and  
this is  
just the  
beginning?

     

+25 comments / (28) / 27 / 26 / weblog

25+

Washington -- No longer constrained by Democratic control of the Senate, Republican leaders offered an ambitious domestic agenda Wednesday that includes new tax cuts, drilling for oil in the Alaska wilderness and a new push for conservative judges.

Though President Bush remained out of public view as a matter of post- election "graciousness," according to his spokesman, aides said he views the victories as a grand opportunity to enact the "compassionate conservative" proposals that were the bedrock of his first six months in office.

"There's no question that last night's results increased the likelihood of getting things done for the American people," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "There are so many initiatives that could have and should have been done in the last Congress that got bottled up and stopped, that now have a much stronger chance of getting done."

I didn't pay much attention, at first. Andrew and I had our scene showcase rehearsal on Tuesday night, so I stayed focused on that for most of the night. But later on, the election coverage began to sink in. We all watched CNN, MSNBC, The Daily Show. I went to sleep and woke up, ate and showered and went about my business.

The trademark quote of that night: "Hell. I should go out and get an abortion tomorrow while I still can. And I'm not even pregnant."

It wasn't until late Wednesday evening, while talking to my girlfriend, that I started to internalize it all. When fears connected my head to my heart. "This has never happened before, for as long as we've been alive, for as long as our parents have been alive," she said. "We don't know what might be in store." Indifference could bite us right in the face. It's time to figure out what we value and say it outloud. If the ambitious agendas described in this morning's news are just the beginning, I pray that two years don't become six.