Where do we go from here?

Well, it’s all over, but the shouting. To those on the Left, I offer congratulations. You got almost everything you wanted (save a 60-vote majority in the Senate). To those on the Right, I have a few more choice words – later. I, for one, am looking forward to the next couple of months as a sort of vacation from the political arena. There won’t be much going on for us Conservatives. I have no desire to participate in or listen to what I anticipate will be the media’s deification prior to the coronation of The Chosen One. So I think I’ll simply talk about every thing else BUT politics. That’s fair, as I fully intend to give the Obama Administration a chance to do what they think is best for the country. (The moment, however, that they break their word on anything, I will howling in protest, along with the rest of my Conservative brethren.) So in the spirit of moving forward, allow me to nail down a few loose ends:

1. I was wrong. I thought McCain could/would/should pull it out. Unfortunately, McCain was the wrong candidate from the get-go…the only way he managed to energize the base of the GOP – and the Conservatives within it – was to pick Sarah Palin as his VP. As smart a move as that was (and it was brilliant), it wasn’t enough. I assumed that Obama’s negatives would be enough to drive voters to McCain. The “twelfth man” on the field however (the combination of those that hate Bush and all he stands for plus the media in the tank for Obama) was too much to overcome.
2. This is an opportunity for the Right. The GOP has lost it’s way, from too many years in power. They forgot the principles of Ronald Reagan – lower taxes, smaller government, strong defense – and started behaving like Democrats. I think many in the middle asked, “why elect wanna-be Dems, when we can vote for the real thing?” Indeed. So it’s time to go back to the drawing board and ask “what makes a Republican a Republican, and how can we get our mojo back?”
3. Give them a chance. It’s in all our best interests to stand by and let the Democrats rule as they wish, and simply hold them to their promises. We MUST function as the “loyal opposition” and keep the glare of the spotlight of truth and openness on them – but if we don’t give them a chance to try their ideas, we’ll never be able to say that our ideas are better. 
4. If the country can survive Clinton, we can survive Obama. I, for one, believe things are gonna get worse before they get better. So be it. This is what the majority wanted. (Be careful what you wish for.) As much pain as I felt during the Clinton years, we still survived them. 
5. We have a new role – the Loyal Opposition. We can’t stop the “Change” Obama says he’ll bring. (Frankly, I think he’s got his own problems now, with Pelosi and Reid. They’re going to want to run things, and Obama may find holding, keeping, and wielding power is a lot more difficult than winning power.) We can, however, point out every time the Left fails to live up to their campaign promises. And by not standing in their way, we can try and avoid getting blamed when their loonier ideas blow up in their collective faces. 
6. We must remain vigilant. With the anticipated vacancies on the Supreme Court, the likelihood that our taxes WILL go up (if for no other reason, Obama’s plan to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire – they can claim their not raising taxes that way, but it amounts to exactly the same thing), we have a job to do – protecting American freedoms. If you’re not a member of the NRA now, do the country a favor and join today.