What the Mid-Term Election Means to You

Let’s try to put a practical spin on yesterday’s Republican take-over of Congress. First, it’s safe to say that the result was more an anti-Obama vote than one based on specific policy positions taken by the candidates. After all, since Obama’s election in 2008, the Republican Party has not taken positions or offered legislation any more substantial than voting “No” on everything the Democrats, including Obama, proposed.

When you have a polarized Congress like we do today—and a Congress that can’t agree on anything other than raining bombs down on hapless Muslim territories—what is a citizen to do? It’s safe to say that it will be at least two more years of gridlock until the next election, which pretty much takes the federal government out of the picture from a governance standpoint.

So here’s what you do. Make sure you live in a state and a community that supports your values. For example, if you have children, stay out of states like Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, and Wisconsin that are making major cutbacks to education as well as other services important to childhood development.

For those who care about your children’s education, you may want to consider states like New York, California, and New Jersey (although that state has its own set of problems and there are large variations among communities).

If you care about clean drinking water, then stay out of states with loose fracking laws, like Texas, North Dakota, Wyoming, Oklahoma and parts of Pennsylvania.

If you’re not comfortable being around a lot of guns, then stay clear of Virginia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, among several others.

Most states with Republican governors and legislatures will be looking to cut already inadequate budgets, which will mean poorer schools, crumbling infrastructure, inadequate medical care for the poor, and, in the case of Kansas, the very real threat of bankruptcy.

In a nutshell, expect nothing from the new Congress and the current president, because that’s exactly what you’ll get over the next two years. All politics is local now, so pick a place to live that coincides with your lifestyle, morality, social philosophy and personal needs.

I do wonder how long a nation can flourish without a functioning federal government. A pretty long time given that we’re still here and the legislative paralysis in Washington goes on and on.