“Faster Gun”

A few days ago, I finished reading “Double Down: Game Change 2012,” the story of the 2012 US presidential election. My timing couldn’t have been better.

There’s something about American politics that I find fascinating. I think it’s mostly because of the infusion of politics and religion, but probably also because of the differences between red states and blue states. Sure we have our more conservative and more liberal regions of Canada, but the differences aren’t quite as stark as they are in the US…in my opinion.

Anyway, for the last several weeks I’ve been faithfully watching Jon Stewart tear his hair at the state of the American union. While I must confess that I find the antics of American politicians as rather amusing, they’re also so frustrating.

For instance, Democratic candidates have tried to distance themselves as much as possible from President Barack Obama, EVEN THOUGH HE’S THE PRESIDENT.

*Sigh*

Most predict that the Republicans will not only easily maintain control of Congress (gerrymandering is still alive and well, friends) but also gain control of the Senate.

What does this mean for the President?

More of the same, really. He’ll probably use more of his executive authority to enact his agenda. He doesn’t have much of a choice, really, because since 2009, Congress has thus far refused to do its job, which is to govern. With the Senate under Republican control, the legislative branch will become even that much more intractable.

Given the paralysis at the federal level, much of the job of governing has moved to stateside. John Oliver nails the analysis here (warning: language):