Tuesday, November 02, 2010

The Obama Agenda Is Dead

In 2007, Nancy Pelosi received the gavel from Rep. John Boehner. Now, turnabout is fair play. She will relinquish that gavel back to Boehner as the GOP becomes the majority party in the House of Representatives.

Boehner's speech upon his successful re-election and the realization that the GOP was having a very good night, was emotional and humble in tone. He noted that the victory was not one for the GOP but one for a change in direction from the current agenda. He pledged to not retreat from promises to abide by the will of the people.

The Obama agenda is dead. For the last two years of Obama's current term as President, if Obama chooses not to work with Republicans as he has up until now, then absolutely nothing will move forward. It's his choice. He can take the example of Bill Clinton to heart as Clinton moderated his liberal agenda after the Republican Revolution of 1994, or he can forge on and continue to shut out Republicans and accomplish nothing for a legacy other than wildly unpopular legislation already signed into law.

All of the states that enjoyed attention from the President and Vice-President, even Michelle Obama, except for California, have seen big GOP gains. Obama's agenda and performance have received a harsh referendum. Americans are not satisfied with Obama's agenda.

Republicans appear to have heard the message. If not, they will be voted out in 2012. It's as simple as that. Now, with a big majority in the House of Representatives and a healthy gain of seats in the Senate, Republicans will now have a seat at the table. President Obama and Democratic leadership can no longer ignore the GOP. It is now up to Republicans to prove that they will not compromise or play along with anything but a conservative agenda.

Since WWII, two big pick up elections for the GOP were in 1946 - 56 seats and in 1994 - 52 seats. When all of the ballots are counted, the GOP may pick up 60 seats this time in the House and 7 or 8 in the Senate. Also sweetening the night was all the GOP victories for Governorships. GOP wins in PA and OH, in particular, will be very important in the 2012 Presidential election.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Best I've felt in two years! Great post, K.