A Place to Stand

The TEA movement & Republicans have had a major but not an overwhelming victory in the US elections. They got far more Senate seats & far more votes overall. On the other hand the TEAists failed to take Nevada where one of their leaders was up against Harry Reid & though results are not yet in, may have failed to take Alaska, the vote having split between the TEAist who won the primary & the Republican incumbent who refused to step down - the incumbent has probably won. Also in Delaware Christine O'Donnell has been beaten by both an absolutely disgusting smear campaign portraying her as a "witch" & the local Republican leaders opposing her.

Nobody has had a magic touch but Obama, whose on previous seat went TEAist, clearly has a touch of ----. The game is to play for rather than won, which is fair enough.

The BBC reporting kept on about how the Republicans will now "have to work with Obama" & that that will mean betraying what they stand for & their supporters. I don't see the point of that - the voters have more said that Obama will have to work with Congress. The Republicans can demand the Obamacare bill be shelved & a new bipartisan one be worked out; they should demand a freeze on hiring across all departments Federal government (this would cut government size by about 5% annually by natural wastage & is similar to the Gramm-Rudman Act which did similarly cut inflation); on a genuine impartial & fast investigation into catastrophic global warming & if there isn't any (there isn't) the evisceration of the EPA & all related Luddite regulations; & an X-Prize foundation. Ideally the Republicans can demand "Starting [now] we’re going to lay more pipelines … build more nuclear plants" - nominally Obama hasn't said he is against that & had it been done 2 years ago there is no question that America would now be in high growth.

Which brings us to Sarah Palin - will she run - can she win the Republican nomination - can she win the Presidency? I think she would make an outstanding President & I think she would win Republican primaries. However I am not sure she would win the Presidency even against Obama. I have said previously that the dream ticket would be a Palin/Gingrich ticket with either party heading it & stand by that. Palin has recently said she will run “if there is nobody else to do it”
& I believe that is what she means. Obama's ambition was always to be President, admired by the world & thus win his daddy's approval but was never very focused on what he would do there. I think Palin is the opposite - a politician who wants to achieve things more than to be seen (a rare phenomenon). We shall see.


Obama is now speaking & saying - we can agree we want reducing deficit, promoting clean energy, eduction, promoting technology - sounds nervous.

UPDATE Jerry Pournelle has his take on the election - it is naturally considerably better informed than my post, also more optimistic & has some good tactical advice. You should read it here.

Labels: International politics