Post Tenebras Lux

After Darkness Light

In the beautiful Swiss city of Geneva stands one of the world’s imposing monuments, at 325 feet long and 30 feet high, it dominates the popular and once botanical gardens of Parc des Bastions. Inscribed in huge letters along the 325 foot expanse of this historic edifice are the Latin words Post Tenebras Lux (After Darkness Light) commemorating the dawn of the Reformation in Europe and eventually the world.

It has been almost 500 years since the birth of the Protestant Reformation, which produced a seismic shift in Christianity of historic proportion. As hyperbolic as it may sound, another darkness to light phenomenon is occurring in the United States. While not at the climactic level of the Reformation, Tuesday’s off season election results is a harbinger of what may prove to be the coalescing effect for the 2012 Presidential election.

The results of Tuesday’s off year elections represent a streaming shaft of radiant light that holds the potential of ushering out in as dramatic fashion as the socialist leadership of the U.S. government bolted into power. If the momentum gained carries through the 2010 and the 2012 elections, the shift will be every bit as seismic in the world of politics and government as the Reformation was in the world of religion.

America as the only democratic republic of consequence remaining in the world will have survived a major assault on its constitutional government and free enterprise system.

The Willful Suspension of Disbelief

The main stream media pundits would have you believe that the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia had nothing to do with being a referendum on the Obama administration - essentially another coordinated effort to shape public opinion contrary to obvious facts.

The fact is, that on the matters that are most important to the voting public, whether on a state of federal level, the economy, healthcare, and the war in Afghanistan, all have a direct bearing on how state voters cast their ballots.

With states reeling from post depression record levels of unemployment, collapsed property values, and increased taxes, it is nothing short of ridiculous not to acknowledge the Federal government’s role in the states’ “state of affairs”.

In keeping with the non referendum message reporters were urged not to draw sweeping conclusions from Tuesday's gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama wasn't even keeping an eye on the results - "He's not watching returns," Gibbs said.

The Obama Referendum Just Short of a Trifecta

Just ten months into his administration President Obama could not have foreseen the swiftness in which the political tide was turning and more amazingly the grass roots impetus of the change.

New York - The New York 23rd congressional district was arguably the most revealing of the three elections, with the congressional district seat vacated by moderate GOP Rep. John McHugh. McHugh was tapped by Obama to serve as Secretary of the Army, with Obama expecting to have the vacant seat filled by a Democrat in a predominantly Republican district that Obama carried in his Presidential bid.

The campaign began with the RNC, Congressional Republican leadership, and Newt Gingrich backing RINO “moderate” Dede Scozzafava, a pro abortion, pro same sex marriage, and tax happy candidate.

Almost immediately the conservative establishment in Washington was throwing its support behind Conservative party candidate and political newcomer Douglas L. Hoffman, an accountant from the Adirondacks.

The machinations that followed are sure to be a precursor of 2010 and 2012 elections.

Urged on by leaders including former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, Dick Armey, the former House majority leader from Texas, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Mr. Hoffman had never run for public office, and now had Steve Forbes, The Wall Street Journal editorial page and The National Review among his supporters.

The weekend before the election Mrs. Scozzafava dropped out of the race and threw her support behind the Democratic candidate Bill Owens, a lawyer from Plattsburgh, giving additional credence to Scozzafava’s RINO reputation.

When the dust settled in the 23rd district Owens defeated Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, 49 percent to 45 percent, after a boost from unified labor efforts in the last days of the campaign. Look for Hoffman to reenter the fray when Owens will be up for election for a full term next year.

"This is only one fight in the battle, people," Hoffman said before a gathering of supporters in Saranac Lake, N.Y., after conceding the race. "Let's keep the fight going. Let's make sure our voices are heard."

Virginia - The Virginia Gubernatorial race was a predicted GOP victory, but not quite the shellacking that ensued. Last fall, Obama became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry Virginia since 1964. Obama did not want to lose this important state and sent his campaign operatives to basically run Creigh Deeds’s flagging campaign in the final weeks.

Republican Bob McDonnell won the election handedly with a 17 percentage point victory over Democrat Deeds, and became the first GOP Governor since 1997. Exit polls showed McDonnell won 63 percent of independent voters. Likewise in Democratic-trending Northern Virginia, the Republican carried the three largest suburban counties of Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William — all counties Obama won handily last year.

The landslide of McDonnell, a former state attorney general, appears to offer the GOP a model for victory in swing states. A graduate of Pat Robertson’s Regent University who made his name in the state Legislature as a social conservative, McDonnell downplayed social issues in the campaign and focused intently on winning back the Virginia suburbs that fueled the Democratic resurgence in recent years.

Of the off year elections, if the New York 23rd congressional district was the most revealing and Virginia the most one sided, then New Jersey had to be the most surprising.

New Jersey – Republican Chris Christie, former U.S. Attorney for the district of New Jersey, ran in heavily Democratic New Jersey, was badly outspent (5 to 1) by the self-funding multi millionaire incumbent Jon Corzine — who ran a barrage of negative ads, some saying Christie was too fat to lead — and also fended off a former Republican running as a third-party candidate who gave anti-Corzine voters an alternative to the GOP nominee.

Against all odds Christie still defeated Corzine by 4 percentage points — the largest victory by a New Jersey Republican in nearly a quarter-century. Christie’s margin marked a 20-point swing from Obama’s performance.

The New Jersey race was especially painful for the White House, which, sensing a loss in Virginia, sought to prop up Corzine in the campaign's final weeks. The president came to the state five times campaigning for Corzine, where he called Corzine his “partner” in an effort to fire up the Democratic base.

“We will not lose this election if all of you are as committed as you were last year,” Obama told a heavily black crowd in Newark. Obama also appeared in an ad for Corzine aimed at Hispanic voters and recorded robocalls for the governor.

In New Jersey Christie won 58 percent of independents.

Off Year Elections Lessons Learned

The bloom is definitely off the Obama rose as large numbers of voters are shaking off the media induced hypnotic allure of the nation’s first “post partisan”, “post racial” President.

American remains a center right ideological nation. Self-identified conservatives outnumber self-identified liberals in all 50 states of the union, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

At the same time, more Americans nationwide are saying this year that they are conservative than have made that claim in any of the last four years.

In 2009, 40% percent of respondents in Gallup surveys that have interviewed more than 160,000 Americans have said that they are either “conservative” (31%) or “very conservative” (9%). That is the highest percentage in any year since 2004.

Only 21% have told Gallup they are liberal, including 16% who say they are “liberal” and 5% who say they are “very liberal.”

Thirty-five percent of Americans say they are moderate.

A child was turned over the keys to the Mercedes and has darn near totaled the car. The parents will have an opportunity to take back the keys and ground the child.

Republicans need to pay careful heed to the grass roots conservatism of this nation and align their candidates consistent with social and fiscal values that set it apart from the Democratic Party.

Simply stated, this means the NRC and certain GOP luminaries (Newt Gingrich) no longer represent the majority of Republicans, and would be well served to understand that a large tent has no place for RINOs.

Fiat Lux……..Let there be light.