Three really big races occurred last Tuesday: New Jersey Governor, Virginia Governor, and New York’s 23rd District; the Republicans went two for three. I am not a believer that the Republican success is the result of Democratic failure … but I know that the victories will be spun that way by some news agencies. This notion will become a part of the ensuing debate. Regardless of whether these election results show a lack of support for the Democratic agenda or were caused by isolated circumstance in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York, the best way for the Democrats to boost public opinion is to legislate!
The best way for congressmen to garner public support and trust is by demonstrating what they can do in office. Last week, we had the treat of welcoming New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman to campus, and he reminded us that there is no shortage of issues to work on. Healthcare is coming down the homestretch leaving a myriad other national issues that could easily become the next top priority of Congress.
In his lecture last Tuesday, Mr. Friedman gave us an update on his latest book, “Hot, Flat, and Crowded.” Mr. Friedman said that while gains have been made by the Obama Administration, largely through executive orders, more work needs to be done. Mr. Friedman talked about the roots of innovation as garage scientists work to develop the next means of producing “abundant, clean, reliable, and cheap electrons.”
There is no doubt in my mind that Mr. Friedman is correct in his conjectures. The United States finds itself at a crossroads. We are back on the right track internationally but are still reeling domestically. America has led the world in innovation for the past century and the rest of the world has bought our technologies. It was the equation to maintain American dominance in the global community and was the result of thousands of garage scientists working towards creating the next big thing. Consider Facebook, Google, and Intel’s microchips, all the results of American garage innovators.
The fact is, our current crop of garage scientists have been unable to produce “next big thing,” on a scale necessary to make a national difference. We as a country are now feeling the results. We need the next Microsoft, Intel, Google or IBM now.
Congress, particularly the Democrats, need to work hard to re-shape the American culture and, in the process, they will win back the hearts and minds of the American people. Producing legislation is the only way that the Democrats will be successful in the mid-term elections. It’s easy enough to understand that the Republicans will gain ground just by highlighting the inefficiencies in the Democratic party and its inability to produce legislation. If the Democrats can roll out a robust national agenda for the second year of the 111th Congress, they not only will improve national conditions but also will force the Republicans to come to the table and work in a bi-partisan way or will illustrate how irrelevant they have become. This will only happen if the Democrats can control the factions developing within their party.
Democrats still control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives by wide margins, they have the infrequent “triple cocktail” to run the table on all of their issues and dramatically change the American landscape. If they can’t act, they don’t deserve to remain in office. It’s that simple.
Thomas Friedman was pretty simple last Tuesday. He thoughtfully explained a crisis level issue that faces America and the world. He said that the world is growing “hot, flat, and crowded” and I think that that is a good place for our leaders to start. Its time to act… now.
Scott Matthews ’13 is undeclared. He is from Greenwich CT. Contact him at samatthews@davidson.edu.
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