Posted on 07/15/2002 10:28:18 AM PDT by gordgekko
Maybe I am totally off base, and probably I should keep my views to myself, but I sense a Democratic victory in Congress in the making. It is true that President George W. Bush still has sky high ratings among the electorate. They see him as someone who thinks like they do. No matter what issues the Democrats throw at the President, nothing sticks to him. They used to call Ronald Reagan the Teflon President, but if Bush continues these ratings into 2004, he will do Reagan one better.
The Bush ratings do not apply to his party, however. In fact, several recent polls find that while the average voter believes that Bush is on the side of the average voter, Republicans in general are seen as being more interested in the welfare of corporate bigwigs. If Democrat strategists are able to take advantage of this voter perception they will hold on to the Senate, but will win control of the House as well. Republican strategists already concede gains in the gubernatorial realm. They are defending many more state houses than the Democrats.
One of the problems for Republicans in Congress is that grass roots conservatives don't feel that the party is willing to raise issues they care about. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision removing God from the pledge of allegiance and a New York federal judge's decision to release a terrorist are good arguments for confirming President Bush judicial nominees. It is unclear if the party is willing to make this a burning issue because the judge who wrote the pledge opinion was a Republican appointee. If the judiciary becomes a really credible issue, it does have the opportunity to arouse some voters.
One issue that would really stir the grass roots is immigration. Look at what has happened in Western Europe. Eleven of 14 Members of the European Economic Community now have right of center governments. And it is possible that total will be 12 this fall if German voters go the way the polls are now suggesting. Immigration was one of the key issues that brought those right of center governments to power. Even the Dutch government intends to curb the liberal lifestyle in that country. The problem is that President Bush has a fundamental disagreement with Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO) whose views on immigration resonate well with the grass roots. So immigration will not be made an issue by the Republican Party or if it is it will be in the form of President Bush's outreach to the Hispanic community.
Another issue that stirs the grass roots is the Boy Scout issue. The Boy Scouts have lost millions and have also lost the right to use many public facilities because they refuse to permit homosexual scout masters. The grass roots are all with the Scouts. The party could win seats in the South, Midwest and even Southwest if the party made this an issue. But it is unlikely the party will raise this issue because the Bush Administration has made an outreach to the homosexual community. Just recently, the president signed a bill providing some benefits to same sex partners who were victims of the New York disaster on September 11th.
The Supreme Court's decision on vouchers thrilled most conservatives. This decision is very popular in minority communities where school children are trapped in failing education institutions. However vouchers are not popular in suburban communities. The issue has been defeated in Congress by suburban Republicans. Voters from the suburbs have defeated vouchers when they were on state ballots. So while the party might make this an issue and grass roots conservatives would like it, the suburban Republicans who are part of the Bush coalition might well revolt.
The voters and even some in the grass roots have turned on to the privacy issues. A year ago, in the wake of 9/11, they were willing to support intrusions into their privacy in the interest of safety. Attorney General John Ashcroft was once the darling of grass roots conservatives. He is now seen as the enemy of the Fourth Amendment and impatience with Big Brother security measures grows, especially among grass roots activists. But privacy will not be an issue with the voters at-large this fall.
That is why it is possible that the Democrats will make gains. The Republicans may not raise any issues that will get grass roots conservatives to the polls. In 1994 these conservatives constituted 37 percent of the vote. In 2000, they constituted only 31 percent of the vote. If they drop another percentage or two, Republicans will lose, and could lose big.
We shall see if Democrats are smart enough to turn voter perception about the Republican-Big Business connection into an issue that resonates with the average voter. Thus far they have proved remarkably inept in their efforts to develop issues against President Bush. It could be they will miss what for them is a golden opportunity. However, if they get their act together, President Bush will be dealing with a Democrat Congress for the two years before he has to face the voters. If what has happened in the Senate this past year is any guide, the president will get nothing conservative through the Congress. He will only win if he compromises with the liberals. Then the Democrats will say he is a do nothing president.
Paul M. Weyrich is president of the Free Congress Foundation.
You may have a semantical point. But a broken promise is even more of a test of the man's willingness to keep his word, live up to his ideals, and no buckle in. Bush the Elder failed on all these accounts.
Maybe it's not a "lie," but it is a failure anyway.
SD
Sure there is. Voting democrat will hasten the demise of this country. Voting republican only delays the inevitable. The sooner we either bancrupt this country or implement more socialist programs, the sooner even the most stupid americans will start looking for a better set of candidates to restore our constitutional republic and our constitution. It will never happen as long as the dims or the pubs are in charge.
Well gee since you are on this purity binge, Cap Weinberger was in the Reagan's Cabinet and was also in Nixon's. You know that unimportant position called Secretary of Defense, when there was a cold war going on in the 80's.
BTW, Ronald Reagan if he could read your replies would be shaking his head shame at your blathering nonsense.
Uh read reply #185, one who thinks he's so gifted, a trait you share with President #42, IMHO.
The Democrats worked real hard and spent a lot of money convincing voters Bush lied and "Dole is too old and mean to be President".
Money well spent.
Weinberger was a military builder Cheney is a military destroyer. Huge difference. Again wisdom from Reagan. Bush sr & Cheney couldn't tear down that military that Ronnie and CAP built fast enough it seems and it was showing by the end of their term the damage inflicted. If either Bush had put a mind like Weinberger in I wouldn't be posting this would I?
Huh? Nice dodge against the holes of from your meglomanic purity litmus test, oh all knowing one.
But no dodges will prevent the fact that with each post that you dig your self a deeper hole.
Oh BTW, Registered shows traits of Bill Clinton, while you show traits of Hillary, IMHO.
Wow I am getting a two for one flame fest, just like both Clintons promised on the 92 campaign trail.
These things, done in the name of republicans are certainly enough to make a conservative ask for more.
You have got it absolutely right. Either these guys are running on low gray-matter octane, or they were never conservative in the slightest degree themselves, or both. I think the latter is the more likely, but a healthy amount of suspicion does center around the first possibility.
It appears that you have a very short memory. Dubya may not be all things to all men, but I thank God every day that he is not William Jefferson Clinton. Corrupt stench my foot! It is because of Dubya that I feel clean again.
And your rants about domestic issues are equally kneejerk. I guess you haven't noticed that Tommy Daschle is running the Senate.
Oh that's right you are the conservative above all conservatives and Tommy Dashcle doen't exist in your world.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.