Haven’t done one of these in a while, seemed like a good time to revive the occasional feature.
1) I was wrong, dead wrong. My expectations for the two big races in Georgia were runoffs at best, an outright loss in the Senate race felt like a very real possibility to me. Whew. Not often I’m happy to be wrong but I sure am today. I misread the implications of early voting trends about as badly as the pollsters misweighted their data.
2) It’s hard not to be elated at the potential for improvement that the mid-term elections creates but there are some cold hard realities that temper my mood. Congress still has more than enough pseudo-cons perfectly willing to concede virtually any ground to the left. A supermajority capable of overriding Presidential veto does not exist. The primary good I expect to see in the next two years is simply the chance to stop the bleeding, the seriously (terminally?) ill patient will not experience a miraculous cure overnight, not even with control of the Senate. Saw a great quote on Twitter (from @iowahawkblog) last night that said it well “This isn’t a mandate for Republicans, it’s a restraining order on Democrats.” That’s a lot in & of itself … but if you’re expecting miracles, you’re in for a very long two years.
3) Perhaps the happiest day of my political life was November 6, 2002. That was the day after Sonny Perdue had beaten the vilest piece of filth to ever hold office in Georgia, King Roy Barnes.
Before long, Perdue had raised taxes and stabbed one of his core constituencies in the back, surrendering the state flag issue to the handwringers. That’s been 12 years. I haven’t seen a politician I truly trusted since (or at least not one that got elected), not optimistic I’ll ever see one again.
Jon's Three Cents 