“This is the old, worn-out ‘GOP is dead’ meme.
Don’t fall for it.”
Agreed, but add in redistricting after the 2010 census and given undeniable demographic trends, the GOP faces a daunting task in Presidential and Congressional elections. The solid red state map may be down to just Alabama and Mississippi come 2012, with lot of the formerly solid red states being a deep shade of purple. The 2010 elections may be the last chance to turn the tide.
If we do not have an economic recovery next year, and the prospects for increased taxes and greater regulation remain high, there will be a backlash much as there was in 1994. One thing Obama has not done is to aggressively pursue the liberal social agenda on hot button issues like gun control or homosexual “rights” to the extent that Clinton did. Neither has he gone as far as Carter did in pursuing a spineless foreign policy. His advisers, many of whom are Clinton Administration veterans, well remember what happened in 1994. They appear to be more focused upon undoing the Reagan and Bush legacies of lowering taxes and lessening regulation than the social issues. If higher taxes, greater regulation, and increased environmental regulation thwart an economic recovery and lead to double digit unemployment, slow or negative economic growth, and increasing price inflation, there will be a backlash.
If the GOP regains the governors’ offices in New Jersey and Virginia in November, the chances for a Republican comeback in 2010 are good.
Haven’t you heard? AL is poised to elect Arthur Davis, an Obama clone, governor in 2010. Don’t count on AL though the people there are nice.