I don't pretend to be a political pundit or to have my finger on the pulse of the electorate. There are plenty of bloggers who will do that and give in depth analysis. Instead, I will simply point out a couple of things yesterday's elections mean to me.
As you've probably read, Republicans won big in many elections, especially in SC. We elected the first ever female governor, a lady of Indian descent (born in SC to Indian parents). We also elected our first African-American Republican Representative, Tim Scott. He's not a representative to my district, but I've seen some very good things about him. For SC to elect these two is very progressive for a state that isn't known for it's progressiveness. We also elected a real conservative Representative (Trey Gowdy) in my district to replace a pseudo-conservative Representative (Bob Inglis).
We passed four amendments in SC, guaranteeing a right for hunting and fishing, a right to a secret ballot in union elections and helping fiscal soundness.
I've already seen reports of voter intimidation and expect we'll see more. These incidents should be dealt with quickly and (if accurate) severely. I would hope that candidates on both (or all) sides will come down hard on these people.
Am I celebrating this morning? Hardly. We still have an economic mess in this nation and it's not going to be over soon. We still have a social mess with the Federal Government trying to get into too many parts of my life and that won't end soon. Our nation is still at risk from terrorists and I see people and politicians willing to close their eyes to avoid looking at it. And we have an abundance of politicians who claim to be leaders that have serious moral issues and personal baggage.
So I guess I'm troubled. Happy that the results went the way I wanted, but nervous that it won't make a difference. Or at least enough of a difference.
3 comments:
Nice overview, Randy.
My view on incumbents is that if it was as easy to create jobs and improve the economy as some seem to think it is, no one would ever get kicked out of office because they would be able to take care of those issues.
Check out the link below for why a 40-something no longer votes:
http://www.reelviews.net/reelthoughts.php?identifier=651
Interesting commentary. I don't agree with him, but respect his right to feel that way. Actually, I sometimes agree with him, but I'm still voting.
As for creating jobs, politicians need to realize that BUSINESS creates jobs, not the guvmint. They need to get out of the way of business. I have a sneaky suspicion that there's little any politician can do to fix the economy, but a lot they can do to screw it up. But then I'm an optimist.
Thanks for the comments.
A few words here: 1) Soverignty of God. If we don't all realize that he is running the show and EVERYTHING is under His control, we are missing the big picture. Our hope is not in who governs us...our hope is in God alone. 2) The United States is set up to run in such a way that nothing changes too quickly, especially government. It is designed to be slow change. First chief justice John Jay, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others wrote about that process. 3) I'll vote because I have a right to vote. It is a precious commodity. It allows my voice to be heard. One thing I came to understand in this election was the power of protest. In one instance, I voted for a particular candidate not because I necessarily supported that person, but because I was against their opponent. It's still a valid reason for voting, in my opinion.
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