Tonight, my politico side wanted to watch every painful second of election returns. But tonight is also my fifth grader’s favorite show, Glee. So I had to watch the returns during the commercials of Glee. I found it confusing to remember which was which.
The theme of tonight’s election was “Funk”…No…wait, I mean the theme of tonight’s Glee was “Funk.” Either way, I knew I was headed for Funky Town…I had to watch them both through the same lens.
Mr. Shue is the lovable teacher who leads the gloriously talented if geeky Glee Club kids to heights of song, dance and morality plays each week. Imagine they are the Dems—liberal, diverse, idealistic, talented, tolerant. And Sue Slyvester, the mean-spirited, socially conservative Cheerleader Coach who hates Shue and Glee Club and diversity and tolerance represents the Republicans. Not a stretch, really.
Glee Club, in tonight’s Funk Episode is being obstructed once more by Sue Sylvester as they attempt to compete in a regional Glee competition with other schools. Mr. Shue has tried compromise, reason, and bipartisanship to get the evil Sue to leave them alone. Hasn’t worked. So he decides to play hardball. Says “I tried playing nice with you. But nothing seems to work.” President Obama would have done well to have learned this some time ago.
Then Glee tells us “Fasten your seatbelt, everyone. It’s going to be a funky ride.” And it has been. Boy it has been. The Dems held West Virginia as Gov. Joe Manchin easily won that Senate seat. But lunch-counter-rights-doubter Rand Paul won in Kentucky. Christine O’Donnell proved to be not much of a witch, losing badly in Delaware. But Indiana, Ohio, and Florida went down the road of funk. Looks like the suspiciously well-tanned Boehner will become the next Speaker of the House.
As a Glee member lamented, “Is it that bad Mr. Shue? That we’re doing the wrong songs? We’re in a deeper funk than ever…”
Yes, we are. It seems the Obama administration and the Dems are doing the wrong songs. What if we had sung potential hits like Universal Healthcare, Direct Public Job Creation, and Ain’t Gonna Fund War No More?
Then perhaps we wouldn’t have to say tomorrow, as Sue said to Mr Shue after his dirty tricks, “Have you come to gloat?” Perhaps we wouldn’t have to endure the injustice suffered by Glee Star “Rachel”, who gets egged as she naively runs to former BFF from the opposing team, thinking he loves her again.
Two years ago, the glee was ours to squander. Squander we did and now we have to wipe the egg off our faces, buck up and fight. The Glee kids still have the talent, the good intentions, diversity, idealism, tolerance on their side. Obama still does too. Progressives still do too.
The question is, will the anti-democratic forces take the country down the dismal road to Funky Town or will we fight back? I still say Yes We Can, Yes We Will. Look to be gleeful again in 2012.