My eleven year old son became engaged in the electoral process for the first time this past month.  Not in the way a parent would hope though.  He did not develop a passionate stance for or against a particular candidate, nor did he engage in any particular issue.  Instead, he grew disgusted by the process.

I first figured out that he was attuned to North Carolina’s senate race when he referred to “being tired of hearing about Kay Hagan and Thom Tillis” in a poem he wrote for a school poetry slam.  He then wrote about the race for a school assignment. “The recent election changed us by annoying us with those ads.  No one was saying positive things, just making fun of their opponent.”

I am not sure the campaign itself changed many people, but I certainly hope and believe its result will change the political landscape.  The Republican victory this time around was paved by repeatedly pointing out they were not Democrats — not much substance from my perspective.

Not that the Democrats did much better.  Their campaign in North Carolina was narrow.  It focused on wedge issues, like women’s health, not on tangible policy-driven results, like the ECONOMY.  Democrats seem scared to trumpet what they have accomplished and seem mired in how closely to associate with the President.

So why my optimism?  Now that they control both houses, the Republican Party is going to have to stop being the party of “no” and is going to have to put together a policy agenda that is broader than repealing Obamacare.  Whether or not any substantive legislative passes will likely be less important than how the issues are framed in the next general election.

I believe both parties are going to need to redefine what they stand for post-Obama.   The electorate is becoming more diverse and younger, but as this election showed this does not necessarily translate into Democratic victories.  I actually think this up and coming generation is going to change the political process in a way Obama only dreamed he could.    I wonder how this electorate, who just voted overwhelmingly Republican would respond to a well-thought out vision for the country?

So here is to hoping that next electoral cycle politicians on both sides will try to win FOR something.  That should be enough for all of us to raise our glass!