It seems to be the topic du jour, so here’s my reaction to yesterday’s election results (which I’m sure won’t surprise any of my three loyal readers): I’m pleased. Pleased that the brakes can now be applied to the runaway “unitary executive” and that the rubberstamp Congress which enabled it has been disbanded.

However, I find that my happiness about the Democratic victories is tempered by apprehension. The big question underlying that feeling is, of course, what now? Will Democrats spend the next two years vindictively trying to punish Republicans (specifically President Bush) for their transgressions? Or will the Dems take the high road and attempt to restore some decorum and genuine bipartisanship (as opposed to the phony “shut up and go along with us” brand of bipartisanship that the GOP has insisted upon) to our nation’s politics? Will their new majority be sufficient to enable them to undo the damage that’s been done in the last six years and possibly even get some progressive legislation passed? Or will they be a majority in name only, unable to effectively accomplish anything worthwhile?

And then there’s the question of how the Republicans will respond to their defeat. Will they be willing to work with the Democratic majority? Based on their past behavior, I’m not exactly sanguine about that — as I recall, the Republican response to Bill Clinton’s election in ’92 was like a petulant child stamping his foot because mom told him to come inside for dinner. Their unwillingness to work with the first Democratic president in 12 years ultimately led to the nightmare of impeachment. (Yes, I know he lied under oath about “that woman,” but GOP operatives spent years — and millions of dollars — sniffing around looking for something, anything, they could use against him, because they just couldn’t get over the shock of their boy losing. Bill was just stupid enough to give them something to use.) My frequent commenter Brian Greenberg hopes that “the Democrats [will] act like adults over the next two years – governing in the best interests of the country, rather than using the opportunity to institutionalize six long years of Bush-bashing.” I don’t disagree with his sentiment — I’d like to see the return of rational discourse myself — but he and others who are saying similar things need to keep in mind that it’s a two-way street. The Republicans need to give a little, too, and I’m not sure if they’re willing or even capable of doing that. Especially the Republicans who occupy the White House; Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld are nothing if not obstinate. The President has talked about bipartisanship and compromise before, but he’s shown a distinct reluctance to actually, you know, compromise on anything.

I’ll be honest, I’d love to see the Republicans broken and humbled. It’s not very mature of me, I know, but like I told Brian in a comment over on his site, it’s hard not to be pissed off after years of hearing that my side is composed of traitors, perverts, and weaklings. I have little tolerance for arrogance or bullies, and the right wing has been filled with both for years, especially the House of Representatives. It’s high time that bunch got a good come-uppance. As Scalzi said this morning:

I’m a petty enough human — but an honest enough human — to tell you that I’m going to enjoy the next several days of conservative and GOP commentators whining and mewling and gnashing their teeth and walking around like they’ve just taken a bat to the back of the smug, soft heads, and taking the position, per Ann Coulter, that since the Democrats didn’t take 60 seats in the House they’ve clearly failed. Bitch, please. The Republicans gerrymander Congressional districts for eternal Republican majority and they still lose 27 seats? And they picked up no seats from Democratic incumbents? Wow, those guys must suck. The fact that Republicans lost the former seat of Tom DeLay, master of the Republican gerrymander effort, is just one of the sweet ironies whose flavor will suffuse in one’s mouth for months, if not years.

That said, however, Scalzi’s schadenfreude pie isn’t very nutritious, and it loses its appeal after only a few bites. I really am very tired of all the pointless bickering and corrosive rhetoric, and the eye-for-an-eye mentality only engenders more cycles of conflict. Which means, believe it or not, that I really don’t want to see Bush impeached, despite my conviction that his White House is rife with corruption (Darth Cheney, I am looking at you and your secret energy policy meetings!), and I think all the petty tit-for-tat nonsense in Congress must stop. Somebody’s got to be the first to say, “no more,” and it’d be swell if it’s my guys that do it. I just want everybody to start talking to each other in calm, rational voices again, and to re-learn the fine art of compromise, for the good of the country.

Spoken like a true bleeding-heart liberal, I know…