The people have spoken. They have voted a resounding no to Bushworld. Translated, this means: No to the Iraq war. No to a United States of Fear. No to corruption, and, Yes to accountability and Yes to the U.S. Constitution.

In Bushworld, however, the president's faith and delusion have not been shaken: His take on the election is that now that Democrats are in control of Congress, their primary responsibility is to say yes to his thoroughly discredited agenda. This means yes to his Iraq war, yes to his war on terror, yes to his fear-mongering and yes to allow him to continue his policy of disregarding the law.

It comes as no surprise that many equally deluded conservative talking heads and Republican operatives not only agree with the president's interpretation, but all of a sudden find themselves empowered to lecture majority Democrats as to how they must govern: They must avoid hearings and investigations of the administration, steer to the middle, which in conservative lingo means moving toward Bushworld and on some issues, such as immigration, move to the fanatical right of the president.

What's mind-boggling, is that some Democrats (New House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi & Rahm Emmanuel of the Democratic National Campaign Committee) actually are signaling agreement with this advice. Most amazingly, they have already stated that impeachment hearings are "off the table." (Perhaps they have not read John Nichol?s book: The Genius of Impeachment).

Maybe this is what is meant when analysts say that politicians are out of touch with the people. The thumpin' the president and the Republican Party suffered means a total rejection of Bushworld. Perhaps an interpretation of this whippin' requires elaboration.

A no to Bushwold also means no to:

? the Bush war doctrine: This 2002 illegal and dangerous doctrine calls for preemptive and permanent worldwide "war on terror" that ensures U.S. world domination.
? unilateralism. This means rejecting the Bush policy of ignoring international treaties & obligations and ignoring the rest of the world in making decisions that affect the entire world. This includes a no to the president?s desire to employ smaller tactical nuclear weapons.
? an imperial presidency. This has led to the illegal usurpation of power and excessive secrecy and the passage of anti-democratic laws such as the Patriot Act & the Torture bill.
? one party rule. This is what has led to both to a rubber-stamp Congress, but also to unbridled corruption.
? tax breaks and the subsidizing of the military-industrial complex and global corporations.
? the exemption of global corporations from health, labor, environmental and safety regulations
? the blurring of church & state.
? the rejection of science, particularly in matters relating to our fragile environment.
? scapegoat politics. Blaming illegal aliens became the failed Republican strategy of "energizing" the base.
? the demonization of one's opponents. The president created the discredited "Either you're with us or against us" politics which he has used both at home and abroad.

It also means yes to:

? adhering to international treaties, incuding the International War Crimes Tribunal, ensuring that no one is above the law and that there is no refuge for war criminals.
? governmental checks and balances: this means Congressional oversight & accountability.
? tax relief for those that actually need it (as opposed to tax breaks for the super-rich). Incidentally, the Iraq war is proving to be the ?Mother of all taxesÓ upon the people, with some analysts estimating a cost of 2 trillion dollars.
? fair-minded justices.
? a raise in the minimum wage (and hopefully leading to a living wage).
? affordable universal health care.
? a genuine solution to the issue of immigration - without the demonization or exploitation of the hardest working sector of society.

All this is a complete rejection of Bushworld. It's true that Donald Rumsfeld as head of the Defense Department has already been given the boot, but former CIA director, Robert Gates, of Iran-Contra notoriety, will be charged with continuing the president's failed war policies.

It bears repeating; the will of the people, via this election, is a clamor not simply for heads to roll (such as UN ambassador, John Bolton), but more importantly, for policies to change. Indeed, Congress must focus on finding solutions - on undoing all the damage this administration has wrought upon the world. Yet, to preemptively take hearings and investigations off the table is to essentially abscond from one of its primary responsibilities. It essentially permits Bushworld to remain open for business while granting Congress free passes back into Bushworld.

© Column of the Americas 2006