Congratulations on your 2006 electoral victory, and on seizing the House of Representatives, and perhaps the Senate, from your Republican opponents. We The People have given you the opportunity to govern, and this election should prove to you that We The People expect and demand that you govern with integrity.
We The People have decided that we are tired of your opponents for a number of reasons, and have therefore given you the opportunity to serve as temporary caretakers of this great nation. Some of The People who elected you are tired of Republican corruption and influence peddling. Some have had enough of the lies about Iraq and are horrified by the number of lives of brave Americans lost there. Some have had enough of your opponents’ pandering to the religious right. Some are repulsed by the disgrace known as Mark Foley. Some are fed up with this President and his administration. For whatever combination of reasons, We The People have collectively had enough of the Republicans, and have voted them out of power, at all levels of government, and from coast to coast, for the time being.
You have been given an opportunity to prove yourselves to The People. If you had ever had real jobs, you would understand that employers give new hires a grace period to prove that they can do the job effectively and efficiently. That is what We The People have decided to do with you – we have given you a trial period to show us that you can and will do what is best for The People of this country.
Do not think of this election as a victory for liberal tax and spend policies – it’s not. Do not think that We The People have given you rein to suck up to lobbyists and enrich yourselves to our detriment – we haven’t. Do not think you have been given license to muzzle us or enact legislation to protect us from ourselves – you haven’t. Think of this only as an opportunity to serve The People of this great land and to prove to us that you deserve to be kept on beyond your brief trial period.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - John Q. Public
An excellent open letter.
And a good time for all to contrast how the Democrats are handling today, as opposed to the 2004 elections where a tiny percentage win was considered a mandate, and political capital to be spent.
Let us all hope that the petty bickering is past, and that the real and vital work of the nation will be taken up by serious and thoughtful people on all sides of the aisle.
2 - Nancy
Yaaaay, Taloran: well written, almost poetic in the majestic march of successive "we/you/we haven't..."s.
As I said at 5.45 am this morning on the live talk blog, if they're smart, they'll profit by the mistakes of the GOP; they'll take the opportunity NOW to fix any little...discrepancies...in their accounting & tax filings & be very, very careful to sin no more in that regard (Harry Reid, you listening?); they'll immediately enact stringent measures considerably tightening ethics for ALL congressmembers; & if they can't quite bring themselves to ban lobbyists outright, they'll enact restrictions that effectively render the K St. swine useless & feckless because they can't give either a congressmaggot OR his family OR his staff OR anybody else he's remotely connected with jack shit without having to file 68 4-copy reports every time. No travel, no gifts of ANY kind, no food - nada, zero, zilch, nothing. That last alone would probably do more to clean up the Capitol Hill congressional acts of all of them more than just about anything else. Talk about clearing out the Stygian stables. Pelosi's making promises about it; we'll see if there's anything behind these promises, or whether, like Frist, they're nothing but hot air, to be dropped as soon as she/the Dems think the public has forgotten just because the MSM has stopped whining about it for the moment.
Which reminds me: what a pity we the people couldnt' do the same to the media, what? They're the only group that came in lower than congress on the national trustworthiness rankings.
3 - Phillip Winn
What I've heard from Speaker-elect Pelosi (okay, slightly premature, but she's a shoe-in) sounds excellent. Of course, what I heard in 1994 sounded great, too, and they got cocky, and screwed up. Will the Democrats screw things up within twelve years?
Yeah, I bet they will. But in the meantime, I like what I'm hearing, and I hope that they carry through.
4 - Arch Conservative
Yeah this was a pretty good letter.
And Nancy is right we need to eliminate all the financial incentives if we want to clean up congress.
However I don't know what John Q is talking about when he says maybe this will end the petty bickering though. The way I see it is that if you have real convictions you stick up for them and fight those who have convictions that run counter to yours. There is always going to be passionate disagreement in society and I don't understand those of you who use your little catchphrases to suggest that anyone who believes there's nothing wrong with the failure of everyone to get is narrow minded.
5 - John Q. Public
Arch, all I am talking about is that each makes the effort to work together to solve problems, rather than causing them by always going for the jugular.
I agree that there are some core differences that probably cannot be easily resolved, but for every one of them, there are literally hundreds of other pressing concerns that can be worked out.
Too much time and effort has been wasted on petty bickering over the differences rather than trying to work together on the common problems that do have a solution.
Just for a moment, ask yourself whether or not you think that is true, be honest with yourself, no one will know. Can we at least agree that there is the chance that working together when we can might be worth at least trying?
6 - Dave Nalle
Some of The People who elected you are tired of Republican corruption and influence peddling. Some have had enough of the lies about Iraq and are horrified by the number of lives of brave Americans lost there. Some have had enough of your opponents’ pandering to the religious right. Some are repulsed by the disgrace known as Mark Foley.
But mostly we're just lemmings who are easily stampeded to our own destruction by lies and smear campaigns.
Dave
7 - TrueBlueBlog
Nice to see that you're finally being honest with yourself, Dave.
As for me, I'm one of those people who was sick of the influence peddling, lies, and American casualties in a pointless war we started without justification.
Oh - the arrogance and hypocrisy of the Republicans the past six years didn't do much to win friends and influence people, either.
8 - Arch Conservative
For those of you who aren't in the know....
Here is what the next president of the United States had to say about last night's election.....
Take a second to appreciate the tremendous insight, intellect and integrity that is MITT ROMNEY......
November 08, 2006
Romney's Statement On The 2006 Election
From Gov. Mitt Romney (R-MA):
Americans spoke last night and Republicans are listening. Americans have not become less conservative, but they believe some Republicans have. As a party, we need to remember who we are and the principles that have always led our party and our country to success.
We must return to the common sense Reagan Republican ideals of fighting for hard working Americans, lowering taxes, shrinking government, curbing out-of-control spending, promoting the traditional values of faith, family and freedom, and providing a strong national security with all the necessary tools to protect the American people and win the War on Terror.
This country wants resolute leadership to tackle tough issues and a positive vision for a better future here at home and around the world. They want leadership that trusts the American people, keeps America strong and moves our country forward.
Americans across the country over the past year didn’t say they want higher taxes. They didn’t say they want more run-away wasteful spending or a Congress that continues irresponsible pork projects. Nobody ever said that this nation needs a bigger deficit.
Americans didn’t say they wanted more activist judges who legislate from the bench and they don’t want less secure borders.
No one said they want more rights for terrorists, nor did they ask that we stop terrorist surveillance … and nobody suggested that we should make life even harder for our brave men and women fighting terror around the world.
We didn’t hear a mandate for a more liberal direction because the Democrats didn’t present one. Americans don’t share those liberal ideas.
What voters told us is that America is stuck and Washington is broken. Voters told us to move forward by embracing our conservative convictions that Americans agree with and value â€" and we will.
ROMNEY 2008!!!!!!!!!!
9 - TheLastFreeMan
Repent children of liberty for the end is nigh!
10 - Z.Z. Bachman
Trial period is an understatement. Well written letter my friend. Both parties should have learned a few lessons. We shall see which of the two takes heed.
11 - Arch Conservative
Speaking as a Republican I learned that George Bush has probably done more damage to my party than anyone in the last 40 years including Nixon.
If I didn't know any better I'd say it was deliberate.
12 - Clavos
Arch sez:
I learned that George Bush has probably done more damage to my party than anyone in the last 40 years including Nixon.
If I didn't know any better I'd say it was deliberate.
Maybe he's been a Democrat mole all along.
Now, there's a delicious conspiracy fantasy...
13 - Jewels
If I didn't know any better I'd say it was deliberate. Well said Arch. One point, why did he (Bush) wait until after the election upset to part with Donald Rumsfeld when it was imminent and possibly would have aided his own party if he'd have made this move prior to the election week.
Mike Savage had an interesting point on the radio the other night, basically bringing up the way we switch parties in power every 8 years or so; is it an intended manipulation - are we, the mass public just the sheep the political shepards herd with their dogs into the folds of pre-selected monetarily bought choice.
Basically the question of late, by some - is the political democracy machine real or is the public being lead to believe it's real?
14 - Nancy
I suspect in this case it was real; there were too many plutocratic power brokers who still very upset by the out-of-the-blue taking of both the house & senate for it to all have been a setup. It literally came out of nowhere, even for those of us who've been ranting & wishing & working for months. In the past 36 hours, I've been as shocked as any Republican to find that just about every Republican got the boot, & both houses of congress got handed to the Dems on a platter, as it were. It still seems a little surreal - kind of like when you accidently win The Lottery - the big one - y'know?
I'm equally sure that the corporate masters behind the scenes were scrambling as hard as they could as soon as they saw the writing on the wall, to get to the key Dem party movers & shakers in order to gain influence over them, if they haven't already. Remember that NO congressmaggot gets there without having sold themselves like a hooker to the highest bidder, even the latest voter heart-throb, Mr. Obama. I'm sure corporate interests already have their hooks into his tender flesh, just as they do with Pelosi, and just as they have with Hastert or Bush. It's just a matter of how many & how deeply they're sunk in.
15 - Taloran
Re: Arch's comment 11 -
My father has been a staunch and unwavering Republican supporter since arriving in this country in 1959 after 8 years as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force. Since he obtained his US citizenship in 1972 (there was a mandatory 13-year wait back then), he has consistently voted Republican. Like many small business owners, he detests the Democrats due to their tax and spend policies. Though he was disillusioned and upset with Bush during the 2004 election, he told me he voted for him again because "He got us into Iraq - I'm sure he must have a plan to get us out."
I had a conversation with him a few months ago in which he said "Bush couldn't have done a worse job if he had tried."
This election, for the first time ever, he crossed the party line and voted for some Democrats because, in his words, "the Republicans have lost their way."
Though it is quite subjective, that is in my opinion the most damning condemnation of the Bush administration imaginable.
16 - Jewels
I don't see the election results as being 'out of the blue'. Instead the writing was clearly spelled out in the basic campaign strategy. One example of effective Democratic marketing occurred in Dallas, TX.
The Dems had these very effective large blue signs, 3' x 4'! all throughout neighborhoods and along major streets. Message on the signs, "If you're fed up Vote Democrat". It was simple and obviously very effective. We saw an incredible, history making upset in my area.
NO comeback signing evidenced from the Republican Party, such as large red signs with slogans such as "Voting Dem not the Answer". There was not the same level of intensity regarding the campaigning from the Republicans on the local level which then translated into the International level.
17 - Dave Nalle
why did he (Bush) wait until after the election upset to part with Donald Rumsfeld when it was imminent and possibly would have aided his own party if he'd have made this move prior to the election week.
If he'd dumped Rumsfeld right before the election it would have been an obvious effort to win votes and it would have looked incredibly weak and likely would have backfired. He either needed to do it at least several months ago to distance it from the election or wait until now. The reason to do it now is that it defuses the impending efforts of the Dems in the House to harass the administration over the War in Iraq, because Bush can now just point to Rumsfeld and say "it was his fault and we got rid of him". Very smart politically.
Dave
18 - Clavos
Dave writes:
[...] Bush can now just point to Rumsfeld and say "it was his fault and we got rid of him". Very smart politically.
Very. And possibly, even Rumsfeld's own idea.
19 - Taloran
Bush can now just point to Rumsfeld and say "it was his fault and we got rid of him".
Kinda like Katrina being Mike Brown's fault. I sure hope nobody falls for that - if Bush had gotten rid of him when he tendered his resignation following Abu Ghraib, maybe. Way too late now. Bush is good at throwing his subordinates under the bus he's driving.
I hope the next Prez digs out Truman's old desk sign and lives by it. I for one would have more respect for a President who stood by "The Buck Stops Here." Not that Truman was great, mind you - he just had a spine our 21st century politicians lack.
20 - Arch Conservative
I'm no democratic mole. Just a repubican who has finally had enough of Bush and his failure to represent real conservative republican values for the past six years. Do not mistake this for some type of acceptance of the Democrats though. I remain steadfastly opposed to what the far left in this nation stands for. That is why I could not vote Dem despite my frustration with Bush and the GOP. Also I did not see any point in punishing local politicians who I think have done a good job in my state for the sins of the father.
I have complete faith and confidence however that Mitt Romney will arrive on a white horse in 2008 and restore the party to what it should be..to what true conservatives want it to be and know that it should be....to what Reagan made it in the early 80's....
There are only two things that would make Mitt Romney's impending victory sweeter than it is already looking to be.
1. If the Dem loser was Hillary/Obama.
2. If Joe Lieberman would agree to be Romney's VP. Imagine that.. a Mormon and a Jew heading up the country in the new revitalized big tent GOP. One can only hope.
21 - Mark Pasternak
Who is Taloran to speak for "We the People"? Did he vote Democrat or is he just blowing the way the wind goes? Did he ever write a similar letter to the Republicans as they distorted our values and damaged our nation's integrity?
22 - JR
Arch Conservative: Speaking as a Republican I learned that George Bush has probably done more damage to my party than anyone in the last 40 years including Nixon.
If I didn't know any better I'd say it was deliberate.
Well if you voted him into office twice and you're just learning this now, perhaps you should reconsider the assumption that you know any better.
23 - Arch Conservative
JR the first time I voted for him was because he was pretty much an unknown entity.
The second time was because the only other viable choice was John Kerry and I'd sooner cut my hand off than use it to vote for that vote pandering, gold digging, douchebag.
24 - Arch Conservative
Maybe I didn't make myself clear as to how I feel about John Kerry let me just say that I'm from NH and unfortunately have to go into Boston once in awhile..........well if I was walking down the streetin Boston and I saw John Kerry on the other side of the street and he was on fire........I wouldn't even cross the street to piss on him to put the fire out...I think rather I'd say something like .....oh goody someone grab some marshmallows and we can make smores
25 - zingzing
arch: "I'd sooner cut my hand off than use it to vote for that vote pandering, gold digging, douchebag."
so you voted for... bush? what, in your mind, was the difference? "vote pandering," "gold digging" and "douchebag" pretty well describe our fearless leader, now don't they?