Letter: Embarrassing election

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As a lifelong Republican I am embarrassed and disappointed at Tuesday’s election results.

From the 2008-12, the election pendulum has been swinging wildly. Riding a wave of hope and change, President Obama led a Democratic landslide in 2008. Reacting to uncontrolled fiscal excess by national and state Democrats, voters used a tsunami of discontent to sweep Republicans back to power in 2010. Now, reacting to Republican excess on social issues, the red tide has receded as quickly as it rose.

In an election of particularly vile and misleading ads, Democrats from the president on down were able to demonize Republicans as uncontrolled and uncaring, a perception enhanced by the O’Brien factor. By arrogantly pushing his social agenda, the House speaker managed to push the Republicans’ remarkable fiscal success into the background and gave face to the demon most voters reject.

I fear that another four years of the president’s fiscal policies will bring America to the brink of bankruptcy, but I pray I am wrong.

I worry that over the next four years American will continue to substitute entitlements for personal responsibility, but I pray that I am wrong.

Nevertheless, I congratulate the victors and celebrate this election as an America triumph for two reasons. The success of any democracy depends on an active, involved electorate, and the overwhelming voter turnout is a testament to faith in our system. More important, we celebrate yet another vindication of our founding fathers faith in self government. In America, our decisions are made with ballots, not bullets. So putting our disappointments aside, we cherish over 200 years of what people in China, Russia and Iran can only wish for and what people in Syria, Egypt, and Libya are dying for.

LEIGH BOSSE

Hillsboro