Michigan Accent

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.

OK, maybe it’s not the most wonderful time of the year, but it is one of my favorites. That’s right, it’s election season. I started to get really excited a couple weeks ago, and can’t wait for election night. Hopefully we can make a family evening of it, watching the results come in.

This is an especially interesting election year since we’re still interested in how things fare in Michigan, but we also are trying to ramp up on the local political scene here in Virginia.

For some reason I think I have more anticipation leading up to election day than things like big sporting events. Maybe it’s because the outcome actually matters. (I’m sure my wife would tell you I act as if the outcome matters each year when playoffs come around.)

Sure, the best person (i.e., the person I’ve voted for 😛 ) will not always win, and that can be frustrating and disappointing. But we are blessed to live in this amazing country where we can participate in things like elections.

Only 2 days to go!