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November 11, 2006OK, Anchoress, why so optimistic?UPDATE: Good Lord, don’t even read what I’ve written here. Alicia Colon does a much better job that I do in this column and she does it much more succinctly, too. Read it, read it! Brava, Alicia. Actually, I’m not optimistic. I’ve been mostly out of it for a couple or three days now, and have almost no idea what is going on in the world, outside of the stuff I’d have known whether I read the news or not (you know, Al Qaeda is rejoicing the Dem win and the Dems are seriously focused on…ummm…not Iraq or terrorism…) So, for all I know, my happy little thoughts born under a days-long febrile situation could be so much mush as of this moment…but I said I’d share ‘em, so I will, and I’ll hope they don’t sound like gibberish. I know many people are depressed, but while I am not happy about the election outcome, I do think it’s unseemly for Christians, at least, to be depressed…our God is not politics or the GOP, right? Remember…things turn on a dime, nothing is static and God has his hand in everything. And remember this: The Evil loves discord - evil HAD to love what has been going on in this country for the past 8 years. While the Dems are going to be holding on to their hate for a while (and the press will more than let them), the more-rational, more moderately-inclined people who may have gotten caught up in the venom of the last couple of years will let go of it and look to see what “solutions” are forthcoming. The Dems have been screaming “work with us, we matter…” now, they have a seat at the table with a president who tried like hell to work with them in the beginning of his run (and got smacked down for it, repeatedly) and who will do what he thinks is best for the nation. Now, they have to put up or shut up, and if they want to be taken seriously, they’re going to have to actually do some work. So will the election take the wind out of their sails of hate? It has to, eventually. And uh-oh, the evil can’t like that. Good always overcomes evil…we just don’t always understand what that looks like while we’re in the thick of things, or recognise it when it comes our way. But the Holy Spirit has a way of working with things that look like disasters, and making them work for the best. Remember when Rudy Giuliani had to bow out of the senate race from the prostate cancer? Everyone mourned, we know only he could beat Hillary and we thought, “what a freaking disaster…” But because he bowed out of that race, he was the mayor of NYC when 9/11 happened…and he was exactly the man that needed to be there. Had he been a senator, the truly goofy and uninspiring Mark Greene would have been mayor and he would have terrified us even more. I am under the weather and can’t express this well. But remember this, too - people tend to forget it. Bush is a man living a creed before he is the president. He is the president of the whole country before he is a republican. He is a republican before he is a conservative. Conservatives, especially, really forgot that this year, when they crucified him for daring to nominate Harriet Miers, for the Dubai deal and immigration. While Bush has always been consistent (he’s always been exactly who he is), suddenly the good things he’d done were not enough, and we had to endure the spectacle of Bush’s cock-sure “pure conservative betters” in the press and some blogs throw him under the bus. Kind of interesting, really. President Bush has always been a center-right man, the left painted him as a far-right nazi, and the far-right said he wasn’t conservative enough. Whether they like to admit it or not, that partly contributed to his general unpopularity, which directly contributed to this loss. Independents and others saw that even Bush’s “own people” didn’t like him, so they didn’t like him, either (and disdain has even longer coattails than admiration). Nobody wants to be with the unpopular kid, so when they left Bush behind, they left any votes they might have hung for the GOP. The bite of the conservative purists did not lose the election…but it did contribute to the whole infection of negativity that surrounded it. Now, the uber-conservative “my way or the highway” types have lots to think about (and no chance to see more “strict constitutionalist judges” make it to the SCOTUS), and maybe a lesson or two to learn (anyone who bloviates that he/she/they have nothing to learn only proves that have much to learn). Once we figure out what the lessons are, some of us will learn them, others won’t. One thing we can be sure of is that the Dems will still need to learn that America does not like “my way or the highwayism…” It goes against our very natures. Maybe we on the right and they on the left can all learn it together. So far, I don’t think the right has learned it…I read something on a blog a few days ago, a conservative writing, “Bush lost this on purpose so he can get his immigration amnesty through!” Riiiiiiggght…that’s exactly what just happened. 2004 was not a “landslide” win, and while the country might be trending center-right, I do think CENTER is the operative word, there. Balance comes from the center, and balance is a good and desirable thing. The country has been in an ugly, ugly place for 8 years, since Clinton’s impeachment. It was not going to get better if the GOP kept winning…the left was only going to get more insane and bitter, the GOP was going to get more arrogant and entrenched and less willing to take chances and risk their seats. This election, in the end, is just a realignment, a correction. But unlike the small corrections that routinely occur in the stock market, this one is going to be a lengthy one, and a very important one - it’s going to be a correction that either pulls us together and makes us a stronger nation, or utterly sinks as we bog down in political payback and recrimination. The Dems are going to be accountable now, that’s going to change things. And don’t forget, half of everything you see is an illusion anyway - a great deal of what we live through daily is like smoke that takes shape only to dissipate into nothingness. Figure out what the important issues are and demand that the “leadership” focus on them, and then keep your eyes on the press, who surely won this last engagement as much as the GOP lost it. Going back to bed, now. My DH is finally coming home tomorrow! Yay! http://theanchoressonline.com/2006/11/11/ok-anchoress-why-so-optimistic/trackback/ 23 Responses to “OK, Anchoress, why so optimistic?” |
November 11th, 2006 at 8:45 am
Dear Anchoress,
I must say I entirely agree with you. The election results from last Tuesday are in: God voted for himself, and He won. He’s still on the throne.
And as long as that’s true, all things STILL work together for the good of those who love him.
I have some more natural grounds for hope as well:
1) If you’ve read the Capn’s web site, you’ll have seen the article posted on “Blue Dog” Democrats … people who are moderate/conservative. While they opposed President Bush’ Iraq War policy, I don’t think they’re up for a repeat of Saigon 1975 either. Certainly my new Senator — James Webb, a former marine — wouldn’t be up for a Vietnam repeat.
So it’s quite possible that … though we WILL re-deploy our troops … we can still salvage something from this above and beyond total defeat. What we could not do for them with ground troops maybe the Iraqis will be able to do for themselves.
2) While sitting at Outback last night during a 30+ minute wait, I noticed that the TV was tuned to CNN. They were running a special on Iraq the entire time — the title was “Heroes”.
I was shocked … four years of a steady drumbeat of negative news and NOW they start calling our boys “heroes”?
But of course. They’ve grabbed on to the tar baby now. Now THEY are going to be held accountable if we lose the war, and they know it. And so yesterday’s “victims” and “Abu Ghraib abusers” become today’s “heroes”.
To be honest, I have very little faith in the new congressional majority, but I have more faith in them … and in President Bush … then in the team he has brought in to replace Rumsfield. Google “Iraq Study Group” and look at the courses of action they have leaked. My heart almost died within me when I read them.
The people who abandoned the Shiites to their fate in the 1990s will certainly not think twice about doing the same thing again.
The note of hope I have is that they are not President of the United States. Bush is. I can see already how a way we might proceed that will give the Iraqis a fighting chance and freeze out Iran and Syria. I hope he does it.
Respectfully,
Brian P.
November 11th, 2006 at 8:51 am
One other thing …
If you haven’t read Bill Whittle at
http://www.ejectejecteject.com, I think he’s hit EXACTLY the right note.
Respectfully,
Brian P.
November 11th, 2006 at 11:22 am
The Painful Loss
A big winner in this election was clearly the Old Media.
The MSM had a great deal of help from Conservatives as well.
November 11th, 2006 at 11:58 am
As I’ve said elsewhere lady, the right mix in Congress would be exactly equal shares of Republicans and Democrats. That would best represent the public at large. For the majority of Americans, it’s not about which party has the most politicians in office, it’s about who does right (overall) by the public.
November 11th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Great thoughts, with a good look back and an insightful look forward. No matter what happens, more prayers could only help during the next two turbulent years. Thanks for offering a sound perspective.
November 11th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
Regarding the comment from smmtheory, I’ve got to respectfully disagree. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are strongly entrenched in the interests of big business, while absolutely not giving a damn about their actual constituency because they’re too busy pushing through all kinds of crap to limit consumer freedom. The right mix is abolition of the oligopoly both parties have on our political system, and getting in people who actually have both a platform and ethics.
November 11th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
I agree. I have wondered how those purists think they can win elections if all they do is bitch about everyone else.
November 11th, 2006 at 6:30 pm
Election ‘06: Plus Four Days (November 11, 2006)
[Latest Posted Items on Top] “Our God is not Politics or the GOP”: a reminder to Republican Christian believers who are depressed about the election results. (The Anchoress) On the same track, Alicia Colon is optimistic: ‘Hopefully, a rare…
November 11th, 2006 at 7:43 pm
You’re not making sense Misogynist. Without consumer freedom, there would be no big business. And without big business, you’d be writing your complaint on a piece of bark and waiting for somebody to wander by and read it.
November 11th, 2006 at 10:28 pm
Advice From The Captain On Surviving The Midterms
For those down and out about the election results, Captain Ed has some very sound advice on surviving the midterms and how to go forward.
Depression and anxiety is natural, but we should not wallow in it, because it doesn’t produce anything po…
November 11th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
At last, a voice of sanity! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Hate to be an echo chamber, but you said exactly what’s driven me nuts about the conservatives in the past week. I’m so tired of the smug “I told you so” mantra from the raging purists (and I’m pretty far right on the spectrum.) I thought I was going to have to swear off political blogs for six months to let the hot air equalize, but fortunately now I have at least a couple of blogs to tide me over while the bloviating dies down.
November 12th, 2006 at 11:14 am
There Is No Substitute for a Change of Heart
Update: The Anchoress has expressed many of my thoughts in a more profound and meaningful way, as has Alicia Colon. **** For some reason, Republicans expected that they would be retained as a majority, once again. They have obviously never
November 12th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Election ‘06 — Lookin’ For The Sunny Side
There’s a dark and a troubled side of life
There’s a bright and a sunny side, too
Though we meet with the darkness and strife
The sunny side we also may view.
Keep on the sunny side always on the sunny side
Keep on the sunny side of life…
November 13th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
There is a Buddhist philosophy that requires that when one is wronged, you, the wronged, must chant for the happiness of the oppressor so that all that they have put out into the universe goes away from you and onto them. I am chanting for the happiness of the hatemongering Dems (not the ones like Joe Lieberman and other sane Dems).
November 13th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
I took a look at Ms. Colon and this is what I found:
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“The reason, quite possibly, is because the only clear Democrat agenda was getting rid of Mr. Bush. There really is such a thing as the Bush Derangement Syndrome. It has been the driving force behind the Democrats, the mainstream news organizations, and the academic community. They hate him.”
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Well, well, well. I thought our agenda was winning back the House and Senate. Silly me. All that stuff I get from the DNC, DFA, America Votes, and so on had nothing to do with any other occupant of an office but the President.
The talk [and the successful implementation] of a “fifty-state strategy” had nothing to do with electing anybody else, particularly. The targeting of Secretaries Of State to re-establish paper-trail voting and recounts was all a blind. The immense effort to round up Democratic Governors and State Legislators for the national political farm team was mere expediency to get George W. Bush back in the crosshairs.
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It would please me no end if the real Republican strategists continued to think this way. The Democrats I know have a long-term agenda in mind. It is called “taking our country back”, and you don’t do it merely by electing a president.
November 13th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
No point in worrying. God’s in His Heaven, all’s right with the world. There’s a new approach to this in a free book that’s on catholicfundamentalism.com
God, it seems, can program in three dimensions. He programmed particles, put them in motion, and all for us. Built a big stage, and we’re the stars, supposed to love our neighbors. For those not blessed with a lot of faith, it’s an approach that’s very attractive.
November 14th, 2006 at 1:26 am
There is always a lot of discussion about the left, right and center in elections. In my view, there are two sides engaged and with polar opposite views. The CENTER is usually those who do not pay attention, who show up on Leno interviews unable to answer who the VP is, and who tend to vote according to polls and what they hear. They switch back and forth between elections and rarely can carry on a conversation about why they voted for anything. It was fashionable to not like Bush and not like the Iraq war so this vote went democrat. When the country is at war with men and women on the front line risking their lives, I think they deserve more than what most in the center deliver. I also think the media is most responsible for the last election with their ongoing drumbeat of negative information. As to the right that hit on Bush when he started to get squishy, I would say that they were forced into this action and that as solid voters, they have the obligation to hold the people they vote for accountable while they are in office. I think that is the least we can do. I wish the left would do the same with their elected pols. We have to because the CENTER is not paying attention.
November 14th, 2006 at 9:19 am
[...] The Anchoress, ailing herself, sees this election as a correction, but with higher stakes. This election, in the end, is just a realignment, a correction. But unlike the small corrections that routinely occur in the stock market, this one is going to be a lengthy one, and a very important one - it’s going to be a correction that either pulls us together and makes us a stronger nation, or utterly sinks as we bog down in political payback and recrimination. The Dems are going to be accountable now, that’s going to change things. [...]
November 14th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
Great post, Anchoress. The government seems eager to forget, that the people are the actual government, and are only too happy when the people themselves forget that simple fact.
Do you ever wonder what the government would look like if we actually had one hundred per cent voter turnout?
November 14th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
We on the Right have been impatient and contemptuous with the Left’s trotting out of Vietnam again, because frankly it’s tiresome: after all those movies and TV shows that beat the Futility Of War drum so incessantly, we can safely say that we get it–War Is Hell. As in, duh. Like we need 13 years of Hawkeye Pierce’s pacificst tantrums to figure that out.
But now that the Democrats have taken Congress, the Left’s use of the Vietnam paradigm threatens to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Read the rest…
November 15th, 2006 at 10:55 am
I wasn’t real pleased with the election’s outcome, but I know that God is in control of all things, but that He may allow us to fall down and bloody our noses from time to time. I desperately want to be proven wrong that I believe this country is falling like Rome. I want the Democracts to leave me pleasantly surprised, even though I didn’t vote for any of them. I won’t hold my breath though. I don’t have a death wish. Now that they’re behind the 8 ball, I think we’re forcing them to put up or shut up. Unless something spectacular can be achieved on any issue in 2 years’ time, I expect yet another revert in 2008.
November 20th, 2006 at 11:17 am
[...] (Hat tip: The Anchoress.) Technorati tags: Election 2006, Politics. [...]
December 28th, 2006 at 5:50 pm
[...] My optimism has lessened somewhat. Helen Reddy is partly to blame. But demographics may doom us all, anyway. On the mania for the murder of a pope or a president. [...]