Posted on 03/28/2007 5:37:45 AM PDT by shortstop
The way it stands now, we Republicans are on track to get the thumping of a lifetime. We are about to get spanked, and spanked hard.
I realized that the other day when I saw this bumper sticker: “Is it 2008 yet?”
The point was clear. Democrats are eager for 2008 to come; Republicans are living in fear of its arrival.
Because our party is on the rocks.
George W. Bush and several years of a GOP congressional majority have just about killed it.
And the horizon looks dark and foreboding.
Let’s look at the two parties’ presidential prospects. The Democrats have two excellent candidates. We Republicans have two relatively weak candidates.
Though I disagree with them both, Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton are both electric candidates. They excite people, especially Democrat people. They both would be superstars on the international scene.
And they both are liberals.
Though they are each trying to conceal that little fact at this stage of the campaign, the two leading Democrat candidates are dyed-in-the-wool liberals. That’s probably a good thing for a Democrat candidate to be. It certainly would be seen as a good trait by the party’s philosophical core – which is itself liberal.
So the Democrats have two head-turning candidates who believe in things that represent the party’s traditions and which jibe with the beliefs of the party’s most active and vocal members.
If you’re a Democrat, that’s a good thing.
We Republicans, on the other hand, face a different prospect.
Rudy Giuliani and John McCain, while each is a man of significant accomplishment, don’t have the marquee appeal of the Democrats. They are probably Grade B politicians. Senator McCain is clearly a brave patriot, but he was shot down more than 40 years ago and those who remember the significance of his service are few. Mayor Giuliani owes his national reputation as much to “Saturday Night Live” as to anything else.
And they both are liberals.
On the great issues of our day and our Republic, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have spent their careers closer to the Democrat position than the Republican position. And that’s not so fun for conservatives, who are the party’s base. They face the likely prospect of having a candidate whose philosophy they disagree with.
That’s not good.
Compound that with the fact that the mismanagement of the war has turned the country not only against it, but in large part against the notion of national self-defense. The true Republican position on the war would be to fight it ruthlessly to completion. After this experience, it is far more likely the country will have no stomach for any fight whatsoever. That’s why Iran is posing 10 times the threat Iraq posed and getting one-tenth the flak from the United States.
Responsibility for that can only be attributed to President Bush. He roused the nation’s spirits after September 11, and led us into war, but somehow has not been successful at maintaining our interest and commitment. In all likelihood, the Iraq war will be a defining issue in 2008 and it won’t break in the Republicans’ favor.
Another area where we suffer is, unlike the Democrats, we have no galvanizing issue or cause. Winning the Congress for the GOP is no longer a draw. We did that already and got nothing out of it. Winning the White House in order to control Supreme Court nominations died the day George W. Bush uttered the name, “Harriet Myers.”
There is no real reason, other than fear of Hillary, that even comes close to uniting Republicans.
Democrats, on the other hand, are so seething with hatred for George W. Bush and conservatives – though George W. Bush is not a conservative – that they are highly motivated for the election. They are on fire with zeal in anticipation of 2008.
You add it all up and the Democrats are holding most of the cards. We Republicans can’t even seem to get excited or frightened by the contest.
Which is a good way to lose.
As it stands now, 2008 will be a Democrat romp. Only an unexpected and monumental collapse by the Democrats, or an unexpected and monumental surge by the Republicans, stands any chance of shaking things up.
Which is pretty gloomy.
And it means that while the Democrats are looking forward to 2008, the next best chance for Republicans is 2010 or 2012.
And that’s an awful long time.
So long, in fact, you wonder what form the Republican Party will take as it suffers all those years locked out of power.
Ye of little faith!
The Republicans haven't learned how to survive in the mad vicious cutthroat world of politics. Republicans don't defend themselves. Republicans don't go on the attack. Seems to me Republicans have lost the will to fight and to survive.
Granted that it's a difficult battle, with the media completely aligned on the side of the dems, still I'd like to see Repubs nominate someone with courage and passion, like Alan Keyes.
But "Old Sparky" looks better in a pantsuit.
I'm extremely unhappy with the direction the Republican party is taking. I know from my perspective - it's because it is moving away from conservative principles. As long as they do this, they will not win again.
"Old Sparky" smells better, too!
Bush and his Merry Band of RINO's has done more to kill conservatism than anyone.
I haven't gotten that close to her.
At this point I think the republicans can win the house and senate back but may as well write the white house off.
What they didn't factor in was that the dems are totally ruthless, and the republicans total wimps who cannot take advantage of any problems. And BTW, the dems are totally corrupt but use heavy handed "scandals" against any republican who dares to run. I've seen this happen up close and personal.
The republican party is NOT producing smart or tough people, and that is why it is on the ropes.
Hillary's is hardly "electric" or "exciting"...
Her polling is as negative as it is positive. Zippo "swing" vote.
Way overrated.
Probably so and if the American public does not like the war we are presently fighting and the method used, they sure as hell are NOT going to like the next war.
.....and for sure will not like the way the Democrats try to appease the left as people and buildings are blown up in greater and greater numbers.
..........in this country.
You have much to be thankful for!
Shouldn't President Bush, the Republican senators and congresscritters be doing that and we Whining Freepers giving our undying support to them, rather than the elected ones cowering in the corner. We can't attack the Dems if our own elected leaders don't have the stones to do it themselves.
Not enough people know this because the stupid republicans AREN'T TELLING THEM. What is their problem? They just sit back & wait for the constant barrage of attacks from the dems, who have perfected the art of "if we keep saying this long enough, people will start to believe it".
It's so frustrating - haven't they ever considered playing OFFENSE - instead of always playing DEFENSE??? Why does the President care more about "reaching across the aisle" - than standing up for his people? The GOP can only blame themselves.
--The republicans actually thought it would be great for the dems to "ruin things" for a while.---
I use to think like that, and now I know we have to fight fire with fire. I'm tired of playing nice. I will scream in the face of a liberal if I have to. I don't care who likes me or not. I will not roll over this time.
The Republican party was doomed when the 'neo-cons' infiltrated the party and took it left.
Who wrote this doom and gloom junk? The one thing the Republicans have going for them is the Democrats control Congress and as they accomodate their Liberal base, they will alienate the country.
I think this article accurately describes the dire predicament of the GOP.
First of all , I think the author of this article is overly pessimistic, and secondly, has forgotten that Hillary is not electric, and Obama is really a media created darling and an actual bore in real life. Has the author forgotten Howard Dean in 2004, who was the media darlin' ...aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrgahhhhhhhahhhhhhhhhhhhh!
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