If there is one thing to take away from the Massachusetts result, it’s this: People like to whine.

Voters granted huge Democratic gains in the 2006 and 2008 elections because they were whining about how the Bush administration was ignoring certain issues, issues that festered and only got worse on its watch. Buried under Obama’s rhetoric of “hope and change” was an underlying promise: the federal government was no longer going to sit on its hands and ignore the problems our country faced, a course of (in)action that the Republicans proved all to good at. So Obama- implausibly- secured the White House, and promised an era of responsive government.

So, now voters are whining that the government should not be as responsive as the Obama administration has- haltingly, it could be asserted- been in its first twelve months. The pattern could be broken down as thus: You’re ignoring my problems? I’ll elect leaders that respond to them. You’re responding to my problems? I’ll elect leaders that will ignore them.

Which leads us to the election of Scott Brown who should be- in all honesty- considered, using a technical political term, as a “bench warmer.” Or “seat filler,” if you will. He was the victim of happy circumstances- a dead-of-winter special election, an apathetic electorate, running agaisnt an opponent who ignored him and quit campaigning. In three years, Massachusetts will be tired of the multiple gaffes committed by the former Cosmopolitan centerfold- the first centerfold to serve in the Senate?- and he will be voted out. He is the GOP’s version of Roland Burris, nothing more. Some years down the line, he will be the answer to the $200 question on Jeopardy! (The answer to the $400 question? Conan O’Brien.)

Why will Brown not retain his Senate seat? As a back-benching seat warmer with the lowest ranking in the minority party, what will Brown deliver to the tea-baggers in Massachusetts? Oh yeah, nothing. Which is entirely the platform that he ran on. There was nothing Brown said he “will” do, instead if you look at the campaign promises Brown made it was nothing but a litany of things he “won’t” do. Indeed, consider the following from Frank Rich’s “The Great Tea Party Rip-off” from last Sunday’s NYT:

….When Steele and Palin pay lip service to the movement, they are happy to glom on to its anti-tax, anti-Obama, anti-government, anti-big-bank vitriol. But they don’t call for any actual action against the bailed-out perpetrators of the financial crisis. They’d never ask for investments to put ordinary Americans back to work. They have no policies to forestall foreclosures or protect health insurance for the tea partiers who’ve been shafted by hard times. Their only economic principle beside tax cuts is vilification of the stimulus that did save countless jobs for firefighters, police officers and teachers at the state and local level.

And Scott Brown, who’s looking up at Capitol Hill and seeing all the Republican Senators and Congressman receiving tax-payer funded paychecks for doing absolutely nothing, said “Great gig if I could get it.” And he got it. Chances are he’ll spend the next three years railing against the “lazy people on welfare” while he takes security in the non-responsive side of Congress that prefers ignoring problems instead of responding to them.

So, here’s the real take-away message from the Massachusetts results: To hell with the federal government. I mean, obviously. But, its more than that. At least for the upcoming election year, don’t expect anything solid from the federal government. Nothing’s going to get done. And while that may make conservatives click their heels in glee- I guess they support people getting paid to do nothing after all?- the rest of us who are hurting will continue to hurt. Things will only get worse. And when election day rolls around, voters are going to be asking: “Why aren’t you responding to my needs?” What will the response be by the elected representatives? Of course, if I was an incumbent I’d be concerned. Its going to be hard to make a case when you’ve accomplished nothing. It remains to be seen, however, whether the electorate will seek representatives who vow to be non-responsive, or who will be responsive.

So, what do to? Personally, I’m saying the hell with the federal government- but on my own terms. I’m re-orienting myself, and looking at my own backyard, my own neighborhood, my own community. I will continue in my efforts to identify food security gaps in my neighborhood, and ensure that healthy, nutritious foods get into the hands of poor hungry people- those who would be referred to as “lazy” by Scott Brown, Michael Steele, Sarah Palin, and their ilk. Yesterday, I sat in on a meeting with active & committed folks in my county who are committed to taking a critical perspective at the county’s food distribution chain, confronting the challenges that threaten the food distribution’s security, sustainability and equity, resulting in a 15-year action plan that ensures the vitality of the food source of my community. I am excited to be involved with these efforts. Of course, using the parlance of the time, I guess I would be considered a “socialist.”

Because ultimately, despite the leverage of the federal government, the sad truth is that over the next twelve months or so I will be able to make more of an impact as an individual than the government will at the federal level. The federal government is broken, it is in stasis, gridlock will ensure, leading to minimum to no results. Hopefully, Obama should say as much in his State of the Union next month, which I’m sure will be full of respectful catcalls from the non-responsive side of Congress. The Constitution requires that the State of the Union to be given by the Executive to a joint session of Congress “from time to time.” I hope Obama uses this opportunity to talk over the heads of Congress and directly to the American people. Telling them to forget about the federal government- as it is useless to them. During his campaign, Obama said: “Be the change you want to be.” At no other time than now is this more relevant. I challenge each and everyone of you to step up and proactively create positive change in your community over the next 12 months. Because if the federal government isn’t going to, then now’s our chance.

We have two options in front of us after the Massachusetts Senate results: we can be cynical or optimistic towards the future. And personally, I reject the cynical option.

Who’s with me?

2010 mid-terms | Massachusetts Senate race | Obama | Scott Brown