Americans are still in search of change.
They wanted change in 2008. And Obama ran his campaign based on the promise of bringing hope and change to America. But it wasn't merely change that Obama promised to bring to our country, but a "fundamental transformation of the United States of America." However, Americans realized that the change Obama promised was not the change that they were wanted. As a result, the American people voted for change again in the 2010 midterm elections.
This time, it was American people's turn to fundamentally transform America. And boy, the change was big. How big? For starters, lets look at what happened on the national level. Americans gave the republicans their largest victory of the House since 1948 and even was an even bigger wave the 1994 midterm elections. This allowed the Republicans to regain control of the House. By gaining 63 seats in the House of Representatives, they are now in the majority.
Obtaining control over the House is a big change, no doubt. However, the real fundamental change is how much power the American people took away from the Democrats in Washington D.C.:
"Republicans defeat three major committee chairmen and at least seven lawmakers who claimed 20 years' seniority or more in Congress.Democrats have already shed 376 years of congressional experience, and that could go as high as 430 years if five other Democrats lose races in which returns show they are trailing."
Not only did the American people make a fundamental change at the national level, but also made a drastic change at the state and local level:
At the gubernatorial level the GOP now controls 29 governorships compared to just 19 for the Democrats. Republicans also picked up 680 seats in state legislatures, the highest figure in the modern era according to figures provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures."
Consider how significant these changes are:
The North Carolina Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1870. Yes, that is Eighteen Seventy.
The Alabama Legislature is Republican for the first time since 1876.
For those saying this is nothing because it is the South, consider these:
The entire Wisconsin and New Hampshire legislatures have flipped to the GOP by wide margins.
The State Houses in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Montana, and Colorado flipped to the GOP.
The Maine and Minnesota Senates flipped to the GOP.
With the American voters giving the Republican party major victories at national, state and local levels, they also made a fundamental change in America's future. Republicans now control all national and state levels of the redistricting process. Why is this significant? Well, here's a good explanation:
Following each once-a-decade census, the nation must reapportion the House’s 435 districts to make them roughly equal in population, with each state getting at least one seat.
That “redistricting” will likely favor the GOP this year, which as the ruling House party has the power to draw new congressional district lines.
Because of the census, Texas will gain four new House seats, and Florida will gain two. Gaining one each are Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington.
Ohio and New York will lose two House seats each. Losing one House seat are Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Florida will now have as many U.S. House members as New York: 27. California will still have 53 seats, and Texas will climb to 36.
What does that mean? Republican leaning states will get more representatives in Congress which means that the Republicans can get even more seats in House This is bad news for the Democrats because all 10 states losing House seats have Democratic registration advantages. What this means is that because the Republicans are in power at the state and federal level, they can redraw the district boundaries so that they retain the advantage in elections for many years to come and thereby solidifying their hold in state wide and national legislative Houses for a long time in the future. This means that the Republicans will have deep and long lasting power for ten years or more.
With Americans clearly rejecting the kind of change Obama envisioned for America and making a fundamental and long lasting conservative transformation of the United States of America, its safe to say that America are looking for conservative solutions to the most pressing issues of our day.
The question is, will America get the change they want?
Tomorrow morning, change will occur. America will have a new Congress. The old 111th Congress will now be a sad chapter in our nation's history as it will be viewed as the most financially irresponsible Congress has ever had. Will the new 112th Congress be able to make the changes the voters wanted in 2010?
That remains to be seen as conservatives squabble with each other on whether or not Congress should raise the debt ceiling and GOP freshmen hold lavish parties despite the fact that House Speaker John Boehner promises to be a frugal leader.
Obama doesn't think the new 112th Congress will not ultimately give the Americans the change they want because they will "play to their base for a certain period of time" before going back to politics as usual.
What do you think? Will Americans will get the change they want or is Obama correct that the Republicans are doing it for show?
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