Thoughts from the Day After…

I was at work today and people there a good number of people were treating me as though a relative had died. They’d come up to my cubicle, put their hand on my shoulder and offer their condolences on the defeats suffered by the GOP in yesterday’s mid-term elections. Sure, some people came by to gloat and others came by to commiserate.
I think everyone was surprised, though, when I they found me in my cube in an upbeat and positive state.
The GOP may have lost yesterday’s elections–and while it is disappointing–but it is not the end of the world.
OK…so…the Democrats have a majority in the Senate now. I get it. They still don’t have 60% to stop a filibuster, nor do they have the 66% necessary to overturn a Presidential veto. (Not strictly along party lines, anyway.)
We also have the added bonus of the Dems trotting out Senator Voldemort and (presumed) Speaker of the House Pelosi in front of the cameras for comment. Think of this…two full years of Voldy and Nancy opening their yaps and saying the first stupid thing that comes out.
Besides, the Kossacks and the Moonbats thought they were watchdogs? Not only does the conservative blogosphere have more of an impact than those clowns, but we’re also organized far better. We don’t need to have a “yearly” meeting in Las Vegas to organize our members. The Democrats may have taken over the simple majorities in both houses of Congress, but now they’ve got to deal with us watching them.
And we will watch…for the next two years and even longer if that’s what it takes.
I’ve heard people suggest that the results of this election are a referendum on one thing: Iraq. Well, if that were true, then why wasn’t every Republican defeated yesterday? If this were truly a referendum on Iraq, then why were some of the biggest supporters of the Iraq war re-elected yesterday? Why didn’t Joe Lieberman lose last night? He was singled out by the Kossacks because of his position on the war and he kicked some Netroot Candidate butt.
(The Kossacks are going to try and take credit for this but, the fact is, every candidate they’ve ever put up or has been trounced…big time. Ned Lamont is just the latest.)
I’ve heard some people suggest that the Conservative vote didn’t show up and that voters were to blame–and that’s the biggest load of bull I’ve ever heard. The outcome of the election is never the fault of the voter; it’s the voice of the voter.
The fact is that the Democrats won because the GOP practically gave it to them. The Conservatives didn’t show—but the ones I’m talking about are the Conservatives in Washington, DC. Republicans lost this election because they abandoned the principles of Conservatism. (In fact, Democrats gained many seats by passing themselves off as moderate, conservative or anything other than liberal–just as Bill Clinton did in 1992.) It’s the same reason why George H.W. Bush lost in 1992 and it’s the same reason why the GOP lost both houses yesterday.
We can take it back. It’s not impossible. It’s going to take some time and a lot of hard work, but it can be done. It will be done. It means electing people who are really Conservatives and not just Republican. The 2008 Presidential campaign starts today and there’s not a moment to lose.
Our offense was on the field a mighty long time, friends. It’s time for our defense to step up and get the ball back.
William Smith
ConservativeBlogger.com