The year 2010 has the potential to dictate the political and economic future of our country for decades to come. The upcoming mid-term elections in November could perhaps be the most significant election since 1937 when Franklin Delano Roosevelt won his second term and was able to continue his New Deal plans.
American voters will have the opportunity to show their support for the Obama-Reid-Pelosi regime if voters again elect enough Democrats to Congress to give them continued control of the legislative branch of our federal government. Such a victory would serve as a green light for a Democratic Congress to continue remaking the banking, auto, healthcare, and energy sectors of our economy along with their planned immigration and labor reform which are sure to follow.
Or the voters will reject the efforts of the Democrats and elect enough Republicans to Congress to eliminate the governing majorities which the Democrats currently have in both the House and Senate. This would put a stop to the largest expansion of the federal government’s role in our economy since FDR. Many political pundits even expect the Republicans to regain control of the House while greatly diminishing the Democratic majority in the Senate.
Personally, I am growing tired of the labels Republican and Democratic to identify our politicians. It no longer matters which party is in power since both spend too much using IOUs to our children and grandchildren. The fact that the largest segment of registered voters is now independents seems to echo my sentiments. But as far as predicting control of Congress next year, I do not believe the Republicans will regain control but will add enough new members to seriously slow down Obama’s push for a more socialist America.
Florida will also be holding several important statewide elections next year. Those who read my column regularly know that I am no fan of Charlie Crist and I believe that Marco Rubio has a very high probability of beating him in the Republican primary for United States Senator. He is a young, energetic, Hispanic who truly represents the Big Tent potential of the Republican Party. I am confident that either of them, however, will beat the Democratic candidate in November.
As for the Florida Governor’s race, I think Republican Bill McCollum is a genuine person with a great resume but I do not believe he has the gravitas to win in November. I am hopefully that a new and credible Republican candidate will come forward to win that prize although voters tend to punish the incumbent party when things are bad and nobody can argue that Florida’s economy, job market, and real estate industries are worthy of rewarding a Republican candidate with another four years. But I am hopeful that Obama fatigue will overshadow statewide malaise.
Central to the outcome of all of these elections is the performance of the American economy by November. Under normal circumstances, the depleted state of our nation’s wholesale and retail inventories should naturally cause an uptick in manufacturing and jobs. But I believe that President Obama’s trillion dollar deficit, the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, and hefty new taxes being proposed by the Democrats will keep the economy in slow motion all the way through next year providing Republicans nationwide with the opportunity to pick many new seats including a victory by Republican Allan West over incumbent Democrat Ron Klein in eastern Broward County. It is too bad, however, that our local liberal poster girl Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is well protected in her gerrymandered Democratic district and will retain her Congressional seat for another two years.
And finally, I predict that the United States east coast will not sink into the Atlantic Ocean in 2010 due to manmade global warming. But thankfully, Obama’s planned Cap & Tax plan to force us to cut back our traditional energy consumption will sink under the weight of the increasing evidence of the phony science used to create that inconvenient truth. That said, I continue to encourage you to recycle and wisely spend your energy dollars since doing both will limit our dependence on foreign energy sources. Have a great year!
