Message sent, but was it received?

I listened to President Barack Obama and many other Democratic leaders on Wednesday following the Tuesday special election in Massachusetts, and the message they received from the election was the American people had been angry and frustrated not only for the last year or two but for eight years, and that was what contributed to the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts and Obama in the U.S.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she intended to continue the push for national health care and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would delay any votes on health care until Brown was sworn in as the new senator from Massachusetts. It seems they do not think this election was a repudiation of what has been happening in Washington during the last year.

Pundits from both sides of the issue arrived at different explanations for this monumental upset. I watched and listened to numerous people from the left and right and some of them absolutely amazed me with their analyses of the election and what they thought would happen as a result.

There are those who believe the administration will now rethink its proposed plans for the environment, taxes, health care and immigration. There are also those who think the administration must exert even more effort to push those programs through. As recently as a month ago, it was assumed a Democrat would be elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Ted Kennedy and the continued 60-seat majority in the senate would allow all of those bills to succeed without the possibility of a Republican filibuster.

The election of a Republican who preached lowering taxes, a vote against the current health care bill, a strong military, reduced spending and not trying terrorists in civilian courts all resonated with the voters. These issues are all elements of conservatives in the Republican Party. How could they be accepted in what was considered the most liberal state in the country?

The people in Massachusetts may be liberal, but they are still Americans, and I believe they, like many of the other Americans in the country, are concerned about the direction the country has moved in only one year. Who would have thought the government would be running banks, car companies, insurance companies and plans to run the entire health care system?

That does not sound like the country I know.

I believe messages have been sent to Washington since last April and none of them have been received. The tea party demonstrations all over the country, the march on Washington, D.C., and the election of Republican governors in Virginia and New Jersey have all been discounted as important events.

Unlike years ago, there are more than just the mainstream media for citizens to become aware of and educated about current events and history. The days of public officials posing as one type of individual in his state or district and another one in Washington are over. Saying something in one part of the country, state or district and the opposite in another part are also over, although some politicians have not learned that lesson yet.

I do not think those politicians in leadership positions and safe seats even care what citizens think or want. They believe no matter what happens, they will be reelected and they are so close to the promised land of unbelievable power that any means are acceptable to accomplish those ends.

The passage of the health care bill will ultimately allow those in power to dictate all types of behavior because, in their view, those behaviors will impact on the cost of health care. If any behavior or actions have an adverse effect on health care costs, then they must be controlled or eliminated in their view. Look at the Americans with Disabilities Act. Who would have thought drugs abusers would be covered?

The bottom line is the latest message to reduce spending, dump the current health care bill, reduce the size of government and control immigration also has not been received and no matter what the population does, those in power intend to continue to move this country to the left. They simply do not believe we are bright enough to see the benefits. Once all of these magnificent bills are working, then we will thank them for being so wise. In their view, there will be some casualties during this struggle. Some of these elected officials will lose their seats, but that is well worth the effort, especially since they believe they will not be among them.

Many of them are going to be surprised come November of this year.