November 2, 2010: a day celebrated by Republicans and lamented by Democrats.

In last week’s elections, the GOP gained 60 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives so that it now holds 239 of the 435 spots – well over the halfway mark.

But how much will they actually be able to accomplish? This election was a huge turnover that destroyed complete Democratic control, but the U.S. Senate and the presidency are still controlled by the Left.

While we doubt the GOP will be able to completely remake the country in its image, the Democrats will not be able to now either.

Since 2008, the Democratic Party has controlled both the legislative and executive branches. Several laws and new regulations were passed under its leadership, and only time will tell if the changes were for better or worse. Even so, they were changes many conservatives fought every step of the way.

Now that the power has shifted slightly, it will be interesting to see what direction the country will take.

It could be much harder for Democrats to pass legislation they deem beneficial. But without control of the Senate and with President Obama’s veto power, the Republicans will have an uphill climb as well.

We’re worried that these two years will prove to be one gridlock after another, with each side vying for complete control and refusing to budge an inch on anything. Look at how much trouble the Obama administration had passing health care reform with complete control – and if Obama had waited until now, it would have been near impossible.

But why do the parties always have to be against one another? Each side claims to want what’s best for the people – but we’d like to see it.

Both sides have called for collaboration and talk about meeting in the middle, but they always get hung up on issues neither will agree to budge on. Let’s hope they can forget their biases and get some work done this time around.

After all, Democrats and Republicans are not as different as it often seems. While certain issues won’t be solved for years to come, even those are far outweighed by the plethora of opinions that do coincide.

Each should take a firm stance on some debates, as they have with issues like abortion and the death penalty that will always involve complex moral questions. But that is not all our country cares about.

We hope Obama’s call for change will actually come about. We want things to happen in our country, but all too often it seems disagreements and a refusal to work together prevents effective legislation and keeps things from being accomplished.

With the recently split power, we hope the government will seriously consider new proposals and work together to glean something of value.

Let these two years count for something – don’t make people wait for the next round of elections.