Rex Nutting tells it like it is

Late last night, Rex Nutting of MarketWatch penned this commentary that, in my view, captures the sentiment of so many Americans these days.

Dear politicians: We are fed up
The people of this country have had it up to here with the way our leaders are running our country.

And while the election of Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate seat held by the Kennedy brothers for nearly 60 years is clearly a repudiation of the Democrats' leadership, Republicans shouldn't get so smug about this victory.

We are fed up with the lot of you.

You promised to change the way Washington works, but you didn't do it. Your answers to our problems are inadequate, or they make things worse. As usual, you're taking care of everyone but us. Despite the worst economic crisis in generations, nothing has changed.

This country is in trouble, maybe big trouble. Our economy doesn't work for us any more. Jobs are hard to find, health care is hit or miss, and the idea of a comfortable retirement seems a cruel joke. We legitimately worry that we're bequeathing our kids and our grandkids a life that's going to be much tougher than ours.

We did everything we were asked: We worked hard, we invested in Wall Street, we took off our shoes at the airport, we bought a house, and we borrowed and spent until we couldn't spend or borrow any more.

Clearly, in the aftermath of two burst asset bubbles over the last decade - first stocks and then housing - Americans are now waking up en masse to the reality that rising asset prices are not the cure-all they were made out to be by both parties.

Back to Rex...

You don't get it. We don't care about your campaign donations. We don't care about your political fortunes, or those of your party. We don't care who posed nude, or who's the better candidate. We don't care about 60 votes. We don't care about the big companies or the special interests who fear the future. We don't care about Senate traditions, or what those idiots on TV say.

We care about results. Fix our problems, or get out of the way. We know our problems aren't simple. We know the answers won't come easy. But we also know that you don't understand. If you did, you'd hide your faces in shame.

To the Democrats: We elected you to accomplish things for us, not to give you lifetime jobs. We gave you an overwhelming majority in Congress: Use it or lose it.

To the Republicans: It might seem smart in the short run to just oppose everything, knowing that the wheel will turn and that eventually the people will give the power and the mandate to you. But it'd be much better for us if you'd actually stand for something other than protecting your own hides, or getting your own cable show.

To the voters: You deserve better. Start demanding it.

After catching some of the post-election commentary last night, it seems clear that there is still a very long way to go before any real progress is made amongst the elected officials and the pundits in Washington.

It may be too much to ask just yet, but I'm still hoping that my wild-card prognostication from last week's Predictions for 2010 comes to pass.

10. The 2010 Elections will Be Shocking

As the economy turns from weak to bad again over the summer, there will be some surprising developments leading up to the fall elections as young and old alike express their displeasure with the status quo, namely, the cozy relationship between elected officials and the leaders of the FIRE (Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate) economy.

A record number of independents will run for and be elected to office and Washington will start to get the message, but Wall Street still won't.

A much stronger statement would have been made last night if an independent were to have been elected rather than a Republican or a Democrat. We'll see how things work out this fall.