[nathanbedford]

I agree with everything in your last post except that I think this election may hang close for a while but then it will break and one side or the other will sweep. Either McCain will be able to find a theme which captures the mood and imagination of the people and expose Obama for what he is, or he and the Republicans are going to be swept from the field. If Obama is truly exposed and if there is an affirmative theme, it is conceivable that the Democrats could disintegrate.

Either way, one side or the other is going to be severely damaged after the election.

Much of what I'm about to repeat here I have said in this discussion but I presume to set it forth anyway because I think this issue is so important for the future of conservatism which is after all what animates all of us on this forum.

Here is be post, concededly lengthy, for your review:

*-------------

I am inclined to credit this report because it reinforces my intuition. So let's consider the implications of a 9% approval rating for Congress.

First, the party that nationalizes the election will sweep. Second, the poll does not say that the Democrats alone are possessed of a 9% approval rating it says that congress is favored by only 9%-that includes Republicans especially for the independents and undecideds who ultimately will decide the race. Third, if neither party succeeds in nationalizing the contest, incumbents on both sides of the aisle will fall in numbers not usually seen in an institution where incumbency has been a virtual guarantee of reelection. Fourth, when discontent is this marked, the electorate will seize on virtually any issue as a metaphor for its anger. Fifth, the Democrats are possessed of leaders who well known but disliked. Republicans are possessed of leaders who are not well-known but who are judged with suspicion. Sixth, the Republicans are not possessed of a Gingrich- like leader who can identify and articulate an issue which will arouse the electorate and enlist his colleagues. Seventh, John McCain is not equipped by temperament or inclination to be such a leader who can step into this void and nationalize the election. Eighth, George Bush might be actually operating against the impulse to nationalize the election. Ninth, because of secular trends including but not limited to the economy, demographics, Republican incumbency in the White House, unpopularity of George Bush, gasoline prices, spending, corruption, the influence of the media, the confected charisma of Barak Obama, Republicans up and down the ticket are doomed to lose this election unless it is nationalized on their terms. Tenth, if the Republicans do not nationalize the election on their terms, the media will nationalize it on terms favorable to the Democrats.

There is one issue, and one issue only, which has the power to nationalize the election and reverse the electoral disaster which is facing the whole of the Republican Party: energy. A negative campaign rightfully exposing Barak Obama as the nouveau he is, or as the charlatan he is, or as the dangerous and anti-American radical he is, is doomed to fail-although such a campaign is a necessary but insufficient contribution to the defeat of Obama and the Democratic ticket. The media will smother and discredit such a campaign. A significant portion of independents resent such campaigns. We Freepers have got to understand that a large part of the electorate simply does not think the way we do, indeed they do not even think about the things we do. Except when a drive up to the gas pump.

An affirmative campaign must also be conducted.

Energy is the perfect metaphor for all that is wrong with the Democratic Party and by extension what the Democrats have done to harm the country and by further extension what the Democrats had done to harm your family. Every time, (and that means about once a week) that a voter pulls up to the pump he is going to get angry at someone. If he gets angry at the Democrats he will be justified. So energy offers up the Democrats as the perfect object for America's justified anger. Energy offers a metaphor for Democrat arrogance which imposes suffering on the people so they can further their crazy ideas. Energy offers a contrast in which the Republicans offer practical solutions and the Democrats offer nothing but obstructionism which defies common sense to the point where it becomes even sinister. Energy offers the metaphor which exposes and illuminates the radicalism of Obama and the arrogance of Pelosi.

Once the people accept the metaphor of energy, the scales fall from their eyes, and they apply these insights against the Democrats across the board.

Energy is the issue upon which the Republicans should bet the whole election. They have nothing to lose, any other course will lead to defeat.

[comebacknewt]

Good, thought provoking post.

I think we have some House members who get it and are trying to nationalize the election over energy, but they haven't achieved critical mass yet. Lets hope we get there eventually, but we are beginning to run short on time if we don't get our acts together soon.

[okie01]

Energy is the issue upon which the Republicans should bet the whole election. They have nothing to lose, any other course will lead to defeat.

Have you shared that with Lindsay Graham...???

[Who is John Galt?]

Energy is the perfect metaphor for all that is wrong with the Democratic Party and by extension what the Democrats have done to harm the country and by further extension what the Democrats had done to harm your family.

It's not just metaphorical. The Democrats have literally prevented hundreds of millions of barrels of oil, located in fields that were discovered and delineated decades ago, from being produced ( http://www.mms.gov/omm/pacific/offshore/ofrrpt.htm ). We're talking previously discovered "reserves," not undiscovered, 'best-guess' "resources." The oil is there, and we've know about it for decades. But the Democrats, at the federal, State AND local levels won't allow a single drop to be produced.

Once the people accept the metaphor of energy, the scales fall from their eyes, and they apply these insights against the Democrats across the board.
Energy is the issue upon which the Republicans should bet the whole election. They have nothing to lose, any other course will lead to defeat.

I've been telling people for weeks (if not months!) that we can absolutely DESTROY the Democrats on this issue: we've got the backing of a super-majority of Americans (even a majority of Californians, for God's sake!), and the Democrat position is arrogant, irrational, and indefensible. What's our biggest danger? Accepting anything short of victory - we need 100% of the OCS open, 100% of the public lands containing oil shale available, and we should be pushing for ANWR, too. We should shut down government if the Democrats stick a new offshore ban in the budget - force THEM to try to justify the ban! That is not only the right thing to do, but it will keep the issue on the front page right through the election, and show everyone in the country which party is responsible for the high gas prices.

Once again, what's our biggest danger? Tone-deaf, RINO "centrists" compromising with the Democrats, and letting 'em off the hook less than a hundred days before the election. Unfortunately, the President probably would sign any meaningless 'feel-good' compromise legislation that gets passed. And there goes the election...