Posted on 11/12/2003 5:52:58 AM PST by GaryL
While an increasingly angry and alienated Democratic Party spouts gloom and doom, the picture appears bright for conservatives and the GOP. Beginning with Arnold Schwarzeneggers victory in California and following last weeks electoral successes in Kentucky and Mississippi, Republicans are consolidating their hold on state and national political offices.
With President Bushs signature of the partial-birth abortion ban, CBS's decision to drop its politicized hatchet job of Ronald Reagan -- one of Americas most beloved presidents -- and the recovering economy spurred by Bushs hefty tax cuts, the American ''right'' seems to be on a roll. Meanwhile, the Democrats seem to be careening further leftward -- and backward -- toward pacifism, pessimism, irrelevance and political suicide.
These are not just short-term GOP gains. While liberal Democrats feverishly try to spin away the reality, the truth is that conservative ideals of entrepreneurship, individual responsibility, smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense and traditional values have become increasingly mainstream during the past 20 years; the recent GOP successes simply reflect that fact.
In 1983 -- Reagan's third year as president -- Democrats controlled Congress and 23 more state legislatures than did the Republicans. Today the GOP holds both houses of Congress and five more state legislatures than do the Democrats.
That same year, there were 18 more Democrat governors than Republicans; today (after California, Kentucky and Mississippi) there will be 29 GOP governors (five more Republicans than Democrats). Also, the U.S. House had 103 more Democrats than Republicans; today Republicans lead by 24 members.
The Democratic strategy of turning the recent Southern elections into referenda on Bush also failed miserably. In Kentucky, Democrats tried to link GOP nominee Rep. Ernie Fletcher with the ''Bush economy,'' while in Mississippi, Democratic incumbent Ronnie Musgrove tried to attack the Washington ties of former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour. Republicans won both elections handily.
With these two wins -- which follow GOP gains in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina -- Republicans have recaptured the growing, dynamic South.
Soon 60 percent of Americans will live in states run by Republicans. With the exception of ''left'' coast enclaves such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, and parts of the ''granola'' Northwest, the GOP continues to dominate the West as well. The only true liberal Democrat stronghold nationally appears to be the Northeast rust belt.
For those who may not have noticed -- the GOP is becoming our dominant party coast to coast.
To bring the point home, U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., who recently endorsed Bushs reelection, titled his new book about the Democrats, A National Party No More. Miller argues that the Democratic Party has become dominated by parochial and extreme left-wing interest groups that are pulling the party further away from the mainstream even while America has shifted rightward since Sept. 11. He adds, ``Its obvious that a train wreck is about to happen with the Democratic Party.''
The GOP future looks good as America's youth also seems to be increasingly conservative. Despite the predominance of left-leaning academics on college campuses, surveys reveal that freshmen are far more traditional than many of their counterculture professors or liberal baby-boomer parents. A national Harvard University poll in October found that 61 percent of college students approved of Bushs job performance.
As the economy improves, Democrats will pin their hopes for success in 2004 on a Bush failure in Iraq. But hurting Bush on Iraq is not good either for Democrats or America. Most Americans -- regardless of party -- are rooting for victory in Iraq. Cynical defeatism in time of war should backfire and hurt Democrats.
Republicans are on the move across America. Democrats need to recognize and adapt to that, or they may find themselves trampled by the stampeding elephants of the GOP.
Paul Crespo is a public-policy analyst and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Miami.
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In spite of the effort to dumb down our public education with liberal themes and the effort to re-write history in some areas, Americans are still embodied with our Founding Father’s America, a Republic not a democracy.
The left has spawned some pretty anti-American people who never left their socialist beginnings behind when they came here or their children were taught little patriotism and pride in their country while in school. The left can only mimic, just repeat and repeat their rhetoric about what is wrong with this or that administration but never give a coherent way to fix anything. Their echo’s are growing fainter with each passing day. The GOP isn’t perfect, but a far cry from these socialists who would render America impotent, besides, the GOP stands for America and Americans.
Assuming a win, how this power is applied will determine our children’s future. Will we have a flat tax, abortion ban, family friendly media/culture, secure borders and reduced size of government (to name a few)? That is the opportunity; it will be up to us to see this opportunity turned into results.
Back in 1980s and 1990s, the Democrats had several governors to pick from as presidential candidates. Clinton, Cuomo, Dukakis. Today who do they have? Their top state governors now are Jennifer Granholm in Michigan (who is constitutionally ineligible to run for President), Bill Richardson in NM, and Rod Blagojevich in Illinois.
fuzzy math? isn't it 8 more?
But who in their right mind is going to believe the Democrat theory that raising taxes is good for the economy, killing babies is holy, and running from Iraq is in the national interest?
People often mistake me for a "Libtertarian." I'm barely even a small-l libertarian. I am a Constitutionalist. So, unless you have a death-grip on the Drug War, which I oppose for the damage it does to states' rights and to the Constitution, not for any libertarian ideology, conservatism and COnstitutionalism can get along just fine. If the Republicans take federalism seriously, and take undoing the New Deal seriously, I really won't care if legal pot happens tommorow or in 100 years.
The media problem is now a limited problem due to Fox News cracking the leftist monopoly. Academe is only a weak force in politics.
The biggest danger to Republicans is massive vote fraud fueled by massive illegal immigration. This is costing us several Senate seats (the impact is less in any area smaller than a state).
Some have included Tom Vilsack (Iowa) and Ed Rendell (Pennsylvania) in the group of potential national candidates the Dems could draw from.
My thought is that the Dems will go down hard in 2004, losses at all levels. Implosion and fracturing of the party will follow (Greens, Traditional Dems, Unions, Government Worker Party, Commies, Socialists, Some Race Category, etc), hence no viable alternative to the Republicans will exist. We need to make some use of the potential new-found power.
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