I got an e-mail from a fellow blogger I greatly respect (who will remain anonymous), expressing his despondency after the losses in the midterm elections. Watching the Democrats grab control of both chambers of Congress deeply affects him, as he has spent so much of himself trying to assist the Republican cause for the past few years. Now, he can't see his way clear to any cause for optimism, and he asked for my advice -- and since I think more than a few of the CQ community may feel the same way, I figured I'd post my thoughts on the subject.

I'm neither depressed nor giddy at the thought of working from the opposition, at least on legislative matters. Some conservatives tried to temper the loss with large doses of optimism, claiming to feel "liberated" at the prospect of being unchained in some manner from the GOP yoke. Criticism of these statements has been greatly overblown; none of them has ever lied to advance the Republican agenda. They have championed the Republicans by focusing on stories and personalities that put the best foot forward, because they believed that the Republicans and their agenda served the nation best. They have often criticized Republicans and Republican leadership, but in the election, they emphasized that voters needed to make a choice -- and they supported the Republicans.

Elections come and elections go. Americans make choices, and we live with these choices. They do not amount to the end of the world or the end of our democracy unless Americans stop supporting the processes that allow those choices. I have been through enough good news and bad news that I have learned two very important lessons, both in politics and in life:

Nothing is ever as good as it looks, and nothing is ever as bad as it seems.

Depression and anxiety is natural, but we should not wallow in it, because it doesn't produce anything positive. We now have to work to push our agenda and policies from the minority, and that will be a tough battle. We will have to find ways to work with the Democrats, or we will have to give up and let them run everything. I'm not prepared to give up, nor am I prepared to act like this is the end of the world.

The American voters made their choice. Now we have to go to work, preparing a positive agenda for the nation, engaging the Democrats on issues where we can find agreement, and opposing them when we cannot. Gridlock will be likely, and that's not a bad thing on domestic issues, but we cannot afford to be paralyzed on the war effort. That requires a large effort by Republicans to work with Democratic leadership -- because we simply have no choice, not for the next two years. If we dig in our heels, we will leave this nation dangerously exposed to terrorists, and that's neither responsible nor Republican.

My advice to my blogger friend and the CQ community is to rationally plan for the next two years in the minority. We have to remain firm on our principles while still working to serve our nation. Sometimes that will require compromise, and sometimes it will require tenacious defense of our own principles. That's honorable and necessary work, and we will have plenty of it to do until 2008.

Tomorrow, I'll address what else we need to do to recapture the majority in 2008.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Surviving The Midterms:

» MIDTERM SURVIVAL from Texas Hold 'Em Blogger
Ed Morrisey at Captain’s Quarters has a good guide to those of us trying to make sense of Tuesday’s results as well as depressed and anxious over the nation’s future. Depression and anxiety is natural, but we should not wallow in it, ... [Read More]

Tracked on November 11, 2006 12:36 PM

» Surviving The Midterms from Bill's Bites
Surviving The MidtermsEd Morrissey I got an e-mail from a fellow blogger I greatly respect (who will remain anonymous), expressing his despondency after the losses in the midterm elections. Watching the Democrats grab control of both chambers of Congre... [Read More]

Tracked on November 12, 2006 12:48 AM

» Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup from Pirate's Cove
And a Happy Sunday on this Veteran's Day weekend, hope everyone is doing well. Wishing a Happy Birthday to President Gerald Ford, who is now the longest living president in US history. Fun in Liberal World The typical progressive: "conservat... [Read More]

Tracked on November 12, 2006 8:22 AM

» Sunday links from Public Secrets: from the files of the Irishspy
It's a lovely, cool Sunday morning here on the west side of Los Angeles: grey light filters through the clouds, and the only sound is that of the crows cawing in the distance. A perfect day for writing, so today's [Read More]

Tracked on November 12, 2006 11:09 AM

» Election '06 -- Lookin' For The Sunny Side from "Okie" on the Lam
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 ... [Read More]

Tracked on November 12, 2006 8:24 PM

» Round Up of the News from Webloggin
Newly elected Democrats know they can not act like rabid liberals or they will not have a job in two years. It has been asserted by many that those who won did so as moderates and therefore can not vote on radical liberal ideas or they will be booted f... [Read More]

Tracked on November 13, 2006 11:22 AM