Really?

So Virginia has elected a Republican for governor. Wow! That has never happened before....except, it has. It happened in '74, '78, '82, '98, and '02. (Prior to the 70s, the Democrats ruled, but at that time, they were the Dixiecrats, who were in favor of segregation.) If the gap in years are noted, one can safely assume that the Republicans are always given a fair chance, and yet somehow the no tax, increase spending rule has gotten our state into trouble every time they take office. As history repeats itself, voters were tired of how the economy was faring, and so McDonnell has been voted in.

The press is saying that this is a referendum on Obama's policies. Really? Personally, I am not sure why Creigh Deeds wanted to be governor, and he never expressed his message in an effective manner. I believe that those who did turn out, turned out to vote for McDonnell because they knew who he was and what he stood for. By the same token, I was never really sure why McCain wanted to be president, as his message was never clear either.

I believe that national news networks need to stop trying to draw connections where there are few. It isn't at all surprising that a Republican won. We go back and forth between one guy or the other, and none of them deliver on their promises.

Also, there is one aspect that they are failing to mention: the economy. Whenever the economy goes down the drain, whoever is in office is blamed; and if it happens to be his election season, he's screwed. Should the economy have begun to turn around by the end of Kaine's term, the outcome may have been vastly different. After all, Kaine rode on Warner's coattails.

Warner governed over the state at the end of the recession, and was given much praise for turning the state around, which more than likely would have happened anyway, as economies tend to go through a natural cycle. And yes, even though this current recession has been nasty, it does not defy logic. Laws of physics state that the higher and faster something rises, the harder and faster it will fall. In fact, upon its decline, it picks up momentum and force, all to make for one big mess, which is what we are still in, despite the signs of growth.

So, was this a vote of no confidence on Obama? No. Was it true to Virginia's mercurial nature? Yes. Remember, we have always been prone to voting one way, and then changing our minds. Virginia was not the first to break away from its mother country, but once it changed its mind, it changed in a big way. That's our history, and it will repeat.

On a more personal note, I truly hope that as a teacher, I do not suffer the consequences of this poorly played election. Every governor campaigns on the platform of education, claiming to be the candidate who cares. The only problem is that unless you have taught kids yourself, your own understanding of teaching and education are limited by what you have experienced or what you perceive. So, those who have no background in education make decisions about education that affect us all. I just hope to see education continue to improve. I don't want to see anyone lose his/her job over a political fight that has nothing to do with us. Inevitably, it will happen. But that's okay. It's only four years.