‘Everything isn’t just red or blue’

Conventional wisdom. It’s something that in Washington seems to be the be-all end-all. Yet in a volatile year such as this, you’d think that wouldn’t be the case. In a year where numerous establishment candidates have been toppled and an economic environment unlike anything seen in decades, I wouldn’t be too keen on making many assumptions or predictions.

The hysteria recently in the Beltway has been the confusion or bewilderment about why some Democrats are running away and in some instances running against Nancy Pelosi, the president, and the Democratic Party record. Confronted about many of her fellow Democrats engaging in such activity, Speaker Pelosi replied, “Go for it…Just win your election.”

For instance, in Kentucky there’s a heated Senate race between Rand Paul, son of 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul, and the state’s attorney general Jack Conway. Conway has done his best to try to keep the race local and focus on his opponent.

If you look at his website, the words “Democrat,” “Pelosi,” or “Obama” are nowhere to be found. There aren’t any events welcoming the speaker or the president either. And for some reason, the Beltway insiders are surprised. Now in a conservative state like Kentucky, do they really think Conway is going to welcome the president with wide open arms? I think Florida Governor Charlie Crist can tell you what happens when you do that.

It’s a similar situation when surprise votes on specific legislation occurs and they make a whole night’s news coverage over it. Republican Senator Scott Brown has voted with the Democrats on a jobs bill and also on financial regulatory reform, and if you looked at the news when it happened, you’d think the sky had fallen. It’s something that really shouldn’t be a big deal. He’s a senator from Massachusetts. Now I’m not discrediting all of Beltway journalists and pundits because many of them are highly respected experts. What I’m saying is that many times they get so caught up in the Washington drama that they forget to remember that everything isn’t so cut and dry. Everything isn’t just red or blue. There’s a lot of gray, or should I say purple area, in between.

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Posted by Ian Bridgeforth on Oct 8 2010. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.