This is second edit of my column about the November election because I was urged to reconsider my original column. My first was filled with bitter feelings toward the Republicans and disappointment with the voters. I’ve still got these feelings, but perhaps these pages aren’t the place to put them.
On Nov. 2, I crawled out from beneath the election rubble with a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, hope wasn’t enough. So, prepare yourself, the Republican Party has gained control in the House. We may be damaged and rattled, but damn it, we’ve got to press on.
The Democrats fought a hard fight, but couldn’t defeat the Republican voters.
At the state level, I suppose the fall of the Democrats in Indiana kicked off during the last presidential election. Even though President Obama carried Indiana — the first time a Democrat did so since the Kennedy era — he won by a microscopic margin. His win of less than 1 percent was clenched by winning 14 critical counties, leaving the other 92 to vote for the crazy train of McCain and Palin.
This election, for the first time in a long time, Clark County elected Republicans to serve in general office. David Reinhardt, a local business owner, will be the next treasurer and Monty Snelling, a former Jeffersonville city councilman, will be the next auditor.
So, what are the Republicans going to do for us? Only time will tell. You’ll likely hear GOP supporters talk about implementing the Bush tax cuts. According to a recent report by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the Bush tax cuts would ultimately cost us more than $650 billion dollars in the next 10 years.
When the new congressional sessions kick off in a few months, Republicans are going to have a hell of a time keeping all their financial promises while maintaining a stronghold on unemployment. The newly elected GOP members will be faced with the difficult dilemma of either increasing the stimulus – upsetting every silly Tea Party member out there — or reducing the stimulus, which will inevitably raise unemployment.
I can tell you one thing the GOP won’t be able to do — repeal healthcare reform. As unwilling to compromise as the GOP may be, they simply won’t be able to get past the Democratic Senate or, more importantly, the power of the presidential veto. The fact that a political party pushes forward an agenda that will leave out healthcare to those in need still seems ludicrous me.
So, the election rattled the Democrats, but we’ll pick up the pieces and carry on. The optimism and hope that swept the country during the ’08 elections is still among us. We’ll figure out how to harness the energy, and we’ll be back.
By MATT CHINN
Website Editor
mchinn@imail.iu.edu