Posted on 12/18/2004 8:52:57 PM PST by 26lemoncharlie
Following the Republican landslide victories of the 1994 midterm elections, conservatives watched in amazement as Republican “moderates” proceeded to completely squander the ground they had gained, culminating in the defeat of Bob Dole in ‘96. In the aftermath of this year’s elections, ominous signs point towards a repeat performance.
Apparently, Republican Party operatives didn’t really comprehend why, in the middle of Bill Clinton’s first term, they won big. And to this day, political analysts still don’t seem to grasp the situation. Among conservatives, the conventional wisdom is that the newly realigned GOP Congressional majority had wrongly presumed too much of a mandate, subsequently shocking the American people with an excessively bold agenda.
In truth however, the exact opposite took place. And if the Republican Party doesn’t quickly come to grips with this fact, it may find itself facing larger defeats in ‘06 and ‘08 than the Democrats just received.
By formulating the “Contract with America,” Newt Gingrich brilliantly highlighted the contrasts between the two parties. In presenting America with such a clear choice, he ensured that the liberalism of the Democrats would be on parade. The rest is history.
Yet in the aftermath of the elections, intense media pressure caused Gingrich and the Republicans to backtrack. Bob Dole’s “enough is enough” surrender to Clinton’s bloated 1995 budget sealed Dole’s fate in the following year’s presidential election. Despite Republican wins, the left still dominated.
In reality, the much-heralded “Republican Revolution” simply never happened. Where, for example, was a single bloated bureaucracy eliminated, or required to face even modest budget cuts at the hands of the Republicans?
Far from committing any conservative “excesses,” it was the abandonment of such things which disillusioned the “grassroots” and convinced them that “business as usual” still reigned supreme in Washington. Hence, they stayed home on Election Day in ‘96.
So, how have Republicans fared during the brief “lame duck” Congressional session following this year’s election? Initial signs are not encouraging. Rather than confronting the Democrats’ obstructionism, and their continued pandering to the counterculture, Republicans are once again waffling, conceding, and capitulating.
The recently passed “National Security Reform Act” is a prime example. Key to American security is regaining control of its borders. Amazingly, Congress decided to remove a provision from the security reform measure that would have clamped down on the ability of illegal aliens (such as the nineteen hijackers of 9-11) to obtain drivers’ licenses.
According to opponents of the provision, such discussion belongs in other legislation. Yet if the mass influx of undocumented foreigners isn’t relevant to the security of the nation, little else is.
Beyond all of the excuses, the reality of the situation is that the Republicans in the House and Senate have no stomach to confront the illegal alien issue, for fear of media backlash. They apparently remain clueless as to the receding relevance of the “mainstream” media, or the fact that their acquiescence to it will cause an enormous rift with the “base” from whom they so recently garnered electoral victories.
On another front, Senate Minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada highlighted the tight spot in which Senate Democrats presently find themselves. Completely abandoning any pretence of bipartisan cooperation, Reid pressed forward in the footsteps of his predecessor, the recently deposed Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
On a weekend talk show, Reid sounded like the standard, cliched, liberal Democrat of the Washington “insider” crowd, promising obstruction and rancor, but not surprisingly accompanied by the standard liberal demands that Republicans “reach across the aisle.”
If a groundswell of disapproval occurs in response to his caustic diatribe, Reid, being another partisan Democrat Senator from a “red state,” could eventually face a fate similar to that suffered by Daschle. Fortunately for Reid, Senate Republicans may well ride in to his rescue. Fearing possible negative ramifications from altering the present senate rules that allow legislation to be stalled by a forty vote filibuster, Republicans are again showing their reluctance to play “hard ball” when confronted with such obstructionism.
Presently, Democrats have been using this technique to thwart the appointment of judges who would uphold the Constitution. So, conservatives are left wondering what possible ramifications could be worse than a continued decimation of the Constitution.
John Kerry’s liberalism, when viewed against the backdrop of the War on Terror, provided the contrast that yielded significant Republican Congressional gains, and a victory for President Bush. If Republicans continue to erase that contrast, they will eventually erase the victory.
Comments
Personally, I'm fed up with people with hyphenated names, PC bullsh!t, and other excuses for irresponsibility and excuses not to show up for work or demonstrate accountability. The bozos who were their dopey caps on backwards, prove that they have no direction, other than stupidity and continued ignorance and no course of direction in life.
I've been saying that for months, Hildahbeast will do ANYTHING, Hell she even got religion now!! She claimed she was EVANGELICAL!!! Can you believe that?? Saint Michael is sharpening his sword for sure!! Pennance!!
With anchor babies, it's amnesty in every way. We are inviting breeding age people into our country on amnesty and trusting them not to make anchor babies. Yeah, right.
Then you are probably the second biggest dupe on FR with only "Lets nuke the world" Nanak higher on the list. Heck, all of you obsessed with immigration would probably vote for Stalin if he promised to control the borders even if it meant surrendering your freedom and a genocide of over 100 million people. I guess as long as those 100 million had dark skin and spoke Spanish, it would be acceptable.
bump
I agree. There is nothing more sacred to me than my great country, The United States of America.
Tom Tancredo for President 2008:Our Last and Only hope to save AMERICA
The moderate Republicans have the mind set of throwing the bath water out with the baby.
The recent comments, regarding Rumsfeld, by Lott and McCain, speak volumes about their loyalties. The possible justification for their past "moderate" stances could have been written off as mere cowardice. Now, however, they are truly unmasked for the party traitors and disloyalists they and many others (Specter, etc.) in the party truly are. They should be emboldened and strengthened by the overt mandate Conservativism has gained, alas.
Ahhhhhhhh but the rub is...She may proclaim she will stop it.....but once elected there will be no effort whatsoever to stop it....Her track record in NYS is talking the talk but not walking the walk....
I have yet to see the Dan Rather report.
I have yet to see CBS pay any price at all for fraudulently attempting to influence the election.
BTTT
At some point you will lose. It is impossible to always win. Hence, the goal is as soon as the right is in power it should start cutting the size of the govt, so when the left gets in power it is left with a smaller govt than what it had before. If the left wants to go back to a bigger govt, then you can use it against them. But, if the right wants to mimick the left just to stay power, that is a losing proposition. People wouldn't uwant left-lite if it voted for the right. Next time, they would pick the real left.
I Think if there is just a massive registering of Republicans to a Third Party, JUST A REGISTRATION!! They will crap in there Panties, they don't believe we have anywhere else to go!! MAssive Registration, This doesn't mean you cannot vote republican, check your election board or Voter Registration Office on the rules to register and how many times you can register within a year. Just change your Registration.
The Dimms and the Republicans JUST WILL NOT HEAR the AMERICAN People, we have no place else to go for representation in Congress: Let's see, elections 2006,
Constitutional Party,
http://www.constitutionparty.com/
America First Party,
http://www.americafirstparty.org/
Independant American Party
http://www.usiap.org/
The American Party
http://www.theamericanparty.org/
Sorry I have no idea what BTTT means! I've been here about a month!
"The recently passed “National Security Reform Act” is a prime example. Key to American security is regaining control of its borders. Amazingly, Congress decided to remove a provision from the security reform measure that would have clamped down on the ability of illegal aliens (such as the nineteen hijackers of 9-11) to obtain drivers’ licenses."
Something's strange about this part of the story. One of the MSM channels that I was watching this week reported that there were concerns by some opponents of the passage of the National Security Reform Act....because they thought the requirement for national uniformity of drivers licenses might lead to a requirement for a national ID card.
I think someone needs to look up the actual language included in the bill as signed, because at least one of the local southern california channels showed some whiners about the new requirement for the states to comply with the national rules for drivers licenses. They even showed a group of people protesting for drivers licenses and someone who represents the "Mexican American Political Congress" was on saying that there will be a boycott (hmm, the news story didn't say what the boycott involved...just showed some Mexicans marching in front of a gas station).
What price Rather pays, or what the CBS "investigation" reports will merit little.
While the public will forget the details, they will remember CBS lied.
More importantly, yes, more importantly, the public refused to buy all of the press attacks on Bush - a marked change from when the last Bush ran for re-election.
The MSM still has the power to cover things up, a la Kerry's record, but no longer has the power to destroy with false scandals...
BTTT= Back To The Top (pulls the thread to the top of the list)
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