Four more years under President Barack Obama – let us all release a collective sigh of relief. Or for those of you who did not vote for him, a collective groan.
This election became a real-life Saturday Night Life skit with former Gov. Mitt Romney saying things that Jason Sudeikis could not even write.
Binders, bayonets and Big Bird. Oh My.
However, on a more serious note, whether people are happy about Obama’s second term or disappointed in former Gov. Mitt Romney’s loss, there are some clear changes that need to take place in the Capitol.
Bipartisanship in the Capitol
After the results filtered in, it became obvious how divided this country is after this election.
Obama’s first four years in office may not have been the shining example of presidency that was hoped upon voting for him, but, in order for the country to make progress, both sides of the spectrum need to work together.
As in 2010, the Senate will remain Democratic and the House Republican. The representatives will have to put partisanship aside to promote progress and change in legislature.
Obama faces a tremendous task of uniting a country that is obviously very divided right now.
In the last four years, Obama has spent much of his presidency battling to implement policies.
If there is a constant gridlock in Congress, there is no possible way for this country to move forward politically.
At the state and national level, we have legislators – Republicans and Democrats alike – walking out of hearings. This is no way to inspire faith in the people who voted them into office.
Representatives cannot simply walk out when things are not in their favor. We need more political leaders finding ways to bring the nation together, not further dividing.
Upon re-election, Obama addressed the divided nation in his acceptance speech and said, “For those of you who voted for me and those who didn’t, I heard you.”
Obama also spoke of bringing Romney to the capitol and working together to move this country forward.
These are the things we want to see going into the next four years – not two parties working against each other to shut the other down but working together for the needs of the people of this country.
There are many areas of the Obama’s first term that were not perfect, and those need to be addressed, with the deficit being the primary concern.
In battling the deficit, there is no Democratic or Republican answer that can solve it all. Somewhere in the middle, there may be an answer but to find out we will have to work together.
In the past few weeks after Hurricane Sandy, we have seen politicians put aside personal platforms and come together to help the victims.
These kind of achievements are what America needs to strive for on a more consistent basis.
Restructure in Republican Party
Although this election was a narrow victory for Democrats by numbers, it shed light on some of the obvious flaws of the GOP.
The demographics of this country are changing, and the Republican Party did a terrible job addressing the concerns of Latino and other minorities.
More Latinos and African Americans turned out to vote in this election, and they sent a clear message to the Republican Party that they felt their needs and rights were being neglected.
According to exit polls conducted by the New York Times, Obama won the minority vote by 80 percent – with the Hispanic vote by 71 percent and the African American vote by 93 percent.
Another demographic the GOP failed to connect with were the women voters.
In this election – more than any other election in our time – women’s health issues panned out to be a major discussion point for politicians. A slight majority of 55 percent of women voted Democratic in 2012.
Republicans Todd Adkins and Richard Mourdock represented very extremist view on abortion, receiving national attention for their poor choice of words on the subject.
In both states, these candidates lost to their Democratic counterparts, showing these extremists view are not what this country needs.
This further shows that when the women’s rights are being endangered, women have the ability to just “shut the whole thing down.”
As far as women’s health issues, the GOP has been strongly oppositional to Obama’s health care reform that would require insurers to provide free contraception for women.
In February, the GOP brought before the House an entire panel of men to discuss women’s health issues.
This kind of misogyny just shows the GOP does not know how to properly represent women, even within their party.
Whether you voted for Obama or for Romney, it is time to put aside personal emotions and help move this country forward.
The only way progress in this is possible is through coming together and not further dividing ourselves.
Our politicians and parties need to better reflect the changing demographics within our country. It is time for our government to be more modern, and reflect the views of the 2012 society.
STAFF EDITORIAL
horizon@ius.edu
