The Sunshine Empire

The mood is a dark one today across liberal-progressive America after the thumping they sustained in last night’s special election. The Democratic party suffered a stinging rebuke at the hands of roughly over half of one million voters in one state in one special election. I would imagine now having only 59 percent of the United States Senate the Democratic party is on the verge of disbanding. I would imagine it’s pointless for Barack Obama to continue on as President having suffered the worst defeat in a special election since the founding of the Republic. I am expecting his resignation will be announced by 5 PM eastern.

On a serious note it is a wake-up call early for the Democrats, but what kind of national message did the election send if any? Scott Brown was in favor of an almost carbon copy of what the President wanted on health care reform and his biggest disagreement with the current proposal in Congress was that his state already had universal health care. Is this earth shattering because the seat that he won has been in a Kennedy’s hands since the Eisenhower administration? I understand the mentality, but is it more proof that the simplistic idea of American politics as red vs. blue is no longer the operative ethic. When behavior and reaction no longer matches the scientific theory it is thrown out. Like the earth centered model of the universe, the red vs. blue should be considered null and void.

The definition of what makes a “red” or “blue” state seems to be fluid and always changing. What does make a state red or blue? Is it their history of voting in presidential elections? Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia all voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2008, but all are still considered red states. What about the types of senators a state elects? Ben Nelson has been reelected from Nebraska, a state as red as they come it would seem, and he’s a Democrat. Virginia is considered very red, but prior to this year they had two straight Democratic governors and two Democratic senators. No one would mistake Virginia for a Democratic stronghold. As the definition of red and blue states stretched to the breaking point some genius started the concept of purple. Let’s just admit that the labeling of states as red and blue in all encompassing characterizations is a much to basic childish way to describe the general politics of a state.

The differences and nuance of the politics of each state needs more than red and blue. Maybe it would be easier with one of those color wheels from Home Depot. Until then Massachusetts is now the capital of Teabaggistan and as ruby red as they come.