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.
Her polling is as negative as it is positive. Zippo "swing" vote.
Way overrated. "
Silence peon. The media will tell you who is electric or exciting.
McCain is already in the tank and Fred hasn't even indicated he is going to run. As soon as Fred announces he will become neck and neck with Rudy, and then will sail on to win the nomination.
It's too complicated to go into here but I believe the American people are moving away from conservative principles and listening to the siren's call of nanny government. A plethora of special interest groups all aligned with the Democratic Party are lined up for the latest handout; an American populace conditioned daily to the "crisis" in health care and prescription drugs that only a universal, government run program can cure; a country willing to turn control of foreign policy over to a party whose only platform is appeasement of our enemies and distain for our military.
We are on the edge of a precipice and one good push in 2008 will send us over.
Offer the public free money or free money lite. Guess which one they'll take ?
No I don't think Fred is the answer either. My only hope is prayer.
You can't judge the future by what happened in the past. Due to the influx of immigrants, the electorate has shifted sharply to the left.
I agree that Hillery & Obama are both pretty pi$$-poor candidates & the fact that we might lose to them is even more pathetic. But here's the thing that Rudy's supporters don't get - if an actual donkey were running for President on the dem's side - they would be excited about it & stand together & vote for it come election day (come to think of it, that might be an improvement over the 2 current candidates there).
Even if they hate Hillery, they will still vote for her - not cross over & vote for Rudy. Republicans actually try to vote for someone that represents their core principles & that's why we're constantly in-fighting. That can be good & bad. Now, before the primaries, are the proper time for us to duke it out & sort out who becomes our eventual candidate - after that, we will have to unite to win.
The biggest problem with us losing lately, is that we are not presenting a clear difference from the other party. They are liberal - we need to be conservative!
Truth is, people watch the debates but I really don't think it affects them that much. And the leftist media will spin the debates to - the winner is "The Democrat."
Bunch of crap.
Rudy or Fred beats Hillary or Obama. Next.
One: Hillary Clinton may be beloved of middle-aged feminist public school teachers and New Age pottery artists with pierced eyebrows and silver thumb rings, but half the country hates her guts and would sooner vote for anyone else. Two: Obama/Osama/Yo'mama is clearly in over his head, and will wilt as soon as anyone asks him a tough question for which he is unprepared - which the lame-ass media will never do, but a Republican eventually will.
And then there is Fred Thompson, and Duncan Hunter, and if not them, someone else. We certainly do not have to settle for Rudy McRomney at this early date.
You must be too young to remember Jimmy Carter?
That's just because they don't have a leader (like Moses or Reagan) to lead them out of the wilderness. We're definitely lacking some leadership at the moment.
I think the article is generally accurate. The GOP has got to be pretty damn dynamic,with strong,smart people of conviction to overcome the mainstream media bias that's spoon fed to the public on a daily basis. George W Bush and the majority of the Pub's in Washington don't make the grade.While it's not to late yet,somebodies,not just the White House but the Senate and House of Rep's also, better step up to the plate soon who's going to energize not just the Republicans but alllllllll those swing voters who make a difference in elections or we could take another beating in 08 !!!
I disagree with your assessment that that Democrats who do not like Hillary will not crossover to the Republican Party to vote. I know Democrats who vote for the candidate and not the Party..... some famous Democrats who have crossed over.. Zell Miller, Former Mayor of New York Koch...
In many ways, the GOP is already doomed. The leadership has decided it must move far to the left to win, which in the end will insure a loss.
I'm looking for the following bumper sticker: "I didn't leave the Republicans, they left me."
Well, they are out there, but I think they're rare.
They gave up in trying to take back the House in 2008 when they reelected that "boring as watching paint dry on the wall" leadership. I'm talking about the Bonior and Blunt.
The White House and their lack of spine on alot of issues is not helping matter either. Like a traditional powerhouse in sports that takes a stumble, maybe it's time for the GOP to really take a licking so they can get their heads out of the sand a listen to the rank and file out here.
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