Mama said there’ll be days like this

© 2008 by Michael Swickard, Ph.D.

“The Republicans all went home last night and slept like babies… they woke up crying every two hours.” – Gloating coffee shop comment the morning after the 2008 election

The morning after the election, the first song I heard was the 1961 Shirelles hit, “Mama said there’ll be days like this.” No, my Mama never told me there would be election days like this.

At the coffee shop my Republican friends were way past despondent. In the local, state and national elections the Republicans, Greens and independents were whipped like rented mules by the Democrats. The debates, the facts, the ads, the individual campaign efforts put into each race did not matter; in every case only Democrats won.

Naturally, my Democratic friends could not stop smiling and hugging themselves with delight. Who could blame them? They swept the table in a manner that seemed to say there would never ever be anyone in our area but a Democrat elected, forever and ever, amen.

Election night I was a commentator on Las Cruces talk radio station KSNM-AM 570. We started coverage right after the polls closed and, with about six votes counted out of a million votes cast in New Mexico, the networks called the election for Barack Obama.

Heath Haussamen, this blog’s owner, joined the radio group throughout the night by phone. In the studio the coverage was spearheaded by Program Director Ernesto Garcia along with news directors Joanne Torres and Jack Nixon. Assisting behind the scenes were Sarah Holguin and Gino Aragon.

In the first two hours or so after the polls closed, the local contests all seemed close. Either candidate might win. Of the 117 precincts in Doña Ana County, everything was tied through the first 89 reporting precincts. Then the 90th box came in and the entire election shifted to where the democrats were leading in every race. It was a swing of a couple thousand votes. Even though during the rest of the night the boxes came in even, the damage was done by reporting precinct 90. Evidently, all of the local races hinged on that one box. (Editor’s note: That “one box” was the adding to the tally of the early votes.)

So I could see that only Democrats were going to win. The problem was not that I was rooting for one side to win; rather, I wanted some of both parties to win so there would be a two-party system. With only one party, there is no politics. Samuel Himmel wrote, “A dictatorship is a country where they have taken the politics out of the politics.”

The will of the people

Nationally, the will of the people was expressed. I was ambivalent between John McCain and Obama and had written that Obama was attractive to me in that he could grow into the job. I did not want a person of African heritage elected simply because of that African heritage; I wanted the best person elected without concern for gender or heritage. I wanted race and age and gender out of the election so we could concentrate on the one real question, “What is the legitimate role of government in a free society?”

That was the question on which our country was founded, and each election is a vote to define it. From the vote it seems we Americans overwhelmingly wish to have the government expand and our personal liberties shrink.

There was plenty of information on both McCain and Obama to talk about their view of government. Both wanted a larger, more intrusive government; this was just an election about the degree of change.

We appear headed into a time when government will play an increasingly more profound role in our lives, especially when it comes to our health and income. The people voted the power to the government to decide the question of what you have that you do not need.

What caused this change for the Democrats? Four explanations: First, George W. Bush was such a lightning rod for criticism that even when voters in my burg were voting for dog catcher the Democrat won because of the “National GW Effect.” Doubtful.

Second, the organization ACORN has concentrated over many election cycles on registering primarily Democrats from heavily Democrat neighborhoods. Perhaps they have registered enough new Democrats to swing the vote. Quite possible.

Third, almost one third of all workers in America work for the government. Hence, the overwhelming majority of government workers are Democrats and so every new government job creates even more voting Democrats. Quite possible.

Finally, the presidential candidate with the best media smile was by far Obama. I rate media attractiveness as quite possible.

One-party rule

This election was a “Perfect Storm” of political change for the above reasons. What that portends for America and especially New Mexico is that we have swung to a complete Democrat rule for the foreseeable future of at least a generation.

For one thing, after seeing all of the effort put into the last couple of elections by Republicans, for naught, how could a Republican in all honesty throw his or her hat in the ring? When the only ones winning are Democrats, fewer and fewer non-Democratic candidates will run.

Will it swing back? It depends if, while having unlimited power, the Democrats do not change the election rules to increase their hold. If they do that, they will singularly rule forever.

Tuesday night may have been the last gasp for all other political parties. I hope not, but fear for an America under only one party.

Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.