After eight years of radical right wing incompetence under Bush, the political pendulum swung to the Democratic Party and President Obama won, along with both houses of Congress. Then because the recession was worse than everyone thought at first, the political pendulum swung to the right. This rightward swing brought in a rash of Tea Party Inspired right wing ideologues, and control of the House, and many governorships went to the Republicans. These Republicans campaigned on jobs, but once in office they concentrated on taking away people's rights, and didn't produce one jobs bill.
Tonight's elections have demonstrated that the Republican's radical overreach has backfired. Now the pendulum is swinging back towards the Democrats, just in time for next years elections.
The Tea Parties rapid ascent was at first seen as a populist movement, but the Tea Party appealed to the darker negative aspects of human emotions. They appealed to the racists, the homophobes, and the Islamaphobes. They attacked immigrants, unions, women and voters in general. They fanned the flames of fear and hatred.
The Tea Parties Political philosophy was essentially anti Obama. They filibustered anything in the Senate that the Democrats proposed, but once they gained power in the House they were at a total loss for any new ideas to solve the nations many problems. Their main goal was to defeat Obama so they opposed anything he or the Democrats wanted even if that meant harming the nation and the citizens of the nation.
They became the party of NO, but also the Know Nothing Party refusing to believe the facts from 98% of scientists and the economic advice of the experts.
In foreign Policy, the right wing opposed the removal of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since their sponsors the Military Industrial Complex wanted everlasting war. Obama realizing that the Iraq war was a huge distraction from the original quest for Al Queda and Osama Bin Laden, successfully shifted the focus back to where it should have been. Obama just about destroyed Al Queda and killed Osama Bin Laden.
After initially complaining that Obama wasn't doing enough in Lybia, the right inexplicably opposed the humanitarian incursion into Libya. Their opposition to anything Obama did, took precedence over their normal warlike stance. Of course the right would want a unilateral invasion, but Obama instead respecting international law, worked with international community at the request of the Libyan people and with the support of Arab nations. Obama was able to save tens of thousands of Libyans and to overthrow Quadaffi without loosing one of our soldiers at a very modest cost of $2 billion.
Once in power instead of creating jobs as they promised the Tea Party Republicans undertook a radical social agenda, attacking women with many anti choice laws. They attacked gays and lesbians by opposing don't as don't tell in the military and they spent millions trying to defend DOMA. The pendulum really started to swing back when the right attacked the unions, stripping them of their rights to collectively bargain.
In Wisconsin the first hint of the pendulums turning came when voters recalled two Republican legislatures and refused to recall two Democratic legislatures. This victory provided the incentive to mount an effort to recall Governor Walker.
In Ohio the right rolled back even more of the union's collective bargaining rights. Now the people have resoundly reversed that decision. This was seen as a referendum on Ohio's unpopular right wing governor, John Kasich.
The right wing also over reached with the Personhood proposal in Mississippi. This radical law would have deemed any fertilized egg to have all of the rights of a human person. This would have banned not only all abortions, but also all in vitro fertilizations, and many birth control devices, and would have allowed the prosecution of many doctors and women who acted to protect the health of the woman. This radical law was soundly defeated in the most conservative state in the nation. There should be a lesson learned there.
The right wing has also systematically attacked the rights of voters, with dozens of voter ID laws that will disenfranchise millions of students, minorities, and aged. All three demographics tend to vote Democratically. In Maine, voters repealed a law passed in June by the state's right wing Legislature which required voters to register at least two days before an election. This restored a forty year policy of Election Day registration.
Lacking any new economic ideas, the Republicans doubled down on the failed economic and political philosophies of the Bush regime which totally destroyed the economy, doubled the National Debt and caused the loss of eight million jobs. All of their policies do nothing to help 99% of the people and only help the 1% who financed their campaigns.
53 days ago a couple dozen people began protesting the unfairness of our political and economic system that penalizes the 99% while rewarding the 1%. The 1% has the power and influence to bribe lawmakers and purchase elections. For the past 30 years almost all of the changes in law and tax policy benefited the 1% so their wealth has increased 275% while the other 99% has stayed pretty flat.
The Occupy movement instead of feeding on fear and hatred appeals to the positive aspects of the human race. They call for empathy to the suffering of others and to the values of fairness, justice, and an end to corruption and inequality. While all of the money may be on the dark negative side, the 99% think that most people are good, and that they will prevail. Millions of small donations will overcome the million dollar donations of the 1% .
The anger at the injustice and economic inequality has spread to most of the major cities in this nation and to 82 other nations. The anger at the injustice and economic inequality has spread to most of the major cities in this nation and to 82 other nations. This movement already achieved democracy in Tunisia and ended the oppression in Egypt and Libya. It may usher in a new era of peace, justice, and tranquility all over the world, if the social Justice Movement is successful.
The Tea Party which many people thought was a populist movement, now dominates and controls the Republican Party. 84% of the people think Wall Street has too much influence, yet Republicans have fought even the most rudimentary controls on Wall Street and want to roll back the mild law that did pass. 75% of the people think that the rich should pay more taxes, including 51% of Republicans, but all but 13 Republican legislatures have pledged never to raise taxes for any reason, but they appear willing to raise taxes on the middle class, and have attacked the poor in every way they could. Two thirds of the people think the military should be cut more, and that Medicare and Social Security should be protected, but the Republicans actually voted to increase the military budget $17 billion and want to end Medicare and social Security.
The Tea Party/Republicans are not populist, they are elitist, and every one of the Tea Party/ Republican policies benefit only the wealthy and the big corporations to the detriment of the rest of us. Their Flat tax plans would make the middle class pay much more, while the millionaires would receive huge gifts of hundreds of thousands. Their so called jobs plan and their entire economic program would just shower the millionaires and huge corporations with even more money and would remove any restrictions on them. That failed completely during the past 13 years. Their latest outrage was to kill a bill to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure which would create 450,000 jobs, because it would tax the millionaires a paltry 0.7%.
The fledgling Occupy movement is just barely learning how to get organized, but they have already changed the narrative. Now all political analysts are talking about economic inequality. The power of this movement can only grow as they learn how to influence political policies. They will force even the Republicans to start talking about how to help the common people and stop coddling the rich and the corporations, or they will be thrown out. Next time the 99% will overcome the 1% at the ballot box.