The New Status Quo
It seems as if nearly every politician running for office at any level vows to ’shake up the status quo’, which in itself is an indictment of both political parties and their current, long-running inability to get anything done. But Barack Obama, inadvertent as it may have been, does seem to have managed the impossible. The status quo in Washington and around the countryreally and truly has changed in the past year.
Republicans have long been the overtly patriotic party. They wave their flags and hoot and hurrah at every victory, large or small, that the U.S. wins on the world stage. Economic, political, athletic – if the U.S. wins, the Republicans rejoice. If the U.S. loses, they cry fowl. At least, that was the status quo.
Now, the Republicans are laughing it up in the face of Chicago (and by extension, the U.S.) taking an embarrassing early
exit from the Olympics sweepstakes. The same GOPers who would dance in the streets if the U.S. could find somebody to outrun Usain Bolt, were utterly outraged when the Nobel Prize Committee doled out a freebie Peace Prize to the sitting U.S. President.
On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats have long been the party of civic protests and investigative journalism. The Dems love their Haldeman and Erlichmans, their Michael Moores, and their peaceful protests. That was the status quo. Now, protesters are openly mocked by the Left leaning media. The on-air opiners at MSNBC were positively giddy with their “tea bagger” jokes at the expense of the Right wing protesters. Democrats were suddenly appalled by protesters showing up at town hall meetings to express their discontentment.
Liberals love a good undercover video exposing government corruption or ineptitude, as long as the subjects of the expose are cigar-smoking, rich, white, Republican males. Send a journalist after ACORN or the House Oversight Committee, and it is no longer fun. YouTube is no longer the liberal’s friend. Freedom of speech is somebody else’s raison d’etre.
To those on both sides of the equation who claim that President Obama has yet to deliver on any of his campaign promises, I submit that the status quo has been duly shaken. Black is white, up is down, Democrats are the new establishment, and Republicans are the new radicals.
