Reset: Recognize The People Have Spoken!

It's time to Break It Down!

The results are in; at least the partial results. From California to the Carolinas, and within North Carolina, from Murphy to Manteo, the political landscape reformatted itself as a byproduct of Election 2010.


On January 20, 2008, the Republican Party unofficially became the “Party of No,” with President Obama's Inauguration. Shortly thereafter, the GOP received an ideological boost from the Tea Party Movement. On November 2, 2010, Election Day, the Earth’s axis shifted…Hard Right!

Like most national elections, there will be a few contests in which the outcome will remain unclear, perhaps for days. Still, this much is clear. The U.S. States House of Representatives' Majority Party will change, shifting from Democrat to Republican.

Representative Nancy Pelosi, characterized as the most evil, or at least the most budgetarily insensitive woman in the history of the world, will be stepping down as the Speaker of the House. In all likelihood, she will be replaced by Representative John Boehner, who promises to usher in a new era of fiscal sanity, and social policy restraint, repealing health care reform, and financial reform, while ensuring the wealthiest Americans continue to receive Change…I mean “tax cuts they can believe in.”

Also clear is the fact the U.S. Senate will continue to maintain a Democratic majority for two more years, at least. Representative Pelosi’s evil, or rather, budgetarily insensitive twin, Harry Reid, survived in his bid win re-election to the Senate. There is significant speculation about whether he will retain his position as Senate Majority Leader, however. Working with a smaller majority, and a more conservative Senate, Mr. Reid may not survive a secret ballot vote among his own colleagues. We’ll see.

In North Carolina, the call for change was as irresistible as elsewhere in the nation. Both chambers of the North Carolina Legislature moved into the Red States’ zone. And how odd is that, you may ask? It is the first time since 1898 that Republicans will control the State Senate in The Old North State. That’s one hundred twelve years.

In local elections, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) was not immune, but did prove to be not quite as susceptible to the tsunami of political change. At this hour, it appears Democrats will retain a majority, though by a slimmer margin; in fact, by the slimmest margin possible, 5-4.

So what have we learned from this anti-2008 change in the national, statewide, and local political landscape? As non-committal as it may seem, the answer is, “It’s too early to tell.” Oh one can be certain the spinners are already busy at work telling us what it means. There has been already, a speech by John Boehner to establish his role as House Majority Leader-in-Waiting, a Sarah Palin Tweet, essentially telling President Obama to surrender and relinquish his “transformational” agenda, and the President has scheduled a 1:00 P.M. press conference this afternoon (Wednesday), undoubtedly to reveal his take on where we go from here. Moreover, the Parties will both restructure their leadership, and the GOP and the Tea Party will have to develop a framework for coexisting, while the Democrats will have to now engage the GOP-Tea Party to formulate, vet, and execute a power-sharing model.

Many analysts have concluded the Tea Party movement will arrive on the scene feeling they are there to fight, without compromise, for the issues, that propelled them to prominence, including limited government, lower taxes, repealing health care and financial reform, and ensuring that President Obama is a 1-term President. Some of these same analysts believe relentless adherence to these talking points is a formula for gridlock, and argue mainstream Republicans who have a close affiliation with big business interests will want to be somewhat more flexible, if for no other reason than doing so, might produce more Republican victories, which will put the Party in better stead for the 2012 elections.

Given those parameters, it really is “Too early to tell” what we have learned. There is great deal of intra & inter-Party interplay that must unfold before learning results are evident. So in lieu of having a complete and detailed narrative about the definitive lessons of Election 2010, what appears to be clear, is that after yet another nearly 180 degree pivot, the American system of governance has proved that it is agile, adaptive, and able to absorb abrupt and fundamental change with crises ensuing. At the back end of the most expensive mid term election (nearly $4 billion) in American History, we will observe a contentious, but peaceful transition. We will “Reset: Recognize The People Have Spoken!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/02/election.main/index.html?hpt=T1

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/03/obama.boehner.call/index.html?hpt=Sbin

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/03/nevada.senate/index.html?hpt=Sbin

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/02/zelizer.midterms.partisan.gridlock/index.html?hpt=Sbin

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/03/1807436/gop-gains-in-both-chambers.html

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-live-blog/?hpt=Sbin

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/01/whats-at-stake-in-the-house-and-senate/

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/02/tea.party/index.html

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/02/1807161/gop-gives-democrats-a-tough-time.html

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/02/1807326/gop-poised-to-regain-control-of.html