I normally don't get into political discussions because, really, they're pointless. You're not going to change my mind and I'm not going to change yours.
But since politics are a pretty hot topic this week, join me as I attempt to draw an analogy between fantasy football and this week's mid-term elections:
I've been playing fantasy football for the last seven years and I've had very little to cheer about. Even this year, I signed up in a "fun" league, just for kicks, and I've had the same amount of success that I've had in previous years in my more "serious" league. In other words, I'm in last place with no real hope of making a run at the postseason.
In order to change my fortunes, I often search the waiver-wire for a diamond in the rough. Some player that may swing things my way. But that rarely works, cause, let's face it, there's a reason a player is on the waiver-wire.
America, too, has had a pretty rough go of it as of late. The last decade has seen the country suffer through the largest terrorist attack in history, two wars in the Middle East, and a declining economy.
Starting in 2002, the republican party was in total control of the country. George W. Bush was in the White house and the GOP held a majority of seats in both the Senate and House of representatives.
That all changed in November of 2006 during the mid-term elections. America placed the GOP on waivers and the democrats seized control of the House and the Senate.
And two years ago, the republican party was sent straight to the injured reserve list when democrat Barack Obama easily defeated republican John McCain in the presidential election.
The democrats now controlled everything and Team America was excited about the new vision the party had for the country and how well it could perform. But sadly, the democrats haven't performed at as high a level as America would like. We're still fighting terror, wars in the Middle East, and a declining economy.
And with that in mind, Team America re-claimed the republican party on the waiver-wire in this week's mid-term elections. The GOP gained control of the House and narrowed the gap in the Senate.
The republicans don't quite have the power they had before the 2006 mid-term elections, but they have enough to make a difference and they believe they can map the course to get us back to where we once were. However, I'm having a hard time believing they have what it takes.
After all, just two short years ago, the party seemed completely out of touch with what the country needed. People were fed up with everything they represented. The GOP appeared to be on the brink of extinction. You mean to tell me in just a matter of two years, they've gotten their act together to the point that they can now be trusted to lead us back to the promised land?
Were Tuesday's election results a mandate for the republicans? Not even close. More like a reaction to the continued struggles of our great Team America.
Much like with fantasy football, where owners are constantly adding and dropping players, elections are a series of adds/drops where America adds officials to public office and drops others in the hopes that someone will have a breakout year and score a lot of points.
A lot of fantasy football owners, desperate for an edge, will read the wrong scouting reports and drop a player only to see him go on and have a really great year. If the owner had just held onto the player for another week or two, their patience would have paid off.
When it comes to Team America, the people have no patience right now. They want jobs, they want the economy to recover, and they want this in a hurry. But it took a long time to get into this mess, and it's going to take a long time to dig our way out. I fear that we may have given up on Obama and the dems too soon, before they could hit their stride and really make things right.
Let's hope the republicans really do have the answers this time around and we're not left regretting the decision to reacquire them from the waiver-wire. I mean, let's face it, there's a reason they were there in the first place.
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