Both Dems & GOP Could Use Some Humble Pie

Despite their big victory, will Republicans listen to the voters and avoid Obama's mistakes?

Before we get to the serious, FrumForum-style analysis, I beg you, gentle reader, to allow a brief indulgence.

Anyone remember when some old congressional hands told Obama that, ya know, we actually tried doing this healthcare thing before and it didn’t exactly sit well with the voters . . . and it sat so badly that we even lost the House?

Obama’s priceless distinction on why, listen baby, this time it’s gonna be different: “You’ve got me.”

Haha!  That’s right, bucko: we’ve got you!  In ’94, the GOP won 54 seats—this time we won 60!  Thanks!  Couldn’t have done it without you, Barry!

Which leads beautifully into the real lesson from last night: a heaping dash of humility goes wonderfully well no matter whether you wear red, blue, or purple:

Obama/Pelosi/Reid/Progressives: This is the second time in twenty years America has said ‘no, thanks’ to Progressive politics.  You should have learned the first time.  Can you get it through your thick skulls now, Paul Krugman et al, or do you want to lose again?   If not, we conservatives could do this all over again in a decade or so and love every minute of it.

The Tea Party/Sarah Palin/Jim DeMint: Though this was a huge night for them, and they deserve a lot of credit for the victory, when you throw up horrendous candidates in places like Delaware and Nevada you can’t expect the American people to get behind you simply because President Obama is too liberal.  Politics is the art of the possible, friends.  Remember that next time.

The GOP: Herding the new cats with the old will bring unprecedented challenges when Congress convenes in January.  The Tea Party wants legislative scalps, and they want them fast.  But John Boehner showed some hopeful signs last night by being conspicuously non-celebratory and sober about the work to come.

Er, David Frum: Our dear leader Mr. Frum argued forcefully two years ago that following the Palin crowd would lead to abject political irrelevance.  I’m kinda sure the biggest Republican wave election in generations, mostly engineered by the Tea Party crowd that is so loyal to/enthralled by Sarah Palin, is rather politically relevant.

While this election was a repudiation of Obama and everyone on our side of the fence has much to be thankful for, we too have much to learn from last night.  The sloganeering and anger of the Tea Party may offend some of us on the right, but without it there is no way we would have gotten 60 House seats and at least 6 in the Senate.  Period.  As much as I wish the Tea Partiers were quoting chapter and verse from learned conservative treatises, they weren’t, they won’t, and there ain’t no new base waiting in the wings for an “enlightened” GOP to replace them with.

However, hating the stimulus and Obamacare alone does not a governing philosophy make—and unless the new House majority can offer real solutions to problems Americans have (e.g., unemployment, spiraling foreclosures, the crushing national debt) rather than just complain about the size of government, then this whole exercise will have been but a mere spasm on the road to serfdom.  So, Tea Party take note: this is where those hated “elites” like David Frum, what with their fancy educations and policy ideas, come in awfully handy to help flesh out a serious response to the electorate’s concerns.

So, mozel tov, Republicans!  Enjoy.  But may we all learn from Obama’s hubris and thus avoid our own version of the horrid political disaster he just presided over.