Democrats must give up their tendency to sit around arguing, fearful of the consequences of acting boldly

A Facebook “friend” reacted to the Presidential election by posting, “I see America voted for Satan again. Sorry God I did my best.” Others posted items that linked Obama and Satan. Who knew? One man, who appeared to be the voice of reason, wondered why so many bigoted, hate-filled people felt a need to vent on social media.

It is troubling that the losers in the election are shying away from any self-examination and are, instead, looking around for others to blame, even Satan, who, if you believe in him, is not likely to be a Democrat, given the social issues Democrats support.

The folks over at Fox News were suggesting that Obama appealed to the nation’s freeloaders, those people of color who think the government owes them something. Bill O’Reilly may have said more than he intended when he stated, “The white establishment is now the minority.” Well, he should know. He represents the white establishment, a group of voters who see themselves as standing on shrinking ground. Angry, resentful, blame-throwing, fear mongers who see people of color everywhere they look, even in the White House.

Oh, and single women. The GOP anger-mongers seem to think that single women are also part of the trouble with America. It seems that women have their own opinions about things like rape and the right to choose and these opinions are at odds with what’s been said over on the red side of America, the “white establishment” side.

To me, the most troubling result of the election is that the nation woke up on Wednesday morning pretty much where it was before any votes had been cast. Nothing has changed. House Republicans are glued to the Tea Party and its discredited agenda. Senate Democrats are still powerless to get anything done, even though they control the agenda. President Obama is still levitating above the national discourse over gridlock and the looming fiscal “cliff” we’ve been warned about.

Look for attempts to gut any funding to support the health care law

Obama has the next two years to get something done. After the 2014 midterm elections he will be a lame duck and the parade will have moved on. The real question is whether he will muster the energy and the backbone to engage and defeat the House Republicans, whose sole agenda will be to defeat virtually everything Obama stands for.

Obamacare will be a top item on the House Republican target list. Look for attempts to gut any funding to support the health care law. Taxes will be another high-priority for the Republicans. They and the one-percenters will see themselves as defenders of the Alamo, ready to face down all comers to protect their obscenely large share of the American pie.

Democrats will need to do some self-examination of their own. American voters have again given them the keys and have rejected the Republican agenda. Democrats must give up their tendency to sit around arguing, fearful of the consequences of acting boldly. The Republican agenda is in tatters and the demographic trends are against them. Now is the time to act - on the budget, on the environment, on the financial system, on defense spending.

A bold agenda today will steer us away from another post-election morning in four years where we wake up and realize that nothing has changed. Congratulations, Mr. President. The nation and the world are watching you.

BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator, Larry Matthews, is a veteran broadcast journalist. He is the recipient of The George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcast for his reporting on Vietnam veterans. He is also the recipient of a Columbia/DuPont Citation, Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press, and other awards for investigative reporting. He is the author of five books including, I Used To Be In Radio: a Memoir. Click here to reach Mr. Matthews.