Mark West
Before a fall
By Mark West
My four-year-old daughter and I were playing a game a couple of days ago. Well, she was playing a game; I was actually trying to work. In her game she would sneak near me and pop me on the arm and then run away quickly before I could get her back. After several minutes of laughs, she decided instead to sneak away.
As she crept backwards, away from me, I could see the pending danger. A toy lay in her path! I knew that she was sure to trip. My warnings were dismissed with a grinning giggle until...FLOP...she hit the floor.
Immediate tears of fear were sopped up by the secure shoulder of Daddy's shirt. I tried to warn her, but it was too late, she was too far away and wasn't listening.
Don't we see a similar scenario playing out in our national politics?
"We the people" have been warning our "representative" government about this day. They laughed it off. Now they are paying the piper!
Don't miss my point. It's not about Democrats or Republicans, but rather the policies of an illicit establishment. You will see incumbents who supported these policies by and large thumped in November if things don't change quickly.
In Arkansas, we see two-term, incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln, victor in two Senate elections by double digits, barely challenged in a prior primary, now bogged down in a dogfight just to earn her own party's nomination.
She's been portrayed as too liberal for conservatives before... now...she is being dogged by Lt. Governor Bill Halter on the left who claims she's too conservative. He must be right seeing all of the lefty-loot that's been contributed to his boot.
Two Congressmen, Marion Berry and Vic Snyder, chose retirement rather than face the societal discord accompanying an unfavorable establishment incumbent campaign this election year.
On the incumbent contrary, Congressman John Boozman abandoned his House seat to run for Lincoln's Senate seat and is polling ahead of both she and Halter.
So why the difference? Why are some incumbents in a battling while coast?
It boils down to one word...Obamacare. Lincoln voted for Obamacare, yet she opposed the "public option," and that is exactly what Halter has been hammering her on, with Move-On.org money. Well, that and the whole card check thing that has brought the SEIU and AFL-CIO money into his corner.
Berry and Snyder also voted for Obamacare, tested the waters and decided not to swim. Guess who voted against it? Boozman and Congressman Mike Ross, who seem to be the only two incumbents for national office not feeling the heat in the state of Arkansas.
Admittedly, I'm surprised to see little opposition to Ross on the left. I guess the Senate seat is more valuable.
Estimations and ruminations on the races:
Senate: John Boozman, riding the wave of anti-Obamacare sentiment, will defeat either Democrat candidate for a Republican pick up.
District #1: Rick Crawford, riding the wave of Tea Party enthusiasm, will take this seat as a Republican pick up.
District #2: Whoever wins the run-off between Joyce Elliott and Robbie Wills will capture this seat as a Democrat Party hold.
District #3: Same as in District#2 except that the run-off is on the Republican side between Steve Womack and Cecil Bledsoe. Republican hold.
District #4: Congressman Mike Ross versus former Miss Arkansas Beth Anne Rankin. I call this a Democrat hold.
So coming into this mid-term manic depression election we have five races for national office. Four of the seats were held by Democrats, three of which voted for Obamacare, while one of the seats was held by a Republican who opposed Obamacare.
On the blip flip, we will see the Democrat power cut in half after a District#2 squeaker and a non-establishment Democrat hold in District#4. The Republicans will triple their power in the beltway.
Yet, I don't see this election stemming the tide of anti-establishment sentiment. Why? The candidates just don't fit the profile as the proper channel for the frustration and aggravation that will build into full fledged acrimony.
I believe this acrimony will be on full display in the 2012 election. Keepin' that heapin' helping on the plate could spell a dose of humble pie for establishment incumbents next time around.
I can't help but wonder if it's too late? Are they too far away? If they aren't, do you think they are listening? I see a giggle flop in the future!
© Mark West
May 20, 2010
My four-year-old daughter and I were playing a game a couple of days ago. Well, she was playing a game; I was actually trying to work. In her game she would sneak near me and pop me on the arm and then run away quickly before I could get her back. After several minutes of laughs, she decided instead to sneak away.
As she crept backwards, away from me, I could see the pending danger. A toy lay in her path! I knew that she was sure to trip. My warnings were dismissed with a grinning giggle until...FLOP...she hit the floor.
Immediate tears of fear were sopped up by the secure shoulder of Daddy's shirt. I tried to warn her, but it was too late, she was too far away and wasn't listening.
Don't we see a similar scenario playing out in our national politics?
"We the people" have been warning our "representative" government about this day. They laughed it off. Now they are paying the piper!
Don't miss my point. It's not about Democrats or Republicans, but rather the policies of an illicit establishment. You will see incumbents who supported these policies by and large thumped in November if things don't change quickly.
In Arkansas, we see two-term, incumbent Senator Blanche Lincoln, victor in two Senate elections by double digits, barely challenged in a prior primary, now bogged down in a dogfight just to earn her own party's nomination.
She's been portrayed as too liberal for conservatives before... now...she is being dogged by Lt. Governor Bill Halter on the left who claims she's too conservative. He must be right seeing all of the lefty-loot that's been contributed to his boot.
Two Congressmen, Marion Berry and Vic Snyder, chose retirement rather than face the societal discord accompanying an unfavorable establishment incumbent campaign this election year.
On the incumbent contrary, Congressman John Boozman abandoned his House seat to run for Lincoln's Senate seat and is polling ahead of both she and Halter.
So why the difference? Why are some incumbents in a battling while coast?
It boils down to one word...Obamacare. Lincoln voted for Obamacare, yet she opposed the "public option," and that is exactly what Halter has been hammering her on, with Move-On.org money. Well, that and the whole card check thing that has brought the SEIU and AFL-CIO money into his corner.
Berry and Snyder also voted for Obamacare, tested the waters and decided not to swim. Guess who voted against it? Boozman and Congressman Mike Ross, who seem to be the only two incumbents for national office not feeling the heat in the state of Arkansas.
Admittedly, I'm surprised to see little opposition to Ross on the left. I guess the Senate seat is more valuable.
Estimations and ruminations on the races:
Senate: John Boozman, riding the wave of anti-Obamacare sentiment, will defeat either Democrat candidate for a Republican pick up.
District #1: Rick Crawford, riding the wave of Tea Party enthusiasm, will take this seat as a Republican pick up.
District #2: Whoever wins the run-off between Joyce Elliott and Robbie Wills will capture this seat as a Democrat Party hold.
District #3: Same as in District#2 except that the run-off is on the Republican side between Steve Womack and Cecil Bledsoe. Republican hold.
District #4: Congressman Mike Ross versus former Miss Arkansas Beth Anne Rankin. I call this a Democrat hold.
So coming into this mid-term manic depression election we have five races for national office. Four of the seats were held by Democrats, three of which voted for Obamacare, while one of the seats was held by a Republican who opposed Obamacare.
On the blip flip, we will see the Democrat power cut in half after a District#2 squeaker and a non-establishment Democrat hold in District#4. The Republicans will triple their power in the beltway.
Yet, I don't see this election stemming the tide of anti-establishment sentiment. Why? The candidates just don't fit the profile as the proper channel for the frustration and aggravation that will build into full fledged acrimony.
I believe this acrimony will be on full display in the 2012 election. Keepin' that heapin' helping on the plate could spell a dose of humble pie for establishment incumbents next time around.
I can't help but wonder if it's too late? Are they too far away? If they aren't, do you think they are listening? I see a giggle flop in the future!
© Mark West
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
