America has spoken. The 2010 general election is in the record books, proving to be probably one of the most surprising and vital elections in recent history.

This election saw the rise of a grassroots movement — the Tea Party — and the rise of Democrats’ fight to continue to be the dominate party in Congress. Not only did the Tea Party add to the importance of this election, but the current state of the nation also played a role.

I don’t have to tell you the economy sucks. Jobs are a rare find and spending has gone bonkers.

I think Americans took into account the nation’s problems and wanted a change — a change that is different from the one promised by President Barack Obama.

Politics is a game. It’s a game based on chance. Those candidates hope all those attack ads and phone calls convinced Americans to vote for a particular candidate. They also hope Americans choose candidates for a reason, instead of the “eenie-meenie-miney-moe” method.

I thought this election was a little different from some in the past because many states ultimately decided the election — electing so-called Tea Partiers that ran under the Republican ticket. Not one or two states contributed, as seen in past elections. Kentucky was one state, since it elected Rand Paul to the U.S. Senate.

It is interesting to note that according to the Courier-Journal, Paul “won his first election campaign.”

The Courier-Journal’s headline on Nov. 3 after the election said it best: “With win, Paul sends a message.” With Paul’s radical Tea Party opinions, such as reducing the size of the federal government and lowering taxes, coincides with the beliefs of the Tea Party.

Americans told the government, in this election, we think the Tea Partiers can do a better job —or at least we want them to try, but, Americans need to give it time. Let the new Congress and governments work through the problems. I guess I’m a hopeless patriot, but I believe if we show the government we aren’t satisfied with the government, they will eventually get the message.

This means Mitch McConnell, President Obama and other congressional men and women need to put their differences aside and get the country back on its feet.

Will the Republicans or Tea Partiers do a better job? Only time will tell. The Republicans have majority in the House with 243 seats to the Democrats’ 192 seats. However, Democrats have 53 seats in the U.S. Senate to the Republicans’ 46 seats. It means folks like Paul will have to try even harder to get legislation passed.

By AMANDA FRENCH

Features Editor

aafrench@imail.iu.edu