Posted on 10/07/2003 11:04:37 AM PDT by dpflanagan
DEMOCRATS PEAK, THEN BEGIN A LONG SLIDE
In 1992, shortly after Bill Clinton's stunning victory over incumbent George Bush gave Democrats control of the House, Senate, and White House, it seemed as if the Democratic Party had entered a new golden age of power and influence. As golden ages go, theirs was relatively short-lived. Just two years later, Democrats were tossed out of the House and Senate in record numbers, and Republicans took control. Shortly after, Republicans also won a majority of governorships in the US. Then, in 2000, George W. Bush defeated then V.P. Al Gore to become the 42nd President of The United States.
So, in just eight years, Democrats in Washington went from monopoly to minority; from feast to famine. In November 2002, just a year after Senators Daschle and Jeffords managed to disenfranchise Vermont voters and shift the balance of power in the Senate, Democrats again lost the Senate to Republicans. Not only that, they also lost seats in the House they had expected to gain and failed to win the number of governorships they had expected.
For Democrats, the worst part was the fact that President Bush, who took an enormous political risk in supporting his fellow party members during the midterms, was the key to success in several strategically close races. Somehow, certain victory had been turned into stunning defeat, and hard-line Democrats have grown increasingly frustrated with each defeat suffered over the past decade.
Thus has heralded the rise of what conservatives now call, the “Angry Left.” They cannot fathom why it is they have been consistently rejected at the polls by mainstream America. What they do know is that their party is on a consistent losing streak and SOMETHING has to be done about it. They just do not know what can be done other than supporting Howard Dean, the man with their same leftist vision but no future in politics.
NOW WHAT?
Now it is 2003, the thirteenth year marking both the beginning and the end of the golden age of the Democratic Party. Will year thirteen prove better for Democrats? Well, if we look to California, THE liberal bastion in America, which at this very moment is undergoing a recall election of the Democratic Governor, Grey Davis, because of his monumental incompetence, its not looking good.
But the story behind the recall and all of the factors leading to this moment are not really as important as the question we must now ask: If Grey Davis loses today, how will the Angry Left react to yet ANOTHER stunning defeat?
In truth, the possible answers worry me. My personal opinion? I think the Angry Left is going to morph faster than the “Mighty Morphing Power Rangers” into something more like the “Engraged Left,” or the “Berserk Left.” In other words a group that loses control entirely.
The fact that Davis and the LA Times have thrown every bit of dirt possible at Schwarzenegger in the last days of the race says nothing of the desperation the left will experience should these typical Davis tactics NOT work. So, what have Democrats done in recent years to turn things their way when they don’t like what voters have given them?
Its more than obvious that, should Davis lose, they will immediately appeal the results of the election, hoping that a court like the radical 9th Circuit will again play accessory to the crime of voter disenfranchisement. What other tactics might we see? I shudder to think, but I am convinced that it will make the pre-election sleaze tactics from the left look like a pleasant stroll in the park. Expect that they’ll pull out all the stops and go for broke. They’ll do whatever it takes to retain power, and the law or the will of the people will not stand in their way if they can help it.
DUCK AND COVER
Another Florida recount scenario? No, expect FAR worse. First of all, Davis will not give up the office without an intense fight, secondly, Democrats on the local and national level will use delay tactics and stonewall any moves to transition power to a Schwarzenegger administration. Meanwhile, expect reports of bullying at the polls, manipulation of votes, demands for multiple recounts, and multiple third party lawsuits from groups like the ACLU to stall or overturn the election results.
In the end, if they STILL lose, then expect a plunge by the Angry Left into some new level of denial and an increased effort to lash out at conservatives in general and the President in particular. Liberals will posture and condemn the whole process; they will demean the Governor-elect, and plot ways to scare Americans into thinking that Republicans are actively subverting the democratic process in America. It will be a sad and disturbing sight, no doubt.
I hope I’m wrong, but I’m afraid that I’ll be wrong only in that things will be worse than even I imagined. One way or another, we’ll know how bad, or good, things are in the next few days. Lets hope for the best… and prepare for the worst.
David Flanagan
Viewpointjournal.com
A minor descrepancy, sir. Fascism and Communism are not far right and far left, respectively. No, Fascism and Communism are not distant cousins but bloody brothers. Fascism is ever so slightly to the right of communism, particularly when the American political system is used as a gauge. This erroneous line of thinking is propaganda from the 1930's and 1940's! In Germany, the biggest threat to the Fascist (Nazis) was the Communists! Supported by the Soviets to some degree or another, the communists of Germany and the rest of the world labeled and stamped the Nazis as being right-winged, they were to the right of the commies. The propagandists of today love to spread that ugly factoid.
One need only go scan DU on an average, uneventful day to confirm the truth that these words hold. Those folks go way beyond ideological passion; "Red-faced with hysteria" would not be an exaggeration. Indeed, there are days when that would be an understatement. Oh, I do hope this turns out to be one of those days.
Arguably, it has already. They have subverted every branch of government including the voting process. The exact question is: when does the bloody insurrection start?
I started to chuckle at this suggestion, but then I remembered the Nation of Islam.
Well you don't have to be snippy about it.
Michael Kinsley is part of the leftus lunus breed.
More accurately:
Democrats = Bitter Party
Republicans = Better Party
No way. Leftists are anti-gun.
[Ho Chi Mihn, Mao, and Lenin all smiled.]
That was my point. Did you read my whole post? ;)
Does he know California? I would hardly call it the liberal bastion. That might be Mass. When I moved to Cali in the early 80s there were strong Republican representatives, the R's controlled one house.
Until the last 10 years it was a balanced state, that could go either way. Remember America's greatest conservative President was a former Governor of California.
California had few gun laws as late as 1990. Contrast this with places like New York, Mass, and D.C. Those are the real liberal bastions. California is a state that has been invaded and taken over by Democrats, in part using illegal voters to throw elections.
It has been a high tax state, but it has also consistently brought tax-fighting to the forefront. It passed Prop. 13, the property tax limitation measure that was duplicated elsewhere.
I hesitate to take too seriously an article which includes such an obvious and prominant gaff.
Ahem... G.W. Bush is the 43rd President.
Clinton doesn't count (c8
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