Alabama Tracks

I really can’t say I was surprised to see McCain lose. If he had, it would have been by a razor thin margin and there would have been explosions of hatred unlike anything this country has ever seen. In some ways it was good for Obama to win.

First, the Republican party deserved to lose. Had Obama really been more moderate it would have been a landslide. The fact that it wound up as close as it did spoke volumes to the mistrust he garnered on the Right. I don’t think too many were voting for McCain as voting against Obama. Why did Republicans lose?

Spending. The cornerstone of Conservatism is small government. You tax only what you need to raise and that’s that. But Republicans with 100% control expanded government by some 40%. Most egregious was Ted Steven’s Bridge to Nowhere and Bush’s Medicare Prescription benefit. Both outraged conservatives. Bush may fear God, but sometimes I wonder if he ever feared his constituency.

McCain also was not a conservative. I still have not forgiven him for the awful Gang of 14 decision. Or McCain-Feingold. Or McCain-Kennedy. The fact that Joe Lieberman endorsed him didn’t help him one bit. Without the solidly conservative Palin, McCain would have lost even more than he did.

Second, Obama is in a historic position. The black community has languished from people like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton pulling out the race card every chance they got. Blacks overwhelmingly felt oppressed, even though there was no evidence of such a thing. Obama’s win puts it to bed. I really think Jackson’s tears on Tuesday were because he knows he’s out of a job with nobody to whip up into a frenzy about social injustice. Obama could do a world of good. One of his few bright spots in the campaign was when he noted that fathers need to play a role in their childrens’ lives. Every time the negative aspects of “black culture” are brought up he has been quick to decry them. The gangsta mentality. The illegitimacy rate of black children. Not since Bill Cosby in the 80s has a black man so embodied what could be right for a change. He is successful, appears to be a good father and is now the de-facto leader of the black community. Let’s hope and pray that he channels the enthusiasm around him into real change that I’ve watched a desperate Bill Cosby try to effect for the last few years. This kind of change I certainly applaud.

Third, Republicans appear to have held onto enough Senate seats to prevent a fillibuster-proof Senate. It’s not enough to where a moderate’s departure won’t hurt, but if Mitch McConnell can hang tough on the major issues then we have some hope that the Left won’t be passing their agenda without any sort of balance.

This brings me to the less pleasant part of our election. Read on only if you want the less rosy part of the next four years. This season is going to hurt. A lot. If you count yourself a Conservative and voted for Obama then you need to pay attention. This is not any sort of attack on anyone. I’m not angry with anyone who voted for Obama but there is a duty to make sure that some of his campaign promises never see the light of day.

The Freedom of Choice Act - Even if you’re on the fence about abortion, this bill should give you pause. This puts into Federal law the Roe v Wade ruling. It doesn’t just stop there

• Partial Birth Abortion would be legalized again
• Children born alive from failed abortion attempts would be allowed to die again
• The Hyde Ammendment, which prohibits using Federal funds for abortions, would be repealed
• All late term abortions would be legal
• The conscience exemption for physicians would be repealed, meaning that doctors would have to perform abortions or lose their license

I cannot stress enough how important it is that this bill is defeated. Obama has said this is a top priority for him as President and that he would sign the law if presented it (he was it’s sponsor in the Senate).

The Fairness Doctrine - Probably should be called the “Get rid of Rush Limbaugh” doctrine. Basically, the Left has not been able to get their foot in the door with talk radio. Air America (Al Franken’s venture) failed due to poor ratings. Like him or not, Rush, Hannity, and many others are quite popular on talk radio. Stations don’t air what doesn’t bring in money. So why do we need this other than to stick it to talk radio?

Taxes -  I hope you didn’t buy the 95% tax cut line (polls indicate few people did). Odds are your taxes are going up. Even if they don’t go up personally (which I find unlikely), you’ll feel their effects somewhere. There is no such thing as “taxing the rich”. It’s also important to note that while Obama has some pull now, it’s Pelosi and the House that set these sorts of things. Pelosi is definitely going to aim for higher taxes and our economy can ill afford them. Worse is that the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010. So nobody has to even vote to raise your taxes, they’ll go up automatically.

Courts - This one’s a done deal, sadly. Obama admires the Liberal bloc of SCOTUS. I’m betting that Breyer and Souter retire in the next four years, confident that they will be replaced by reliable liberals. While Obama may agree on the Second Ammendment ruling this summer, the people he puts in there would be certain to overturn it if it ever came before them again. It’s a pity because Bush got the high court right in his appointments.

Above all, pray. Pray for Obama. Pray for the Liberals. God did an amazing thing in California with Prop 8 (gay marriage) passing. We are not abandoned and we need to remember that. After you pray, reach out to your Congressional reps.

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