The End Of The World As We Know It

Okay, so I hyped it a bit. :-)

'Tis the season.

In case anyone is unaware (e.g., they've been away in an alternate reality, they're in a coma, etc.), Americans vote next Tuesday. (Actually, I believe Americans vote every day, but that's another issue for another day.)

Democrats are going to take a thumping. The party holding the presidency almost always takes a thumping in the mid-terms, but this might be an exceptional thumping.

The Mother of All Thumpings.

But, never fear.

Democratic pundits have all the bases covered.

If the Dems retain control of both houses, that will be good for Obama.

If the Dems lose the House but retain the Senate, that will be better for Obama.

If the Dems lose both the House and the Senate, that will be the best for Obama.

Following the trajectory, one could only presume that if Obama figured out how to lose both houses of Congress and the presidency in this off-year election, he'd be in the strongest of all possible positions to advance his agenda.

So, we're covered.

In fact, one can only hope that Democratic strategist have a "disaster recovery" plan in case, by some dreadful mishap, Democrats retain control of both houses.

I hope everyone votes. [Even my reptilian-brain-washed Republican friends and family. :-]

I myself am voting a straight Democratic ticket on principle (sorry, Charlie Dent, R - PA 15th but you'll probably win anyway :-) : a Republican Party far more right-wing and obstructionist than this Republican can tolerate may take control of one or both houses BUT NOT WITH MY CONSENT AND NOT BY MY NEGLECT.

Afghans and Iraqis vote in far more troubling governmental situations than our own and at risk to their life.

And patriots since the American Revolution have died to secure the vote for us.

So I'm voting. And that's that.

But, after electoral Armageddon we're going to wake up in the morning and find out that with this particular Armageddon, unlike the real thing, the sun will come up the next day.

So what then?

I will venture my predictions which are more long term (say, 5 – 10 years) rather than short term.

First, politically, no matter who wins the mid-terms, no matter who wins the presidency in 2012, unless pragmatic, non-ideological, centrist Democrats and Republicans start rejecting the extremists in their parties and begin working together, our national political scene will remain gridlocked. (Or a similarly minded third party of the so-called "radical center" will develop.)

Democrats will hate the gridlock as it blocks what they're trying to get done and Republicans will love it because they don't want what Democrats want to get done to get done. In fact, they don't want anything to get done. As Senator Mitch McConnell put it, The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.

So do not look to Congressional Republicans for leadership. Their legislative agenda is getting rid of Obama.

Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that there are vital issues that need to be addressed: employment, the deficit (which means dealing with taxes and entitlements), education (which is Greek for "future employment"), immigration (ditto), energy policy, and climate change. And that's not even considering foreign policy issues.

Hope is not a policy. Neither is "No!"

So look for the adults, the centrists from both parties.

Next prediction?

Don't look for the centrists in Washington, DC. (They are there but, for the reasons described above, will probably be pretty helpless at getting "those crazy kids" on both sides of the aisle to listen to reason.)

Look for them at the state and local level.

At that level of government, generally speaking, you can't run deficits and you can't just print more money – you have to make things work in the real world or the real world wastes no time taking a great big bite out of your butt.

Also, particularly at the local level, the people running government for a community also live there. And they are known by their neighbors. And their kids go to the local schools, etc.

So making things work at the local level is not just their job, it's their life and the lives of their families.

Combine these two predictions and you have a local model of political action: the big problems are not going to be addressed at the national level and, most of us not being huge corporations or very rich people who can write big checks, we don't have many levers to pull (other than the one on Election Day) to hold them accountable.

The best thing we can do to help such surviving adults in congress is to give them local, hopefully scalable approaches to such national problems as employment, energy, education, the environment, etc.

That is, WE NEED TO BE THE LEADERS WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR in our own neighborhoods and towns and hope that our government learns to follow our lead. (And they will, once local leadership is sufficiently empowered to let their local congressmen know that the game is up and that all the corporate money in the world will not save them.)

So, two pieces of advice for my fellow left-leaning friends.

First, vote! (People who would have you believe that not voting actually accomplishes something are far more self-deceived than voters will ever be.)

Second, if the Republicans take one or both houses of congress, don't jump off a bridge! :-)

There are more attractive (and useful) options at our disposal.