If you write about current events, many expect you to
comment quickly on important events, like November 3, 2026.
Not this time.
Why not wait a bit? Let history settle in.
The nation has been divided for most of its history; elections are won by the slimmest of margins.
This election was a tidal wave.
Anger has been building over the last few years. We saw it in the streets. Millions of people marched under the banner of No Kings. We witnessed the brutality of masked police in the streets of our towns. We sensed the destruction of institutions that hold the union together. We knew people would overthrow the attempts at autocracy and oligarchy, open corruption by the ruling family and friends, and the promises made but not kept. And they did it: “Singing the song of angry men.”[i]
The United States Senate and the House will have Democratic majorities. The Texas voters ousted the long-serving governor and all other statewide officeholders. New majorities took control of state legislatures nationwide. Democrats will hold twenty-nine governorships. Seventy-five percent of Americans will live in states controlled by Democrats come January first. It was a rout. People are humming the great anthem from Les Misérables.
Economics was the public outcry. Food prices are too high. Gas prices make it hard to get to work. Housing costs, with six-to-seven percent mortgage rates, make ownership out of reach for too many. The unhinged approach to tariffs makes imported goods too expensive. The economy is a disaster for much of the nation, while the rich get richer.
We are waging a war against Iran, I guess. The VP says it’s not a war, just a skirmish. We have reduced our support for the invaded nation of Ukraine, where the private owner of a satellite system reduced the Shieldfield system used to wage war against the Russian invaders.
A strong economy, lower prices, the end to wars, and a focus on America first. Those were the hallmarks of the Trump victory in the last election. He failed on all counts.
The lack of integrity, the visible corruption, and disregard for the Constitution were too much. The election was less a new love affair with the Democratic Party than a repudiation of the administration in power. The Dems just happened to be the other choice.
America finally said: “Enough already!”
Now What?
The blue wave was about more than gas and grocery prices, or the unwanted war. They were the things that caused day-to-day frustrations, but it was more than that. It was about who we are as a people, as a nation. What we saw on the news every night or read about on our devices was not us. We may differ a lot about policies, but we generally agree on basic values. “Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free.”[ii]
So what should the new majority actually accomplish while the media concentrates on the investigations?
Demonstrate that government can work for ordinary people. The Dems were sent to govern, not just to investigate.
·
Concentrate on the kitchen table issues.
·
Bring down prescription drug costs across the
board, not just for a few prescriptions.
·
Make housing affordable again.
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Rebuild the nation’s health agencies.
·
Repair relationships with allies.
The Dems can lose it just as quickly in two years if they don’t all sing from the same songbook. And they are not doing that yet. Congressional investigations and oversight are inevitable. But if that is all people hear about for the next two years, day and night, the uprising will have failed.
Voters demanded more than a change of political parties. They want a change in direction. They want a return to American ideals, to the values that made us a great country, to an end to corruption, to delivering on promises made. They have sung their song of anger. They expect change when tomorrow comes.
