The Political Tsunami

After the recent election the Republicans started speaking of the tsunami they started and how they are rushing in to "take Washington back". I agree a tsunami was started - but I don't believe it is like they think.

Just as the water gets drawn out into the ocean before the big wave comes crashing in, I think a few Independents leaned a bit more right of center and voted for Republican candidates in this last election. But most of the races were fairly close despite the generally accepted fact that Democrats don't vote in mid-term elections in the quantities they do in Presidential elections. The Tea Party movement was the quake that started the tsunami and Independents may have sucked a few votes from the Democratic candidates, but the big wave is just being formed. There are several factors building the wave as I see it and here are just a few:

• The Democrats will vote in the next election - in similar numbers as in 2008. Contrary to what the GOP would like us to believe - we still like this President a lot and believe he is doing a good job.
• Those of us who were seriously disappointed at the recent compromise on the Bush era tax cuts (and other similar compromises) do not blame the President - but we are hopping mad at the Republicans for leaving him little choice by holding the jobless Americans and 9/11 first responders hostage. Independent voters were watching.
  
• If current politics continue over the next 2 years - Independent voters will begin to get turned off by the "Party of No". They are very fickle voters - they will move back left.
• The Tea Party candidates that were recently voted in are big on noise and small on content. They couldn't say exactly what they would do to fix the problems they were against - except to block the things the Dems were trying to accomplish. They complained a lot but had no alternatives. They still don't.
• People are really starting to take notice - as I have - of the bitter comments and selfish proposals that show the Republicans have no compassion for those less fortunate. They want to keep their money and don't care if other people are jobless, homeless, sick or without insurance.
• Probably the biggest force in this massive wave is the fact that the Democratic policies are working. We stopped a pending depression from occurring and the economy is beginning to recover. Progress is being made on nearly every front. These are positive and measurable gains that should be easy to demonstrate during the election. New roads, new bridges, new health care reform, old jobs saved, new jobs gained, less discrimination, Wall Street reform, etc. etc. - these are big accomplishments and actions speak louder than words.
  
• While many of the above programs are expensive and have necessarily added to the national debt, the Republicans can't use that against us since they chose to add much more to the national debt with their tax cut extensions. It was irresponsible of them and it shows they don't really care about the national debt at all. That is very counter to what the Tea Party supposedly stands for - and what the Independent voters fell for.

Now I'll admit - I often daydream while watching the waves in the ocean and this might be just wishful thinking on my part. Plus, I've been wrong before - I honestly didn't think the last election would be quite as successful for the GOP as it was. Still, I feel in my gut that 2012 will be a big shock for the GOP. It is impossible to tell and many things can change in the next 2 years on either side. So this article is merely a prediction - time will tell if I have the clairvoyance to sense the real political tsunami.