Some of my friends have been celebrating the recent election as if it was actually going to result in a significant improvement in public policies.

     Not me. There may be some marginal improvements, but I think both the nation and Alaska are in for a lot more of the same idiocy that has gone before.

     Consider the following points:

     George Bush is still in charge of foreign policy, and Congress can’t do anything to make him change his policies. He is the Commander-in-Chief, and the military will continue to follow his orders. The only thing that Congress could possibly do is cut off the supply of money to the military, and it will not do that for fear of being accused of abandoning our troops while they are in harm’s way. The insanity in our foreign policy will continue.

     Congress will be unable to pass anything that the Republicans object to. Not only will the Senate Republicans be able to filibuster any legislation they do not like, but George Bush will be able to veto any Democratic legislation that does pass. We might get some gridlock on some Republican legislation, but we won’t get squat in the way of progressive legislation.

     Even in the U.S. House of Representatives, quite a few Democrats are DINOs, Democrats In Name Only. Not all of them, of course, but enough that they will give the Republicans a working majority on many issues. This is especially true when George Bush is there to use the bully pulpit to call anyone who opposes his policies a terrorist sympathizer.

    Here in Alaska, the Republicans have retained control of the Governor’s office and the Senate and the House of Representatives. Sure, their margin of control was shaved a little bit, but not enough to keep them from doing whatever they want to do.

     This election also did not signify any great shift in the political alignment of the voters. Even after suffering through six years of incredible incompetence and corruption, with an almost perfect storm of one outrageous atrocity building on another, the Democrats were only able to eke out a marginal victory. Two years from now, it is highly unlikely that the Democrats will benefit from a similar confluence of incompetence and scandal.

     One reason the Democrats did not do better is because of the effective gerrymandering which the Republicans implemented during their years of control. There will be few if any opportunities to undo that gerrymandering in the next two years. We could very well see a return to Republican control of the House in the general election in 2008, unless the Democrats can deliver on needed improvements in public policy. Their ability to do is extremely limited.

     The Democrats’ desire to pass progressive legislation is also highly questionable. They rely heavily on the same corporate and special interest donors who support the Republicans. Those donors want favorable treatment in exchange for their donations. They want limited taxes and regulations for themselves. They want protection against being held liable in court when they hurt people. They want lots of government contracts with little oversight of their performance. They support special interest trade agreements that allow them access to cheap labor overseas at the same time that they get stronger monopoly protections at home. Far too often many Democrats have gone along with these programs in order to get the campaign donations they need.

     I don’t mean to suggest that our situation is hopeless. But we should not sit back and think that our problems are over because of this election. We need to work even harder to help educate the public and to build support for good public policy. We also need to make publicly financed election campaigns a top priority.

     We also need to get the big money out of campaigns so that our elected officials can make decisions based upon what is good for voters, instead of what is good for big campaign donors.

     The election may have shuffled the deck chairs, but the ship is still sinking. If we want to save it, there is a lot more work to do.

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