On Recycling and Nancy Being Forced To Turn Over The Keys To The Jet

Well it was a night for recycling, AND throwing out the trash last night!

Voters across the U.S. said "enough," and with their votes demonstrated they are suffering from serious buyer's remorse.

In California, former Gov. Jerry Brown was recycled back to the governor's office, at 72, some 40 years after he was first elected to the high office there. In Ohio, republican Mike DeWine, trounced by people in his own party some years ago for being such an ineffective and liberal leaning U.S. senator, was recycled back into the fold and elected Ohio attorney general. Of course, nepotism played a part in that -- a member of his family is head of the Ohio GOP, and pushed Dave Yost off the AG nomination train in favor of Mikey. Yost ran for and was elected auditor of state, but he would have been more effective in the AG's post. DeWine's real goal is the governor's seat. More on that later.

On throwing out the trash? Anti-gun democrats all across the nation, with a few exceptions, were pushed out the door by voters who were in an anti-incumbant mood. Amazingly, Harry Reid hung on to his Senate seat in Nevada, as did Barbara Boxer in California. Tea Party candidates across the nation did fairly well, though a high-profile race in Alaska seems to be going the way of the write-in candidate (actually the republican office holder who lost her primary then in a fit of anger stayed in the race).

Our new governor has a mixed record on firerms. John Kasich. Much has been written here and elsewhere, and I won't comment on it again, at least for now. But his feet will be held to the fire and actions speak louder than words. Outgoing Gov. Ted Strickland is solid on the 2A. Always has been, always will be I would venture. But his belief in Obama's social welfare programs always troubled me. Still we have a chance to do good in the coming years. As long as conservative lawmakers at the state level and nationally remember what brung 'em to the party!

For me, it should be about fighting for the nation, to get it back on track and out of this "give-away" mode we have been in for the past two years. When candidates suddenly talk of fighting for their political lives, instead of talking about fighting for the country, well.....

Now for those who say right away, "oh great now there will be gridlock," I remind them that Madison and others created a nation with divided government. The executive and legislative are supposed to balance each other, along with the judiciary. But one should never be a rubber stamp on the other. I found it humorous and frustrating at the same time that President Obama would blame republicans for his inability to get his agenda passed, when in truth it was people in his own party. The democrats controlled both houses. They steamrolled healthcare and some other issues through over the strong objections of a majority of American citizens. But on other issues he had trouble, and blamed the GOP. Intellectually dishonest at a minimum.

Truth be told, gridlock is good. It is a way to force compromise. And in the case of issues that far more problematic, it is a way to stop bad legislation its tracks. To kill it.

Steve Stivers and Rob Portman are great people to go to Washington. Going to the House and Senate, respetively, they will get things done. I have not yet met Mr. Portman, but I know Steve Stivers. Honest, focused, and with a keen understanding of what it takes to move the country forward instead of turn us into a welfare state. Stivers will replace Mary Jo Kilroy, whose concession speech sounded like a victory rally. "We got this done, we got that done!" It was surreal. But then, maybe that was her goal: Sacrifice a longer term in order to put in place extreme concepts that would be hard to undo. I just don't know....

Here's a truth: Mary Jo's accomplishments, though little known by the masses, were to vote in a pay package that gives her thousands of dollars a month for life in her Congressional pension. She also voted in a healthcare package, far different from the aspirin you and I will be allowed under ObamaCare, for herself and other members of Congress that is quite the cadillac. Once again, Congress exempted itself from what it pushed onto the masses. No wonder she was excited. She never has to work another day in her life and she will have excellent healthcare, courtesy of the American taxpayer. Yeah, she got a lot done alright.

Overall, however, balance has been restored to Congress to some extent. There could have been further gains, but the American people have spoken. Harry Reid, hated by many in his state of Nevada, will still likely be president of the U.S. Senate, but the democrats have only the slimmiest majority. In the U.S. House of Representatives, fellow Buckeye John Boehner will likely be elected Speaker of the House, replacing the universally reviled democrat Nancy Pelosi. There is much work to be done. And pro-gun, pro freedom candidates were elected all across the nation last night.

In an interview with a national candidate this morning on NPR, the newly elected lawmaker commented that America is a land of second chances. And he was grateful that voters are giving republicans a second chance to make right what they screwed up after the 1994 elections. Then, we got a great congress that gave a balanced budget to President Clinton (which Clinton signed then took credit for), then started spending willy nilly in later years. And in the mid-term elections during President George W. Bush's tenure, they were voted out of power.

President Obama has to realize at this point his rough-shod attitude about "enemies" (his latest word for American citizens who disagree with him, though he has since apologized) has got to stop. He will be the one who looks like a bully. He has tried to blame his problems on republicans and Bush, but to no avail.

The American public spoke last night and said it wants conservatives front and center in the debate. For one, I relish the opportunity...

Mostly pro-gun, pro 2A candidates won last night. The Tea Party movement, once villified and mocked, is real. It is not a party. It is a philosophy that the powers-that-be have got to wake up to. The electorate already gets it. The White House needs to take the pulse of America, instead of sitting idly by and thinking "oh they will get used to it."

For as we saw last night, nothing is permanent.

As for my fellow Ohionas, Mr. Kasich I wish you well. I hope you demonstrate with your actions what you have hesitated to express with words, but have told others you believe. Mr. Dewine, you are being watched. Your anti-gun stance personal feelings need to be put in the back seat. I am told you now have a CCW. You should step up and talk about your new feelings about firearms. Talk about how you were wrong before, or how your views have modified. It will go a long way toward building support among 2A advocates in Ohio as you prepare your run for governor in eight years.

And now we wait, and watch....

Oh, and Nancy Pelosi has to hand over the keys to the jet! Heh....