Sherrod Brown didn't let the Dem's down, and neither did the majority of Democratic candidates across the country. Hell, Murtha won by a frikkin' landslide, and I'm willing to bet that even John Kerry would have won last night if he had been up for re-election.
In a swing state like Ohio, this election was a complete and utter disaster for the Republicans. We elected a Democratic governor for the first time in 20 years. Across the state, Dem's beat their Republican opponents. Even here in Ohio's Deep South, Mike DeWine lost to Sherrod Brown, a loss that just boggles my mind. Southern Ohio has ALWAYS been a Republican-dominated area- until now.
WHY!?!!????!
It's not just the war. It's not just the recent national scandals. It's not just gas prices or energy bills. It's not just fiscal responsibility. It's not just one or two glaring issues.. it's a combination.
We wanted a conservative government geared toward change... and the Dem's capitalized on that. They took advantage of the nation's emotions. October was a terrible month in terms of human life lost in Iraq and Afghanistan. The media went out of their way to highlight each and every death. They focused on the anti-war crowd, and the emotions associated with the loss of our soldiers.
Instead of focusing on anything good that has happened in Iraq or Afghanistan, all we hear is death, destruction, corruption, murder, rape, prisoner abuse, and a lack of equipment. The voices of our boots-on-ground soldiers and the common citizen in Iraq and Afghanistan is never heard- no mention of the electricity or water that's been restored, the schools which have been built, the hospitals which have been refurbished, the vast amount of the country under local control instead of US control, the number of lives which have been saved due to body armor and vehicle reinforcement. The American public is being sheltered from the GOOD stories coming out of the Middle East for some reason. I wish I knew why.
The Republicans lost control of the government yesterday. I can only hope that the Democrats who were elected are truly the right-leaning conservatives they claim to be. The only shining light I could see last night was the fact that many of the Democrats who won are NOT far-left liberal wingnuts- they seem to be more Centrist. That, my friends, is a good thing. I'm hoping that those elected last night will bring about positive changes.
If I could have created a perfect candidate, he or she would have wanted to end illegal immigration, improved our national image, created a true winning strategy in the Middle East, reduced gasoline costs by eliminating the tax breaks given to the big oil companies, maintained our current federal income tax breaks for individuals, created civil unions, banned partial-birth abortions, banned smoking in all public places, improved medical and life insurance coverage for our military, reduced medical malpractice lawsuits (which will reduce malpractice insurance costs, which will reduce the amount doctors and hospitals have to charge, which will reduce the cost of insurance), provided more public funding for higher education (like California state schools), outlawed protesting at funerals, and had a viable plan for balancing the budget.
I know. Pipe dream. But that's what I wanted from my candidates yesterday. None of it is beyond possibility, but it was impossible to find a candidate that met all of my criteria. I think that's what the rest of America saw too, and being dissatisfied with the status quo, voted for the opponent just for change. I just hope they voted for the right change.
Gary and Joseph... sittin' in a tree.... K I S S I N G 
