I'D LIKE TO THANK...

Yes, I know I haven't posted in forever, but I think I'm turning over a new leaf with all of the political shenanigans going on in the past 24 hours. With that, despite the fact that we now have a Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Kennedy, here's some things I'm thankful for with the passing of the election...

• The good people of South Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, Wisconsin, Virginia, South Dakota and Idaho for reaffirming traditional values and banning same sex marriage. Now I know you libertarians out there (*cough*Dan*cough*) think that this is not the purview of the government, that they should stay out of the private lives of consentual adults, etc. However, I am not a libertarian. I'm a federalist first and a conservative second. State level bans are certainly fine by me. The Protection of Marriage Act or whatever they passed a couple years ago in Congress is not ok. Of course, the problem is going to come up when a "non-traditional" couple gets married in another state and expects recognition in their home state. What happens then? Trouble. Which is why the only thing that would work is an amendment. I'd be interesting to see how that would go over in those awesome New England states, but you just need 75% of the states to pass it. I'm just surprised someone didn't do the whole by-pass congress thing and go straight to state conventions for this. I think it'd have a chance that way. But otherwise, there's going to be a homosexual Nevada on the horizon. That I'm sure of.
• I'd also like to thank the good people of Michigan for standing up to the status quo and rejecting affirmative action. Along those lines, I'd also like Ford and GM for guaranteeing that the first new car I'm going to buy is going to be an import. I've known that Ford has gone all "socially responsible" over the last couple of years, but this takes the cake. Bankruptcy can't come soon enough for Bill Ford's plaything.
• Thanks to Missouri for showing where I'm NOT going to move anytime in the near future. Throwing out Talent along with passing both a minimum wage bill and putting stem-cell research in your freaking consitution. Good job guys.
• I'd also like to thank President Bush for turning national opinion so against Republicans that they had to lose and then face the reality that they had become so bloated with power that they needed to reform. Unfortunately, Senators Talent and Santorum got thrown out with the bathwater, but if the exchange is for Sens. Chaffee and Burns to be tossed out, then so much the better.
• On that note, I would also like to thank the congressional leadership for being so inept that they couldn't clean house when they should have and now some true fiscal conservatives have a shot at some meaningful congressional positions, such as...
• Thank you, Rep. Pence for biding your time and not running for a house leadership position until you knew the shit was going to hit the fan. There's no way that Boehner or any of the current leadership is going to hold their positions and you're going to be no different. Sure, I don't like your position on immigration or farm policy, but that's because you represent a farming district. I'll let that slide. But if you can bring the Republicans back to being for limited and responsible government, then I'll gladly overlook these shortcomings.
• Thanks to the Democrats, who are more than willing to sacrifice their principles to get office. The hypocracy that's going to happen over the next two years is going to be delicious. The Democrats are probably going to wish two years from now that they had waited another two years and really let frustration at complacent governance by the Republicans boil over. Then it could have been ugly.
• Finally, I'd like to thank Gov. Sanford for not backing down and saying that this election gives him a mandate to really go after public school incompetence and introduce REAL choice into the system. The problem with the educational system in South Carolina is not going to change by throwing more money at the problem. That'll just make people more entrenched and reform that much harder.