first term of the Clinton Administration. It seems like anytime there is a President that has social issues and equality at the top of the agenda that an inevitable conservative backlash has to occur. In 1994 the Republicans gained 54 House and 9 U.S. Senate seats. In 2014, the Republicans have gained a 52 - 44 majority in seats in the Senate. Is this a mandate for sweeping changes to President Obama's legislative achievements? Many Republicans are secretly hoping so. We still have to address the issue of ISIS, Afghanistan and global warming. Can we do this with bipartisan cooperation.
One of the hot button issues is Immigration. The Republicans propose a tougher stand on illegal immigrants than the current Administration would like to enforce. The President has vowed to take unilateral action on immigration reform and this is pissing off John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to the nth degree. The Republicans have been stalling on instituting real election reform for the last two years. They seem to think that their recent gains present a mandate for them to take action in spite of the President's Executive and veto powers. The government shutdown is still fresh in many of our memories and it accomplished nothing but the short sighted effort to circumvent the Affordable Health Care Act. Ted Cruz, where are you now?
The looming specter of the power of the Latino vote is going to temper the Republican reaction to President Obama's attempt to move forward with reform in this area. There are over 5 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States now. There are Hispanic Republicans who know the power of appeasing the families of these immigrants. I sometimes wonder at how our borders got so porous. I try to think of going to another country and demanding rights and I can count on one finger the countries that would accept me: Canada. We had protesters recently right across the street from the White House. How bold can someone be if the threat of deportation cannot suppress their desire to become citizens? I await the outcome of this upcoming fight.
Many eyes will now be on the 2016 Presidential race and elections. Newt Gingrich and his major reforms have long since fizzled. The desire to shrink government did not dent the growth of the legislature of government spending. I was acutely aware of the number of people dependent on NIH studies when the government shut down. We are all dependent on the federal government. Sometimes the Republicans make it seem like only poor people need Uncle Sam. Mitch McConnell, you are now in the spotlight. John Boehner could not stop the locomotive called Ted Cruz when it came to responsible governing. Can you create bipartisan cooperation with a sitting Democratic President. The American citizens await the outcomes of this mandate against the President and for whatever principles the Republicans want to implement.
The recent gains by the Republican party call to mind the advances made during 1994. Can anyone remember the bluster with which Newt Gingrich proposed and marketed the Contract with America at the time. This Contract occurred during the first term of the Clinton Administration. It seems like anytime there is a President that has social issues and equality at the top of the agenda that an inevitable conservative backlash has to occur. In 1994 the Republicans gained 54 House and 9 U.S. Senate seats. In 2014, the Republicans have gained a 52 - 44 majority in seats in the Senate. Is this a mandate for sweeping changes to President Obama's legislative achievements? Many Republicans are secretly hoping so. We still have to address the issue of ISIS, Afghanistan and global warming. Can we do this with bipartisan cooperation.
One of the hot button issues is Immigration. The Republicans propose a tougher stand on illegal immigrants than the current Administration would like to enforce. The President has vowed to take unilateral action on immigration reform and this is pissing off John Boehner and Mitch McConnell to the nth degree. The Republicans have been stalling on instituting real election reform for the last two years. They seem to think that their recent gains present a mandate for them to take action in spite of the President's Executive and veto powers. The government shutdown is still fresh in many of our memories and it accomplished nothing but the short sighted effort to circumvent the Affordable Health Care Act. Ted Cruz, where are you now?
The looming specter of the power of the Latino vote is going to temper the Republican reaction to President Obama's attempt to move forward with reform in this area. There are over 5 million illegal immigrants living and working in the United States now. There are Hispanic Republicans who know the power of appeasing the families of these immigrants. I sometimes wonder at how our borders got so porous. I try to think of going to another country and demanding rights and I can count on one finger the countries that would accept me: Canada. We had protesters recently right across the street from the White House. How bold can someone be if the threat of deportation cannot suppress their desire to become citizens? I await the outcome of this upcoming fight.
Many eyes will now be on the 2016 Presidential race and elections. Newt Gingrich and his major reforms have long since fizzled. The desire to shrink government did not dent the growth of the legislature of government spending. I was acutely aware of the number of people dependent on NIH studies when the government shut down. We are all dependent on the federal government. Sometimes the Republicans make it seem like only poor people need Uncle Sam. Mitch McConnell, you are now in the spotlight. John Boehner could not stop the locomotive called Ted Cruz when it came to responsible governing. Can you create bipartisan cooperation with a sitting Democratic President. The American citizens await the outcomes of this mandate against the President and for whatever principles the Republicans want to implement.
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