My favorite phrase that I’ve heard Sean Hannity use for many years is, “Let not your heart be troubled.” I’ve always taken it to mean: keep things in perspective, look at how blessed you are, this temporary trouble will soon pass, continue believing that each day will be better than the last and that our best days are ahead of us. It makes me smile every time he says it.

And what an appropriate phrase for this week. Sure, I’m disappointed in the results of Tuesday’s elections. On the surface, there is plenty of reason for conservatives to be concerned (especially with President Bush’s disappointing responses to the results thus far). But having pondered the results for a few days, I’m still optimistic.

It sure seems that things are cyclical in the political realm, and the results this week lined up almost exactly with historical results from mid-term elections in the 6th year of a president. Looking at ballot initiatives, there were numerous conservative victories, even in areas where Republicans did not win.

But one of the most encouraging things to me is that I don’t believe conservative ideals lost, and had Republicans run with a conservative agenda, I do believe the results would have been different. The majority of elected Republicans over the past couple years have been anything but conservative.

I’ve been reading a book recently called, In the Words of Ronald Reagan, by his son, Michael Reagan. One of the quotes I came across this week was,

So it was our Republican party that gave me a political home. When I signed up for duty, I didn’t have to check my principles at the door. And I soon found out that the desire for victory did not overcome our devotion to ideals. (p. 181) Ronald Reagan at the Republican National Convention, August 15, 1988

Unfortunately, I feel elected Republicans were too busy following irrelevant polls, abandoning the conservative ideals that have brought success in recent years.

So I’ll continue being a conservative, and hoping and praying that we can stick to our values over the next couple years, and that some conservative leaders will rise to the occasion for 2008.

All in all it was an exciting week, especially being in VA with the Senate race here. I’m anxious to see how things play out over the next couple years. I miss having a good source of local politics, such as Rick Albin in G.R., but I haven’t had much time to research the local scene yet.