by R.W. Bleu
If you have not read U.S. Senator Jim DeMint’s book The Great American Awakening, the state of our country, and the importance of the pending elections of 2012 may seem daunting to you. But the score card from Senator DeMint’s book from the 2010 mid-term elections, coupled with the recent announcements from senators retiring their terms, provides hope to our cause for government fiscal responsibility, limited government, free markets and respect for our Constitution and Bill of Rights. At last, it appears as if we are electing a government that answers to “we the people.”
Senator DeMint’s PAC, the Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), carefully chooses and supports the strongest conservatives (Tea Party favorites) across our nation, even when it requires pitting two Republicans against each other. And he wins, often.
In the November 4, 2010 edition of The Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove wrote in his “Election Summary”:
“Tuesday’s election was epic. Republicans gained over 60 seats in the House and six in the Senate. They’ll now occupy eight additional governors’ mansions and at least 500 more seats in state legislatures. The GOP picked up more House seats than in any election since 1938, leaving Democrats with the smallest number in the House since 1946. Republican gains in the Senate are roughly twice the post-World War II midterm average. When Mr. Obama took office there were 22 Republican governors: Now there will be at least 29. Fifty incumbent Democratic congressman lost, including 22 freshman. An extraordinary nine senior Democrats with 18 years or more of service also went down, including three committee chairs: South Carolina’s John Spratt, Missouri’s Ike Skelton, and Minnesota’s Jim Oberstar. Their offense was to back the Obama-Pelosi agenda.”
The SCF website (senateconservatives.com) states: “There are 33 U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2012. Of those seats, 10 are currently held by Republicans, 21 are held by Democrats, and 2 are held by Independents who caucus with the Democrats”
To further qualify, of those seats up for election in 2012, at least nine senators have announced that they will retire at the end of their terms rather than seek reelection – six Democrats, one Independent, and two Republicans. Given the recent voting records of many of these retiring Senators, one can surmise the incumbents have heard the disgruntled voices of their constituents, weighed their odds of winning reelection, and opted out of their profession gracefully.
Senator DeMint summarizes the mid-term 2010 election results by stating “…it was unlikely anyRepublican would have won their election without tea party support.” This analysis is presented to us by a U.S. Senator, a Washington D.C. insider.
This election year, let us press on, be of great cheer, and, when the election results are final, we can all refer to 2012 as a Happy New Year.
