Gridlock!

(Click for AUDIO VERSION)

Not knowing how the presidential election was going to turn out, I wrote two separate articles depending on the outcome, one if President Obama won the election, and one if Governor Romney had won. Now that we know the outcome, we can proceed.

By a narrow margin, Barack Obama retained his job as president of the United States. It was certainly NOT a mandate, but rather a simple plurality. Nonetheless, it is still his job to perform and we can only hope he can somehow reduce the unemployment rate, balance the budget, and cut the federal debt. Regardless of what you thought of Mr. Obama before the election, it is up to him to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Whether he is able to do so is questionable as the country will continue to spiral downward thanks to the gridlock between the Congress and the Oval Office.

Unlike President Clinton, who was able to work with a Republican Congress, it is more likely the president and the GOP will remain at loggerheads, at least until the next Congressional election in two years. If the last two years are any measure, the country will increase the federal debt, unemployment will remain high, and the direction of the country will continue to spiral out of control.

The Republicans will have to go back to the drawing board in order to retake the White House. No matter how they spun it, Mitt Romney was more of a moderate than a conservative. John McCain was essentially no different in 2008. Now, with Mr. Obama firmly in charge of the White House, I believe the next GOP contender to emerge will be a true conservative. If the government stagnates, as I suspect it will, the Tea Party will likely grow and flourish over the next two years and will no longer back down from senior Republicans who are moderate in nature. The conservative movement will become more robust and take control of both houses of Congress in 2014. After that, the White House in 2016.

Four years ago, I wrote a column on "Presidential Legacies." In it, I publicly thanked President Bush for his service to the country. I was ridiculed for doing so, but I was unapologetic and remain so to this day. Interestingly, Mr. Obama's legacy will not be his policies or actions (some would say "inactions"), but for re-awakening the conservative movement in this country. It's an interesting dichotomy whereby the more President Obama wins, the greater his opposition grows. Conversely, if he loses, the conservatives weaken. Consider this, had Barack Obama lost in 2008 it is highly unlikely the Tea Party would have ever surfaced, and the Democrats wouldn't have lost the House of Representatives in 2010.

Let's just hope I'm wrong and that the country will work out its differences. You'll excuse me if I do not hold my breath.

Keep the Faith!

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Copyright © 2012 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.