Staff Editorial
Tuesday’s election results certainly came as a surprise to many, in that while Democrats were sure to take back the House, the Senate would prove more difficult.
With Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and George Allen, R-Virg., conceding victory to their Democratic opponents, suddenly the Senate is also in Democratic hands. It is the first time since 1994 that Democrats have had a majority in Congress, which bears importance, in that this is the first time in a long time that Democrats will have a dominant voice in government.
With Democrats now at the controls of the Legislative Branch and Republicans maintaining control of the Executive Branch, an important and necessary balance exists.
President George W. Bush realizes this balance means his administration has to work with the Democrats to get things done, instead of simply ignoring their voice because they cannot back it up with votes. Democrats now have the votes, and things will not be as easy for the President.
Perhaps the most important result of the election is that the system of checks and balances has returned. This distinguishing factor that makes our Federal Government so unique is this idea of checks and balances; each branch is able to place limited restraints on the power exerted by the other branches. When you have one party controlling all three branches, there is little in its way to stop or check their actions and decisions.
Of course this one party dominance was the case for the past six years. Republicans have been controlling the agenda for even longer and the voters gave a stamp of disapproval to that agenda and are asking for a new approach to issues.
Suddenly, Bush is beginning the shake-up of the Executive Branch that he had promised would come. Donald Rumsfeld is out, Bush is saying he would welcome new ideas on the Iraq problem, and the new photo-op coming out of the White House is of Bush sitting down with Democrats to discuss the next few years.
Despite all of the smiles from Democrats over the past few days, the pressure is now on them to perform, because with new power comes new responsibility. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Nancy Pelosi D-Calif., leaders of the Senate and House, respectively, must work closely with President Bush if they have any hope of getting things accomplished. But Bush must also realize that a mountain of vetoes will bring the legislative process to a stalemate.
There must be a balance, a middle ground, a moderated voice coming from our government, as opposed to two parties bickering about each other and one not being able to do anything to stop it. Just as President Bill Clinton worked with Republicans from 1994 to 2000, so must Bush from 2006 to 2008. Anything short of that would prove to be just another partisan disaster in a still deeply divided country.
Democrats finally have the chance to make things happen in government, and surely if they do not, their reign of Congress will not last long in this recently right-leaning Nation.
Now that the long-awaited results are in, what we, as students, can do is to closely watch what transpires, especially in the first few days of the new Congress. For much of any party’s success in 2008 hinges on how each party handles itself over the next two years in Congress.
What is most important, though, from this election is that the electorate has forced the issue of compromise and consensus among Congress, which is something that has long been missing.
The electorate voted for change in this election, and change they got.
Whether Bush and the Democrats can actually work together remains to be seen, but our government will suffer and would be doing a disservice to citizens if they remain at odds and do not budge.
11-16-2006