When Ronald Reagan was elected, rich Republicans saw an opportunity to cut their taxes, but how do you sell to voters a massive redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich? The answer was to invent a new economic paradigm: Cut taxes for the rich, and they’ll reward you by giving you jobs. Reaganomics was born, and Republicans rejoiced. The prosperous period that followed was the result of massive deficit spending to fuel an enormous military buildup, but causation is not correlation, and the narrative that cutting taxes results in economic growth was enshrined in the Republican doctrine.

The deadline for filing a petition to appear on the ballot for most town council seats is Monday, April third. That’s only about two weeks away, but there remains sufficient time to collect the necessary signatures for your petition.

Sussex County Democratic Party chairwoman Leslie Huhn shares her thoughts on the final night of the Obama presidency.

Within the past month, we passed two significant social media milestones, and for that, we thank you. Our page ‘likes’ now exceed five hundred. Perhaps more significantly, we have more people following our page than do the Sussex County Republican Committee. Consider that they had (until recently) two congressmen and a full set of state Assemblymen and Senator to share their message, and that’s saying something.

Years ago, House Speaker Tip O’Neill asserted “All politics is local.” The GOP listened and followed up; Democrats didn’t. As a result, in November, Republicans not only swept control of the United States Congress and Executive; it garnered control of the vast majority of Governorships and state legislatures.

There are essentially three ways to get involved and make a difference:

ONE: Be an activist. This is mainly about putting pressure on those in elected office who do not share your political position to change their opinion.

TWO: Work to get people elected who share your position. This is one of the main goals of the Sussex County Democratic Committee. All of our committee’s functions support this.

THREE: Do it yourself and run for office. This is a special person, one I’ve always admired.

While Hillary Clinton’s vote tally leads Donald Trump by over two million, the Republicans have nonetheless captured the presidency. And while more votes were cast nationwide for Democratic Party senators, the Republicans continue to rule the Senate. The House of Representatives is also in Republican control. Soon, new appointments will tilt the Supreme Court heavily toward the conservative side. The Republican Party has run the table.

Things get even bleaker as you cast your gaze beyond our nation’s capital. Democrats now occupy just 3,129 seats in the state legislatures, compared to the Republicans' 4,170. Starting in January, Republicans will control over two thirds of all state legislative chambers.

But this is not a comment about winning and losing. Instead, it’s about unchecked power.

After what I will refer to as “Black Tuesday”, many of us in the County were disheartened that our nation could elect such a person to be our president. The damage that a Trump administration could inflict may be devastating.

The feelings of shock and disbelief that we experienced have turned to determination and resolve for so many visitors to the Sussex County Democratic Committee’s web site. We are grateful and encouraged that so many have expressed their desire to connect with us and do something about it.

Fred Barnes, Executive Editor of the conservative journal, The Weekly Standard, writes:  “Trump and Republicans must redeem the promise to rescue a working class in trouble. That comes first. If that slips, voters are bound to conclude that electing Trump and Republicans didn't matter. Because nothing changed.”

People often tell me time how politics is stupid. “Nothing gets done so why should I care?” How wrong they are. Politics matters, because laws and policies affect lives.