Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

What’s Wrong With the Democrats?
The American Conservative ^ | July 31, 2006 | Steve Sailer

Posted on 07/23/2006 6:28:22 PM PDT by skandalon

Why have the Democrats proven so inept at electorally exploiting the growing evidence of the current Republican Party’s incompetence at governing? The Democrats certainly have a chance of doing well in the November elections, but why is this merely a possibility?

In 1980, just half a dozen years after the GOP’s Watergate humiliation, voters responded to the Carter administration’s failures by electing a Republican president and Senate and scaring enough House Democrats that Ronald Reagan was able to pass much of his agenda. After five-and-a-half years of George W. Bush’s presidency, it’s reasonably clear that he wasn’t qualified for the job and hasn’t exactly grown in office. The GOP establishment, which anointed Bush in 1999 even though many had personal experience of his unsuitability for the highest office, deserves punishment for negligence. Yet no Democrat—with the longshot exception of Virginia senatorial candidate James Webb—has emerged to offer the galvanizing change in direction and tone that Reagan once brought to the Republicans.

The satirical Onion headline earlier this year said it all: “Democrats Vow Not To Give Up Hopelessness.” If the voters turn to the Democrats this fall, it will only be as the lesser of two evils. America needs a less self-destructive Democratic Party, if just to keep Republican officeholders on their toes.

(Excerpt) Read more at amconmag.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: allen2006; democrats; jameswebb; stevesailer; virginia
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-45 next last

1 posted on 07/23/2006 6:28:23 PM PDT by skandalon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: skandalon
... and hasn’t exactly grown in office ...

Sailer writing something like this shows his own incredible bias.

2 posted on 07/23/2006 6:31:28 PM PDT by Ken522
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skandalon
Unfortunately, the GOP will only be as good as it has to be to beat the Democrats. If the Dems were less screwed up, the Republicans would be less screwed up too.
3 posted on 07/23/2006 6:32:38 PM PDT by Steely Tom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skandalon

What’s Wrong With the Democrats?

Everything. Next question?


4 posted on 07/23/2006 6:33:28 PM PDT by dmw (Aren't you glad you use common sense, don't you wish everybody did?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Ken522
Well, it's from Pat Buchanan's 'American Conservative.'

So, the only praise goes to Hezbollah and Hamas and their goal to eradicate Israel.

5 posted on 07/23/2006 6:34:23 PM PDT by LdSentinal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: skandalon

What was wrong with the Whigs back in the 1850's?


6 posted on 07/23/2006 6:36:36 PM PDT by AdvisorB (For a terrorist bodycount in hamistan, let the smoke clear then count the ears and divide by 2.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skandalon

A better question would be: "What's Right With the Democrats?"


7 posted on 07/23/2006 6:37:44 PM PDT by Pharmboy (Democrats lie because they must)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mr.Smorch
What was wrong with the Whigs back in the 1850's?

They were pro-choice on the most important moral issue of the day?

8 posted on 07/23/2006 6:38:26 PM PDT by NeoCaveman (The Latest on the Ohio gov race http://blackwellvstrickland.blogspot.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: skandalon
Why have the Democrats proven so inept at electorally exploiting the growing evidence of the current Republican Party’s incompetence at governing?

This is a bogus question - it assumes that the Republican party has shown incompetence at governing. I propose that while there are many things that I don't like about our current government (and nowhere near all are related to the Republicans), I do not see evidence that there is incompetence for the most part.

In other words, the democRATs have nothing to capitalize on, which is why they haven't done so. You can't walk into the bank with a blank piece of paper and expect to withdraw a huge sum of money. Likewise, the Dems can't approach the voters empty-handed and expect to walk away with a win.

9 posted on 07/23/2006 6:38:42 PM PDT by meyer (A vote for amnesty is a vote against America.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Steely Tom

Overall, the GOP isn't screwed up. There are far more conservative Republicans than RINOs in Congress. Good conservatives such as Pence, Tancredo, Sessions, Sesenbrenner, etc. Despite not vetoing the spending and the borders, Bush has delivered. 2 conservative Supremes. More conservative federal judges. A pro-American UN ambassador. Tax cuts. Opening the debate on SS reform. Should we stay home and not support them because they're not pure as the driven conservative snow?


10 posted on 07/23/2006 6:39:22 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (404 Page Error Found)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: skandalon
Presidential Candidate Party Home State Popular Vote Electoral Vote Running Mate Running Mate's
Home State
Running Mate's
Electoral Vote
Count Percentage
George W. Bush Republican Texas 50,460,110 47.9% 271 Dick Cheney Wyoming 271
Al Gore Democratic Tennessee 51,003,926 48.4% 266 Joe Lieberman Connecticut 266
(abstention) (a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) (n/a) 1 (abstention) (a) (n/a) 1
Ralph Nader Green Connecticut 2,883,105 2.7% 0 Winona LaDuke Minnesota 0
Pat Buchanan Reform Virginia 449,225 0.4% 0 Ezola B. Foster California 0
Harry Browne Libertarian Tennessee 384,516 0.4% 0 Art Olivier California 0
Howard Phillips Constitution Virginia 98,022 0.1% 0 Curtis Frazier Missouri 0
John Hagelin Natural Law/Reform Iowa 83,702 0.1% 0 Nat Goldhaber California 0
Ross Perot Write-in Texas 9 0.0% 0 None N/A 0
Other(b) 54,652 0.1% 0 Other(b) 0
Total 105,417,258 100.0% 538 Total 538
Needed to win 270 Needed to win 270

11 posted on 07/23/2006 6:39:31 PM PDT by John Lenin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skandalon
The American Conservative is Pat Buchanan's paleo-con publication. They're as angry at Bush as the Democrats are. The Democrats hate him because he's not one of them. The paleo-cons hate him because he's not one of them. And politics literally makes for strange bedfellows.

(Go Israel, Go! Slap 'Em, Down Hezbullies.)

12 posted on 07/23/2006 6:39:48 PM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skandalon

>>Why have the Democrats proven so inept at electorally exploiting

Reminds me: this weekend they're doing a bunch of Brady Bunch episodes on TV-Land. I was flipping through the channels and it showed the youngest boy, Bobby, looking at all the award
statuettes his sisters and brothers had won (talent, sports, etc.) and he says, "I'm the only one who doesn't have any of these. Why can't I win ANYTHING!" He then puts a Halloween-
mask over his face...

A DONKEY mask! I laughed out loud! How ironic! "Why can't
I win ANYTHING!"


13 posted on 07/23/2006 6:43:29 PM PDT by raccoonradio
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skandalon

What's wrong with the Democrats?

They want Socialism AND WE DON'T!!!!


14 posted on 07/23/2006 6:45:38 PM PDT by Windcatcher (Earth to libs: MARXISM DOESN'T SELL HERE. Try somewhere else.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: skandalon

Really not a bad article. It does point out the challenges facing the democrats quite well.


15 posted on 07/23/2006 6:48:31 PM PDT by listenhillary (Only the stupidest of animals fouls it's own nest - Democrats provide a fine example of this)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Windcatcher

What's wrong with the Demoncrats? They have been overtaken by an anti-U.S. group of lunatics.


16 posted on 07/23/2006 6:51:12 PM PDT by Phibes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Extremely Extreme Extremist
Should we stay home and not support them because they're not pure as the driven conservative snow?

No, of course not. I didn't mean that we should.

It's just that, now that we've got both branches of Congress and the White House, well, it's like a dream that I never thought I'd see, and sometimes it seems like we're not doing very much with it. Denny Hastert, with his stupid position on the William Jefferson papers, really irks me.

You're right, though, about the things that have been accomplished. And there's no denying that, were the donkeys in power, we'd all be saying "how can we get out of this handbasket."

The Democrats are in such a disastrous mess that I think its allowing our side to get fat and complacent. The main thing keeping our side in line is the media, and I include in that the right-wing media, which may be the biggest change of the last 20 years on the political scene. It may even be that we only have both houses and the Presidency because of the new media. That may actually be not too far fetched, although it sounds incredible.

(steely)

17 posted on 07/23/2006 6:56:46 PM PDT by Steely Tom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: LdSentinal
Democrats are how questioning if Israel Have a “Right to Exist?” On one talk show yesterday, a leading party Democrat seriously said Israel should be "evacuated," and the Israelis "go somewhere else."
I think in a fight to the death between USA democracy and the forces of al-Qaeda, Ahmadinejad, Hamas, and Hizballah, they side with the latter.
We've witnessing a sea change over the past 5 years, as the Democrats imploded and note the similarities to islamofascism speak and delusions to the leaders of the Democrats in their talking points.
18 posted on 07/23/2006 7:10:59 PM PDT by FreeRep
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: listenhillary

I think he's wrong about Webb. He's running on his own past military service and the message that "Iraq is Vietnam". Nothing unusual.


19 posted on 07/23/2006 7:16:18 PM PDT by RedRover
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: listenhillary

I think he's wrong about Webb. He's running on his own past military service and the message that "Iraq is Vietnam". Nothing unusual.


20 posted on 07/23/2006 7:16:37 PM PDT by RedRover
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-45 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson