Ups and Downs

 

 

"Life is always full of ups and downs.  This week, much more so..."

As some know by now, yesterday turned out to be a sad and an unusual day. Coming home from a relaxing three day "recharge" on the North Shore, my wife received a phone call that her Father had just passed away. He was almost 91 and sick with pneumonia. Although not totally unexpected, it was still a shock. We will now spend time grieving, getting his possessions stored from his apartment, and then planning his memorial service.

Prior to getting the news about my wife's Father, I was deep in thought about the election. To say the least, I was very, very confused. I was ecstatic about how smart and strategic the Republicans were this year as compared to years passed. Coupled with the fact the President is more unpopular than Ebola, this set the table for a Republican tsunami. Even though the other side expected something bad, the magnitude of the victory left many on the other side shocked and dismayed.

Besides my glee knowing there is hope for our nation, I was speechless to what has happened to our fine state. We have gone from a politically blended state to hopelessly progressive. Even the pundits are now putting us in the same class as New York and California. Looking at the political map, we are an island of blue surrounded by a sea of red. This state, this beautiful state I have spent my entire life in, seems to be lost.

If not for the metro area, every election statewide election would have a "red" result. However, the Twin Cities makes it almost impossible for a highly a qualified Republican to win anything. This election, we had some highly qualified people running for Governor as the Constitutional Offices. All of them lost. They lost to people significantly less qualified. They lost because many in the Twin Cities would vote for Bullwinkle the Moose if he was on the DFL ticket.

Somehow this state managed enough pockets of red to squeeze out a Republican majority in the House. That is a good thing. Just like our National Congress now being in friendly hands, we can only hope the Minnesota Republicans are smart enough to set the table for a Republican takeover of the Minnesota Senate in two years.

So now that the dust has settled from the election, we wait until January when it is "go time". I really, really hope the Republicans get their strategy trump tight this time around. They need to hit the ground running. And, they need to do it without looking like zealots to the general public. History is being written right now. Lets hope it is the kind of history we will like reading about.