Despite the upsetting and unsettling results of the 2012 election, all things do appear to be working toward the greater good of this country.
The Republicans, the conservatives, those fiscally-minded toward preserving the integrity and institutions of this nation retained power in the House of Representatives. They control the spending, and they can shape the narrative on the national debt, the proper scope of the state, then microscope the poor leadership and petty politics of the US Senate majority and the President.
Yes, the US Senate remained in Democratic hands in 2012, mostly because of a poor Republican national standard-bearer, Mitt Romney, who degraded key candidates, helped instigate an internal dissatisfaction with the Republican voting bloc, and ultimately turned off key voters, who did not turn out to vote.
President Obama mobilized a massive social media blitz, targeting key voters at unique times through diverse media, tracking not just their support, but their stance on key issues in order to sway their vote just days before election day. Romney ran an also-ran, run-out-the-clock campaign, with little technology and even lesser charisma.
Still, President Obama won reelection by a slimmer margin than in 2008.
And President Obama’s party did not regain the House. Today, the more obdurate upper chamber, the US Senate, remains his problem. As tax reformer Grover Norquist asserted on ABC’S This Week following the 2012 election, the Democrats held the Senate because they did nothing, so there was nothing with which to fault them. Those perceptions may change with next budget fight: funding the government yet defunding Obamacare.
President Obama is entering his sixth year in office, which never bodes well for incumbents when their party holds the majority in either chamber of Congress. The six-year itch is already scratching at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s hold on power. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has not backed down from the fight, balancing collegiality and calculation, railing against Obamacare yet rallying his fellow Republicans to maintain pose and retain their fighting strength. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has asserted that he will take every means to defund Obamacare. Utah Senator Mike Lee assented on Meet the Press that forty-five senators voted to defund the law in March, and now their caucus has a forty-sixth ally, Jeffrey Chiesa, who replaced the suddenly-deceased Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey. Lee is now appealing to Democratic senators in red states, who face difficult campaigns following their liberal voting record, especially on Obamacare.
And their greatest ally in this fight, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, can contribute one strong hand in the ongoing fights: the power of the purse, including the first moves on continued funding.
From the founding of this country, the House of Representatives has represented the populist sentiment in our country. Every two years, voters directly elected their House Rep, whereas in the past state legislators would elect the US Senators. The Framers further required that all spending bills, and legislation dealing with appropriations, begin in the House. This constitutional mandate would ensure that larger states would not pay the brunt of federal costs, while also protecting smaller states from any maneuvers on policy or procedure from larger interests.
If any spending ensues, the Republican Majority must approve first.
Facing tactical opportunities to force the Democratic US Senate and President to honor the Constitution without dishonoring the nation’s credit, House Speaker John Boehner and his caucus have advanced incremental legislation to fund the government along with key provisions, like “no budget, no pay” and now the defunding of Obamacare.
Articulating the full sentiment of the American People, working with US Senators and his Tea Party caucus, Speaker Boehner announced: “The American people do not want a government shut-down, and they do not want Obamacare.”
Correct, and correct again. Their latest bill will force the US Senate, including the vulnerable Democrats, to make tough choices.
Will red-state Democrats like Mark Pryor of Arkansas side with his constituents and the Constitution or with his party caucus? A “Yea” vote for Obamacare will create more “nay” votes to his reelection in 2014. He should join the vote to defund Obamacare, or lose his seat. What about Mary Landrieu, Mark Begich, Kay Hagan, and also Joe Manchin? They face the tough prospects of voting “yea” then waving “good-bye” to their political careers.
Either way they vote, they will only hurt their stance in the US Senate, as their states openly detest Obamacare.
Despite the poor showing of Republicans in 2012, their ability to retain the House for the next two years has given them the upper hand for 2014, one which can prep their party and the country to repudiate President Obama’s massive, unpopular, and ultimately disastrous policies.