Rand Paul and the New Bohemians

random thoughts about last night's election results...
Who would you rather be -- Christine O'Donnell's opponent (who won), or Rand Paul's opponent (who lost)? I only mention Chris Coons in this example because, prior to the primaries, he was labeled as a very weak choice to run for the Dems, everybody knew it, and yet here he is, Mr. Senator-elect, thanks to being the more-sane option in the statewide election. He should be thanking his lucky stars today. Then again, if you are a student of political science, you would know that the U.S. political history is full of stories about how certain winners came to be because of the weakness or blunders of their otherwise heavily-favored opponents. We do know one thing: he can't blame witchcraft! And how about Jack Conway in Kentucky -- dude, not only did you lose your election, but you just lost to Rand friggin' Paul! Now, I'm not either for or against Paul, and I really wish him (and all the other winners) well -- they have a huge weight of expectations on their shoulders today going forward -- but Conway should have (and could have) run a more effective campaign that what he did, especially given his opponent. Paul and his fellow tea-partiers are fringe at best, and they still have not come up with alternative and specific solutions to the problems they rail against. If you have read my previous posts, you would know that this is a pet peeve of mine, especially in the past two elections when the Dems were all too caustic against President Bush, but had no specific solutions of their own. Now we see why -- it's not as easy to solve issues as it is to point them out and complain about them.
In my opinion, I believe the American voters have seen and felt this, too, and have finally expressed their displeasure via their votes. The Dems knew we were in crisis mode when they came into power two years ago, and yes, they have accomplished a few things, but in this day and age of "instant gratification" and "what have you done for me lately", immediate actions speak much louder than words. Gone are the days when Washington can sit on an agenda and take their time to iron things out. We are used to having things NOW: The tv is instant-on; just about every kitchen has had a microwave in it for years; refrigerators and/or freezer are stocked with microwavable foods; we support one-stop shopping for clothes-groceries-banking-dry cleaning-etc; our creditors expect immediate payment (and have no tolerance for slack); the world of information is not only at our fingertips via our computer, but our computer has the ability to operate with the latest, fastest broadband width conceivable (and then some); we all have mobile phones that do much more than just make phone calls, making us instantly available...and I can go on. The point is that we have this mind-set in our sub-conscious and therefore we no longer tolerate slack from anything, whether it's our vendors, our neighbors, or our politicians. So Good Luck, you new Tea Party peeps -- just be sure to understand that you are not beholden to all of your agenda, you would be wise to pick your battles. Good Luck, John Boehner -- personally, I believe that you will be a huge improvement over Nancy Pelosi (the bar is very low to begin with), just don't make the mistake that Newt Gingrich did and let it all go to your head. The nation awaits -- but remember, don't take too long to act!