November 3, 2010 It happens every election cycle. In general everyone sees the writing on the wall, the nay-sayers try to refute a preponderance of the evidence, those with positive political momentum await results, cautiously optimistic and some celebrate prematurely only to find themselves forced to swallow the bitter pill of defeat. Brace yourself, I’ve been biting my tongue for some time, so the following is my analysis of events and things to come. Where do you fit on this spectrum? If you’re a California Republican, it wouldn’t be a shocker to find yourself everywhere at once. Americans across the nation voted yesterday with their wallets in mind with bitter resentment towards an arrogant administration that has been increasingly intrusive in their daily lives. Our huge gains yesterday initially tasted sweet until we faced our own election results here at home in the Sunshine State, soon to be Governed…by Moonbeam and a not so delightful cast of characters. We celebrated a Cooley victory for Attorney General only later to find the results indeterminate for the time being. For me it felt like being in a war, cheering on the resistance at the dawn of victory only to simultaneously get your house bombed. We won, but our own home is no longer secure. Here’s what I make of it, let’s start with the positives: We won the house back. This alone stops what had amounted to a non-stop barrage of liberal laden legislation that was systematically undermining our domestic sovereignty and liberty in the name of equality of results. The Obama administration, on Bush’s coattails was simultaneously spending money it didn’t have while telling American citizens to be responsible with their checkbooks. For the most part, that’s over with but keep your eye on discretionary spending, it’s not likely to slow down anytime soon. Obamacare isn’t going away either but once we have at it, it will scarcely resemble the beast it was when it was first given birth. So the gravy train has been decommissioned and healthcare is on the chopping block about to undergo some plastic surgery…this is where the more evenly divided Senate comes in. I am hopeful that our Republican brand is absolutely united on these two issues and the Democrats in the Senate, save for a few smarmy liberal holdouts, will be eager to join Republican leaders for true bipartisan reform, not Barack Obama’s version of it. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. On our end, there has been absolutely no response by Congress and the administration whatsoever to curtail the unethical atmosphere and practices that led us down the path to our current nightmare of an economy and record unemployment. We will need to work with Democrats now while we have the chance to responsibly find a solution to this dilemma. We can be the leaders on this or followers but it needs to be addressed. This is one of the main grievances the demographic of independent Americans that swept Democrats in, hold against the Obama Administration and Congress. While the rest of the nation went crimson, for the most part California embraced Obama and elected a retread Governor and a horde of Statewide liberals. We actually picked up a congressional seat in California (Vidak) but lost a state legislative seat (Pan). What’s a California Republican to do…? It took me a good 24 hours to get over the heartbreak, now that it’s over, there’s work to be done. Firstly, there’s no excuses for squandering almost $200,000,000, the most spent on a non-presidential campaign in history and losing, all the while preaching fiscal restraint. While Whitman herself ought to be commended for the assistance she personally devoted to the down ticket races, there were other issues as well. There was fleeing from reporters, convoluted and complex positions straddling a myriad of red meat issues, and the housekeeper that sunk the titanic. The unfortunately over-managed Whitman had too many chiefs and not enough Indians, and many of them were absolutely foolish. Following a bitter primary instead of embracing the opposition and building a unified GOP force, specific Whitman staffers attempted to blacklist primary foes from getting work, then proceeded to get into a Hatfield’s vs. the McCoy’s style feud with the CRA. Wedging potentially willing conservative allies into a corner and purposely creating enemies. They believed they wielded a shield of cash that would pave their way to victory and that this would make them untouchable. Following a somewhat chaotic CRP convention they waved a white flag and got engaged into a distrustful marriage of convenience. This was a band-aid but clearly not a cure. They thought they could keep her away from the press then purchase and market their own. Combine this with one of the worst GOTV programs ever, with the exception of isolated pockets of activity, most offices remained dormant throughout the campaign. This plan didn’t pan out so well. Let’s never do that again. Let’s remain committed to work together for the benefit of our state and our Conservative cause. If you lose get over it, quickly. If you win, be the first to welcome the best and brightest of the previous opposition over to your side, it’s actually a real good idea. You’ll notice with the exception of Cooley, still too close to call at the moment, all statewide GOP candidates lost by the same margin. Upset temperamental democrats statewide and you will force them to vote party line. Most reasonable California Democrats not “Liberals” love our fiscal restraint and embrace of liberty it’s the social issues that bother them. This time they would have been willing to forgo the social for the sake of their bank accounts if we delivered sincerity, and we didn’t here at the top of the ticket. I understand that we did have our work cut out for us. I witnessed firsthand devious slant journalism aimed at undermining anyone with an (R) by their name. I am also aware of the Unionista Mob that hires temps to charade nonstop protests. However, the truth is the truth so let’s learn from it and move on. I am not looking forward to the damage that might be inflicted upon our state by a Democrat Governor, legislature and simple majority budget but now it’s all theirs along with the responsibility which they will attempt to shirk. Hopefully we’re ready to pounce next time. 2012 is right around the corner and we will be hearing about it as early as next summer so be prepared and be vigilant. This will be unlike any election cycle you have ever experienced. We will have districts redrawn, both the state legislature (prop 11) and congressional (prop 20) will be drawn by a “non-partisan” panel of private citizen partisans and others, it’s very complicated and if I tried to explain it, I wouldn’t be doing it justice. Just know that everyone is seeing it as a crapshoot. It could make districts more competitive or not, who’s to say? Next there’s prop 14, which makes all statewide races “non-partisan”, but believe me when I say you haven’t seen partisan until you’ve seen money spent on a non-partisan race. L.A. is a perfect example, Republican is used as a smear on candidates seeking council or supervisorial seats, they just can’t say so on the ballot. I have heard it said that California will no longer get any attention save for candidates seeking an ATM for their respective campaigns…hogwash! Never say never and don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched. Modern technology has made politics incredibly volatile and dynamic. It will serve us well to take a step back and look at the big picture once in a while. In Parting, take pleasure in the House sweep, we deserve it. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and above all else…Stay thirsty my friends. Once you understand the nature of microcosmic and macro-cosmic cycles, it’s no big deal. Nathan A. Miller, President Riverside County Young Republicans Add Comment | EditorNathan A. Miller ArchivesMarch 2011 CategoriesAll |
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