Midterms 2010: The Weird, the Wonderful, the Scary

Fear the beard

          Although this political season may not have been as vicious as, say political campaigns of yore, it certainly was one for the books.  The rise of the tea party looks imminent, with ultraconservative republicans poised to regain control of the house and gain a more substantial minority in the senate.  Obama, who has finally risen to the challenge of  trying mobilize his party into a state of driven determination, it seems that the self-righteous indignation of the Far Right holds more appeal to undecided voters across the board.  With things looking so grim for the Democratic Party, it's hard to see how a liberal like myself could still be happy.  I say happy, not complacent, for a purpose.
          Yes, there are aspects of the Tea Party that scare me--Sharron Angle for instance, a senate hopeful who strongly supports the (conservative interpretation of the) Second Amendment as well as the proposed destruction of the EPA and Dept. of education, running in a state in which the majority of my family resides.  However, I would be fibbing if I said I hadn't found this election season immensely entertaining for a number of reasons.  I will admit that a fair amount of my enjoyment in the campaign ads/debates/speeches was probably schadenfreude, the idea that (most) humans take a degree of pleasure in the embarrassment/misfortune of others.  I will, for instance, NOT claim that I didn't laugh after seeing the video clip of Christine O'Donnel claiming that she was "not a witch" and then watching her popularity plummet in the following weeks--it did comfort me that Americans decided to desert a candidate who seemed more preoccupied with campaigning against masturbation and (allegedly) dabbling in witchcraft than actually knowing anything about policy/supreme court cases/the constitution; maybe there was still hope.
          Yes, this election season has been full of plenty of fodder for soundbites and political cartoons--between New York's "The Rent Is Too Damn High Party" to seemingly endless jokes about John Boener's false tan, I was never at a loss to find something politically entertaining.  Although I am certain that political humor does have a place in our society--indeed the first section I read in Newsweek is usually the political cartoons (don't worry, I DO then proceed to read it, and other news sources, cover to cover)--I am beginning to think maybe it can be a bit distracting.  Maybe, just maybe, the Tea Party and other Republicans will gain even MORE seats than expect. And if they do, it may be because liberals like myself are so blown away by a few (admittedly hilarious) lunatics on the fringe that they become complacent.
         Just because one party perceives another as crazy does NOT mean the general population at large will find them so.  With the wind blowing as it is, in the direction of the far right, it would be anything but intelligent to ignore the possibility of a serious upset.  With that in mind, I really do encourage everyone that can to go out and cast their votes on Tuesday.  Me, I'll just be interested to see what happens.