Journal The Fun Guy's Journal: 194.1The corruption of one-party rule 4
In various places, I've seen people moaning about what a terrible thing has happened to Massachusetts with the election of a REPUBLICAN to Uncle Teddy's Senate seat. Oh, what a horrible day for Massachusetts and for the country! What a tragedy that Coakley didn't carry the day!
Bullshit.
Today is a great day for Massachusetts. Why? Because the people of that state exercised their rights and elected the candidate that appealed to the most voters. Not the person who *should* have won, or the person who was *supposed* to win, but the person who made a stronger case to more people.
Will Brown be a good Senator? Will he represent the interests of the people of Massachusetts with vigor and honor? Or will he turn out to be the psycho neo-con wingnut he's been portrayed as?
We'll find out, won't we?
This is a great day for Massachusetts and for America. In this election, and in the rest of this Senate term, everybody will have a chance to experience the power of democracy. If he's good, they'll keep him. If he's a nut, they'll get rid of him. Solid one-party rule, either on the scale of an individual city or state or on the larger scale of a nation, leads to complacency, arrogance and corruption.
Under one-party rule, it doesn't take long for the party to stop serving the interests of the people and shift its focus to serving the interests of the party. Shaken and scared after having been thrown into the outer darkness, the no-longer-in-power have a chance to return their orientation to meeting the needs of the people. In the meantime, a viable two-party environment means that compromise becomes the order of the day.
Congratulations to Brown, and congratulations to the people of Massachusetts. The founding fathers would be proud of both of you.
Meh (Score:2)
Dems ran a shitty campaign? Check.
The GOP candidate wants to see Obama's birth certificate? Check
I fail to see what was new and exciting about this whole thing.
Re: (Score:2)
Umm, no. While I certainly wouldn't mind it (if only for the change of pace), it's not going to happen. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is the Dem's signature move, and they'd be unrecognizable without it.