Election - Day After

Tuesday wasn’t the election most Democrats wanted but it was probably what we needed.  It was a reality check for all concerned.  There are numerous lessons to be gained from the experience and its going to take time to sort them out.  One silver lining in defeat is that, given the right attitude, we learn more from failure than from victory.  It’s human nature.  Success has its lessons but they are too often buried in the celebration.

I have a few observations this morning that I will expand upon in the coming days.  Foremost in my mind is that our Senate candidates in contested states too often ran from their convictions.  Leadership involves articulating one’s beliefs in hopes of providing an understanding for the disinclined.  It is not an easy task but then neither is leadership.  I’m afraid President Obama shares in this failure of leadership.  His voice was needed to forthrightly reiterate where he stands and why he believes his convictions are right for confronting the nation’s challenges.  We make known who we are and why it is we so strongly believe in what it is we do.  This is a responsibility of those seeking our vote.  We stand for something and we have the courage to make it known.

This campaign has been an invaluable experience.  I wonder if I can return to the life I previously knew.

Good Morning Jack

Letter to my Son
Sunday, 2 November

Good Morning Jack…

I’m already thinking of all the things I want to do once this campaign ends Tuesday.  For starts I’m going back to the gym and work off about fifteen added pounds.  Next I will get back to doing all the frivolous and inconsequential activities that make my life worth living.  I will take a vow to stop grabbing junk food and shoving it into my mouth.  Finally I will not watch a lick of news for the next three months.  Yes, the election results are going to be that bad.  About a week ago I decided our best strategy for saving Senate seats was to pray long, hard and often for divine intervention.  With the election two days away that’s still the strategy.  There’s still hope.  It’s the bottom of the ninth.  We’re down two runs, two out with a man on first.  Pinch hitting for the pitcher is an aging star hitting two-ten.  My fingers are crossed.  I’m wearing my rally hat.  I’ve also got one foot in the aisle, ready to dash for the exit and beat the crowd out of the parking area. 

My new rallying cry come Wednesday is “Wait till 2016.  We have them on the run.”

I believe Kay Hagan wins North Carolina.  Jeanne Shaheen should fend off Scott Brown in New Hampshire.  Then it gets dicey.  Michelle Nunn has a bit of a chance in Georgia.  Mark Begich might pull off a surprise in Alaska.  Anything’s possible.  The remainder of Democrat hopes are swept away by a swell of Republicans at the polls.  Good-bye Mark Pryor.  Bon Voyage Mary Landrieu.  There goes Mark Udall and Alyson Grimes.  What was the name of that guy who ran against Joni Ernst in Iowa?  Joni is the name everyone remembers.  She’s a vet and she grew up castrating hogs.  She’s charismatic and one hundred percent Iowan.  Imagine her facing off against Hillary Clinton in two years.   Would it be interesting or too much like Sarah Palin?

It’s an election.  We do this every two years.   We check the nation’s mood.  I think we’re grumpy.  It’s all about the economy.  People can talk about ISIS and Ebola but we’re really thinking about the need for good jobs and a decent pay check.  Families are uncertain about their future.  Politicians don’t get reelected when the best they can do is deliver doubt.  Mark Udall should know that, yet he made his campaign about a woman’s right to choose.  OK, but this is not the burning issue of this election season, especially with Hispanics – a key Democrat constituency in Colorado.  There’s been no movement on immigration and Hispanic voters feel like staying home Tuesday.

Mark Begich says he’s a thorn in the side of Barack Obama.  Anyone believe that?  Yes, he does vote ninety-plus percent of the time with the President.  Alaskans know.  They can read.  Alyson Grimes won’t admit she ever voted for Barack Obama.  That’s understandable.  He’s very unpopular in Kentucky.  Grimes can’t hide the obvious.  She’d probably lose no matter what she said or did.  Running from the President made little difference.  You might as well stand up and be counted.

Speak for what you believe.  We needed a forceful argument for Democrat positions and we were handed fear and drivel.  People needed a lively debate on substantive issues and we got the usual finger-pointing about the other guy.  Whose fault is this – the politicians?  Stop kidding yourself.  Candidates deliver what works with voters.  We are accountable for the behavior of government and our elected officials.  Democracy puts the responsibility of rule in our hands.  It’s in the Constitution, beginning with:  We the People. 

Be informed.  Speak your mind.  Run for office.  Cast your vote.

Love,

          Dad