Landslide?

Election week is here and if my news sources this morning are correct, we are about to throw a bunch of Democrats out of office. Practically every story I have read has used words like “historic” and “landslide” to describe what is about to befall the party of government in these midterms. Now that we are within 24 hours of the big vote the crazies have come out. Over the weekend, desperate Dems dragged out their heavy artillery, lobbing racial bombs throughout the fruited plain. In fliers distributed throughout predominantly black neighborhoods, voters were warned that a vote for a Republican would mean that land would be donated to the KKK! Charlie Rangel, the esteemed Congressman from Harlem proclaimed that some Republicans don’t know that slavery isn’t legal anymore. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat who has managed to be elected twice in Louisiana, suddenly has discovered that her state is full of a bunch of racist, sexist slobs…now that she has fallen behind in the polls.

But the best 11^th hour haymaker thrown by a desperate Democrat has to go to retiring Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who warned voters not to be taken in by Republican Joni Ernst just because she was “pretty” and “seems so nice.” I eagerly await a press release from the National Organization of Woman slamming the Senator for his demeaning, sexist, misogynistic comments.

I will vote tomorrow but will not make the same mistake I made last time. A year ago, I wrote a blog post entitled, “Voting NO” about my failed attempt to pull the lever for anyone. That decision was met with a chorus of condemnation. Let’s just say that this year, I will keep my voting behavior to myself.

That’s not to say that I don’t have an opinion on the proceedings. When almost every poll suggests a nationwide trend away from one party like this year, it’s always kind of a big deal. I have a theory about politics in America. Demographics are destiny. Generally speaking, I believe that a majority of people want the policies of the Democrats, ie…most people want their Social Security; most people want the government to be there when they lose their job, or become disabled and yes, I do believe that most people would prefer that the government provide them with health insurance. So, how to explain a national repudiation of the Democratic Party in an election? Competence.

The only time the Democrats get beat in an election is when the majority of voters are convinced that they don’t know what the hell they are doing. Regardless of your politics, it’s hard to make the case for competence with the current administration and the likes of Harry Reid. So, according to my theory, the Republicans are about to get their shot at running both houses of Congress. Good luck to them.

But they will be on a short leash. The American people will only reward them in the next election if they keep the entitlements flowing. They start fooling around with means-testing Social Security, or eliminating infinite unemployment benefits, or even scrapping the 20,000 page tax code, well they will be tossed to the curb before you can say “national debt.”