After enduring endless months of campaigning, this nation has finally arrived at Election Day. Our minds and news sources are consumed with election politics, but at this time of year, one cannot help but consider another great American November tradition: Thanksgiving Day, an opportunity to enjoy family and food and relax on the couch with something other than election coverage on TV.
Surely we will all breathe a sigh of relief when the 2008 elections are complete, but the cranberry sauce will be a bittersweet reward if I find myself having to worry about this nation's future under the direction of the Democratic Party. As a somewhat belated warning to the Democrats and those who would like to see them elected to power, I feel compelled to bring up my mother's annual Thanksgiving advice: "Don't eat so much! Don't eat so quickly!"
An Obama presidency and a Democrat-controlled Congress would certainly be too much, too quickly. While many Americans are unhappy with our current government and want "change" — the natural result of any fall and any fall election — an Obama, Pelosi and Reid alliance would yield too much change in too short a time. In an effort to undo the alleged damage of the Bush administration, there would be an overly large push of liberal policy rather than the smaller steady steps needed to stabilize the country. This Democratic agenda would curtail free speech with the "Fairness Doctrine;" impose taxes on businesses, thereby hurting employees and consumers and slowing economic growth; socialize and bureaucratize healthcare rather than fundamentally reforming it; and stack the federal courts with judges that too liberally interpret the Constitution and empathize rather than administer justice.
The prospect of a 60-seat filibuster-proof Democratic Senate would ensure that these liberal policies are enacted, and it threatens the balance of our government. Rather than work together with members of all political parties, the Democrats would marginalize the Republicans and subsequently about half of American citizens. Even if the Democrats win both the White House and overwhelming majorities in Congress, their victory does not necessarily mean that they represent mainstream America. Should they win, it will be because moderate, centrist and independent Americans have entrusted the Democrat Party leadership to represent them. This would not be a divine mandate or blank check to far-left liberal policy, and Democrats should resist the temptation to interpret it as such.
Barack Obama has advertised himself in the general election as a "unity candidate" who appeals to Americans across classes and ideologies, but there is no guarantee he would maintain such an attractive status once in the Oval Office. The National Journal's 2007 Vote Ratings ranked Obama as the most liberal senator and Sen. Joe Biden as the third most liberal senator. In light of these senators' voting and legislative records, Biden's promise of the Obama administration bringing a bipartisan spirit to the White House seems markedly unlikely. Likewise, Pelosi's conjecture that Congress would be "more bipartisan" if the Democrats have "substantial majorities" is disingenuous and dubious at best. A one-party rule of all the branches of government is, by definition, not bipartisan.
While in his short time as a United States senator, Obama has been little more than a yes-man to the Democratic Party; Sen. John McCain has actually transcended partisanship by working together with Republicans, Democrats and Independents to produce meaningful legislation. Since 2005, 55 percent of McCain's legislative cosponsors were Democrats, compared to Republicans making up only 13 percent of Obama's cosponsors.
A McCain presidency would force bipartisanship into our government's decision-making process and ensure that all Americans have a voice in our national policy. He will provide a legislative balance that will promote progress and guarantee that our progress is responsible to the entire nation rather than partisan or special-interest groups. Judging by his record of experience, leadership and bipartisanship in the House and Senate, McCain is best suited to work with a Democratic Congress as President of the United States. As I look forward to plates of potatoes and gravy this Thanksgiving, I hope I will likewise be looking forward to a period of growth and prosperity in this great country. If we as a people do not let our government try to eat too much too quickly, we will surely be able to enjoy it together. To the ears of those who would elect Democrats into complete power, I hope my mother's sage warning is not too little, too late.
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Charles Skold is a sophomore who is majoring in political science.
