Election Day Aftermath

I admit it. I have not listened to ANY election analysis. As any station started I changed the dial. All I wanted were results so I could ponder them on my own.

My final analysis: politics is local. This was not a referrendum for or against Bush. But if the Left wants to imagine that and continue their focus on anti-Bush ideals then I welcome them to it.

The facts are that it was a mixed board. GOP Mayor won in New York City. Dem governors won in New Jersey (shock) and in Virginia. Gay Marriage ban passed in Texas while some necessary (and reasonable) initiatives failed in California. DFL candidates won mayoral races in Minneapolis & in St Paul (though DFL mayoral candidates also lost in those 2 cities...since the choices were between DFL & DFL in both cities). GOP candidate beat the incumbant DFL mayor in St Cloud. San Francisco moved closer to France by outlawing all gun ownership. (Actually, I think France allows guns in the home.)

Turnout was very low.

So this really had nothing to do with Bush. In California I would guess that some of the initiatives did give Ah-nold an indication of how much trouble he is in. In Minnesota the only thing that should be taken out of this year's election is that no one really cares.

Maybe I'll crunch some numbers soon...but maybe not because this year I just don't care either.

Locally I have 3 predictions:
1) Minneapolis will contintue to get worse (though neither mayor would have been good for the city).
2) St Paul will regress (Kelly was doing a great job for St Paul, it is only the Bastard Party People that ran him out of office).
3) St Cloud will rebound and begin to flourish (anyone was better than the guy they just threw out--but Kleis will be awesome for the city).

One more observation about the MN-DFL. The moderates in the DFL are in trouble. You see the reception that moderate DFL mayor Kelly got from the DFL statewide. They want people like socialist DFLer Coleman to be their man. Moderates in the DFL have no place in the DFL.

Which means that the GOP of Minnesota had better reverse their narrow-minded approach of treating moderates with disdain. You had better reach out openly and completely to those moderates in the DFL. If you do that effectively over the next 12 months then I guarantee you will sweep the Executive Offices, win the Senate seat, maintain the Congressional delegation (maybe pick one up...but I would not bet on that), open up a large lead in the state House and win the majority in the state Senate.

Keep making the non-Christians feel unwelcomed and you will lose. Keep making the pro-choicers unwelcomed and you will lose big. Keep acting like the grass roots GOP are too dumb to know what is good for the party and we will stay home...you will lose bigger. Keep ignoring the importance right now of the RINO in the first ring suburbs and you will become a weak minority party in this state by 2006.

That is what I learned from yesterday's election results.

********** UPDATE **********
I thought I would address the Party Lapdogs who think that the tent should move to the right instead of getting bigger.

The tent should grow. It should grow a bit toward the middle and twice the bit to the right. It would ideologically still be moving on the average rightward but would also not set the ideology up to be exclusive and a small minority. As it is right now the party tent grows smaller in its inclusion.