The Small Victories
Election 2004 was not a good day for the Democrats. It seems that barring the discovery of massive last minute fraud, the Democrats will not regain the White House, and along with it judicial appointments. They will also loose representatives in the House, and the Senate will go from nearly dead even to 55-45 Republican. The Democratic Leader of the Senate , Tom Daschle, lost his own seat.
Despite these truly horrible results, some races were won. The next Senator from Illinois will be Barack Obama. Obama, the son of a Kenyan immigrant and first black president of the Harvard Law review very much represents the future of the Democratic Party. A minority, well-educated, socially liberal and midwestern, Obama represents the best of the Democrats. Not only that, but as he will be the only black member of the Senate he assures black representation in the upper house (theoretically with 13% of the population blacks should have 13 senators, but the affirmative action for small rural white states assures they are underrepresented.) His charisma and star power seem to make him a logical choice for even higher office, but in the meantime his intelligence should serve the Senate well, particularly a Senate with men like Tom Couburn and Jim DeMint lurking about.
The next Senator from Colorado will be Ken Salazar, a well-educated, Hispanic, southwestern Democrat, who can win rural votes. This profile also represents the future of the Democratic party, as well as the future of America as a whole. Although much has been made about the Republicans securing the fast growing South while the Democrats slowly consolidate their grip on the declining RustBelt, the fastest growing region of the country is actually the Southwest. It's good to see the Democrats making gains in states where population growth is so large, with Democratic governors in Arizona and New Mexico and a new Senator from Colorado. Calcareous experience as a public servant should serve him well in the Senate, and I have a feeling his popularity will only rise in office. (It's hard for Obama's to rise any higher.) Salazar just may bring Colorado over to the Democrats next time around. In the meantime, its good to see that the Democrats will have a Hispanic member of the Senate to balance the Republican Mel Martinez of Florida.
In the House the picture is more muddled, with local issues dominating the election. Ken's brother John Salazar picked up a Republican seat in western Colorado, adding to Colorado's Democratic credentials. In Illinois the longest serving Republican member of the House was taken down by newcomer Melissa Bean. Bean represents something quite separate from the two Salazrs. Rather then portending a Republican state moving to the Democrats, a rare occurrence, Bean stands for the increasing consolidation of the two geographical bases of the two parties. It is becoming increasingly rare to find any Democratic elected officials in the Red states, and any Republicans in the Blue. The cleaning of the Southern Senate seats and Tom Daschle's loss shows this very clearly, but so does a race like Bean's. In theory, such an occurrence, if done to completion would make for Democratic gains. But all politics is local, such a deep geographic polarization is unlikely, especially with the black enclaves in the south and the gerrymandered suburban districts in the north.
Overall, it seems, the Democrats have added a few new stars to their party, despite their humiliating losses nationwide. The 2006 elections should be interesting, with a new crop of Senators being challenged and Governor's races nationwide.
On a final note , the Democrats seem to have won the governorship of Montana. I don't know what that's all about exactly, but it might portend a significant demographic shift as retirees and young families from the Pacific Northwest migrate further inland to get away from it all. Place like Missoula and Boise are trending more and more Democratic. Small victories, but perhaps a sign of good things to come.
Despite these truly horrible results, some races were won. The next Senator from Illinois will be Barack Obama. Obama, the son of a Kenyan immigrant and first black president of the Harvard Law review very much represents the future of the Democratic Party. A minority, well-educated, socially liberal and midwestern, Obama represents the best of the Democrats. Not only that, but as he will be the only black member of the Senate he assures black representation in the upper house (theoretically with 13% of the population blacks should have 13 senators, but the affirmative action for small rural white states assures they are underrepresented.) His charisma and star power seem to make him a logical choice for even higher office, but in the meantime his intelligence should serve the Senate well, particularly a Senate with men like Tom Couburn and Jim DeMint lurking about.
The next Senator from Colorado will be Ken Salazar, a well-educated, Hispanic, southwestern Democrat, who can win rural votes. This profile also represents the future of the Democratic party, as well as the future of America as a whole. Although much has been made about the Republicans securing the fast growing South while the Democrats slowly consolidate their grip on the declining RustBelt, the fastest growing region of the country is actually the Southwest. It's good to see the Democrats making gains in states where population growth is so large, with Democratic governors in Arizona and New Mexico and a new Senator from Colorado. Calcareous experience as a public servant should serve him well in the Senate, and I have a feeling his popularity will only rise in office. (It's hard for Obama's to rise any higher.) Salazar just may bring Colorado over to the Democrats next time around. In the meantime, its good to see that the Democrats will have a Hispanic member of the Senate to balance the Republican Mel Martinez of Florida.
In the House the picture is more muddled, with local issues dominating the election. Ken's brother John Salazar picked up a Republican seat in western Colorado, adding to Colorado's Democratic credentials. In Illinois the longest serving Republican member of the House was taken down by newcomer Melissa Bean. Bean represents something quite separate from the two Salazrs. Rather then portending a Republican state moving to the Democrats, a rare occurrence, Bean stands for the increasing consolidation of the two geographical bases of the two parties. It is becoming increasingly rare to find any Democratic elected officials in the Red states, and any Republicans in the Blue. The cleaning of the Southern Senate seats and Tom Daschle's loss shows this very clearly, but so does a race like Bean's. In theory, such an occurrence, if done to completion would make for Democratic gains. But all politics is local, such a deep geographic polarization is unlikely, especially with the black enclaves in the south and the gerrymandered suburban districts in the north.
Overall, it seems, the Democrats have added a few new stars to their party, despite their humiliating losses nationwide. The 2006 elections should be interesting, with a new crop of Senators being challenged and Governor's races nationwide.
On a final note , the Democrats seem to have won the governorship of Montana. I don't know what that's all about exactly, but it might portend a significant demographic shift as retirees and young families from the Pacific Northwest migrate further inland to get away from it all. Place like Missoula and Boise are trending more and more Democratic. Small victories, but perhaps a sign of good things to come.
posted by Anomadic at 5:31 AM
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