The Faces Have Changed But Will The Game?

Finally, the mid-term madness is over!  At least the balloting is finished. Now we await the results and I don't mean who won or lost.  It's how the game will be played under new majorities and leadership.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised with Mitch McConnell's press conference this morning.  He seemed to be a calm voice of reason.  If I've judged his leadership abilities too harshly, however, remains to be seen.

By in large I'm happy with the results - except in my home state.  More on this later.  I liked the fact that the new faces are a relatively young lot.  Perhaps with a calming and experienced hand at the helm progress on a variety of fronts will be made. Perhaps too he will be able to hold the boisterous rebels at bay.

A lot will depend on whether or not the President has an epiphany. I'm not betting on it.  It goes against his nature.  Perhaps, though, the remaining Democrats, as well as certain Republicans, will realize the folly of marching in lockstep with any agenda.  One can hope.

What is discouraging are my home state results.  Idaho is one of the most red states in the nation.  It is claimed if you paint an R on a rock it will get itself elected.  Well, Idaho painted an R on a lot of rocks this go round and sure enough they got elected.  I expect we shall remain near the bottom in just about everything. This is how dysfunction at the national level begins. Cream rises to the top. Even if it's sour it's deemed something special and like dysfunctional schools where children are passed through because it's easier than educating them, we pass our politicians ever upward.

Why is that?  You'd think we'd learn.  Those of us who do are left to suffer the results of those who don't because for some reason they win more elections than we do. If it's because we're too contemptuous to vote than we deserve what we get. The irony is staggering.

It will be a few days before the dust has settled and we get back to what's left of this year.  There is limited time left to get much of anything resolved.  Perhaps that's a good thing.

The cycle begins anew.  Those looking to 2016 will ramp up.  A couple of new faces for the Republicans are beginning to emerge thanks to their victories.  It has also been shown that the Clintons are a force to be reckoned with in not much more than their own minds. For that I am thankful.