Scott Brown has most surprisingly been elected a United States senator in Massachusetts and the effect of his unexpected win is roiling the nation’s political landscape.
While he ran as a Republican it is evident the Bay State’s large independent vote that made the difference, that and the fact Brown ran an effective campaign based on his choice of issues and an apparent wish by the electorate to express dissatisfaction with the current course of the country under White House leadership.
He was also aided by the support of the Tea Party movement, which has blossomed across the country since it began last summer.
And the Tea Party enthusiasm is evident in Delaware, all the more so now that a Tea Party group in Delaware has merged with the 9-12 Delaware Patriots, an organization which sprang to life in Sussex County because of the call to action by Glenn Beck, a conservative radio and television host on the Fox Network.
With the joined conservative forces now known as the 9-12 Delaware Patriots, it is clear many people are jumping into robust involvement in Delaware’s legislative process.
All of this active interest in how citizens can effect change can lead to good things in government if along with the enthusiasm is a recognition that what has been called “the Delaware way” continues to be seen as having great merit.
While there have been lapses in this small state “way” in the past, the basic idea is to conduct campaigning for office or for specific legislation based on a large dose of mutual respect.
Can “demands” be made by an individual or group in getting messages to legislators or to the governor’s office? Of course they can, as long as those issuing the demands recognize that in the end the final decisions are made by people who have been elected and serve at the pleasure of the electorate. This means that if enough Delawareans disagree with the decisions then the decision makers can be changed.
That’s how our government works. And under this system there are bound to be moves toward consensus, toward compromise. If the political players involved don’t recognize this as a necessary part of representative government then what you have is deadlock. Then nothing gets done.
Pushing a point of view is perfectly all right. Pushing that point too hard, too aggressively and perhaps even belligerently causes the pushee to push back. Result: nobody wins.
After all, while fiercely upholding the First Amendment, Glenn Beck himself supports maintaining “a civil tone in keeping with the 9 Principles and 12 Values” which he repeatedly emphasizes.
