Who Seized Control on November 2, 2010?

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: When I read the following article by Russ Roberts which he called "Seizing Control," I said points well taken. On Tuesday, the Republicans didn't seize control of the US House and numerous positions across the country. Just as the democrats did not seize control of positions or the presidency in 2008. Concerning Tuesday's election, Roberts rightly concludes, "It was the people who voted essentially gave the Republicans control. . . . And if the Republicans don’t do a good job, the voters will let the Dems run the House again." However, another truth also remains after this election:  an awakened electorate has arisen. "We the People" cannot sleep or rest on our laurals. It is accountability time!  There is a concluding comment after the following article.

---

by Russ Roberts, Cafe Hayek: When people tell me how mad they are at Wal-Mart for driving the mom-and-pop stores out of business, I ask them how Wal-Mart managed to do that. Did they go around torching their stores in the middle of the night, threatening the moms and the pops with baseball bats if they didn’t close their stores?

The consumers drove the mom and pops out of business. The consumers preferred Wal-Mart (and Target and K-Mart) to the mom-and-pops. To the extent Wal-Mart did the driving, it was by offering better products at better prices.

I was thinking of that yesterday when I saw the headline in the Washington Post: "GOP Seizes Control of House"

I know, it’s just an expression. But they didn’t seize control. The voters essentially gave the Republicans control. (I say “essentially” because voters don’t vote for who gets control–they vote for an individual politician.) And if the Republicans don’t do a good job, the voters will let the Dems run the House again.

And for those of you reading this via email and uncertain of who’s writing this post, I’ll let you know that I voted on Tuesday. . . .

---

Editor's Concluding Comment: We are at a reset point. It is accountability time!  As I wrote in "Being a Conservative Is Not For The Faint Of Heart":

"However, even if there was maximum success in November in getting elected people with conservative core values to Congress, to State offices, to county offices and to local government, this will not turn everything around and would not put things back in good order. Which means, we will not be able to return to a state of indifferent concern. The "battle" for our ideals does not stop with any measured success on November 2010. While we can gain a reset point, the job will not be done for conservatives. Conservatives will need to continue to be vigilant in holding elected people to their promises, in demanding that the influence of government in our lives be rolled back, and in preparing for the next election with even greater involvement by the people."

---

Tags: 2010 election, seized control, viewpoint, voters, citizens, We the People, Republicans, Democrats, elections, voting, accountability, reset point To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!