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.
Really? Then why did he sign a gas and social security tax increase?
Go see Roger, he will hook you up.
You set up your own purity standards and now are dying because of them, that's not my fault.
Maybe someday, I don't know when, you will look at facts and not rely on knee jerkism.
I said with a few exceptions. Cap Weinberger is indeed an exception. Cheney and Rummy? No just some has beens from PAST FAILED ADMINISTRATIONS. Good grief Rummy couldn't even make a reasonable troop morale decession of a poor policy from the Clintons. Remember the Berets? I do wonder if Rummy is still studying on that. If they can't do right with simple decessions how can we expect them to be great in bigger and much more critical ones.
I know that and you're right..
But this late in the game it's the only shot we have.
Republican in November.. We can talk other options in 2004 maybe, but right now I just see no viable alternative.
If anyone has a suggestion to the contrary, I would certainly like to hear it..
We're out of the ABM, Kyoto and only 47 advisers remain in Bosnia. Kosovo is next. Clinton wouldn't have done that.
The pubbies have never lost by going conservative (80,84,88 and 94), but with the exception of the two Reagan terms, as soon as they won they started moving left, and paid for it the next time around. I'm convinced that for most of the Republican heirarchy, they move to the left because that's where they want to be, not because they want to get more votes.
This from the Bush-bot who wants Sununu Jr. in NH over Smith, a real Conservative...even AFTER he's shown the proof that SUNUNU Jr. is in the Cynthia McKinney Pali/Arab loving camp, and has taken Campaign $$$ from some of the SAME TERRORIST GROUPS as McKinney!
Tell you what... when the(R)'s start acting like (R)'s, and NOT DEMS PANDERING, and STOP EXPANDING GOV SPENDING and PICKING MY POCKETS and STEALING MY FREEDOMS... I'll consider myself appeased.
Do YOU consider supporting RINOS in the best interest of America and (R)'s in general...RINO'S that VOTE DEMONRAT at EVERY CHANCE?!?!?
Screw Party Unity...OPEN SEASON ON RINO'S...NO BAG LIMIT!!!
Re the A-12, Cheney had little choice. The debate still rages in the pages of Proceedings as you're surely aware, but Cheney's termination of the program was not borne of some gleeful anti-military bent, but realization of a multi-billion-dollar lie growing without hope of success.
The Air Force may have signed the letter of agreement re its stealth data cooperation but produced zip, and many other problems lay beyond Cheney's control.
My dad served on the Saratoga (CV-3) and my son-in-law is a 1994 graduate of the Naval Academy. I have the Ronald Reagan on the refigerator, and it's W with Nancy as she christens it.
Why does the obese nation choose drugs for aging boomers, instead of fighting the decommissioning of four perfectly good boomers?
I fault Clinton most of all for the destruction of the military, cutting funding 40%, increasing depolyments 300%. To garden spots like Bosnia--now Bush says we'll leave. Three cheers.
The former chief scientist of the Air Force here was involved in the F-22 development. It's enraging to see billions going to HUD and Medicare fraud, and farm welfare that could be going to insure us against the Orange China Flu.
As Marcus Aurelius advised, we do that which is within our power.
And if it means keeping Armand Hammer's commie godson out of the White House, and the Leahyites out of toga-and-dagger-ville, so be it.
As for damage to the Navy, the Cole comes to mind, as does the character assassination of Jeremy Boorda--a dark era from which to distance ourselves.
You assume wrong. I know Gore politics well probably much better than you seeing as I lived under both him and his dads terms representing my state. I likely will vote against Bush in the primaries that is if a canidate is allowed to challange the throne which I doubt as well. Then I will likely vote Independent based on Bush's record.
Well since we are on the subject we might as well go down the unappeasables list.
#1 The Bush twins
#2 Laura Bush
#3 The Bush's dogs
I mean, nothing scares me more than a world court, sitting bored and packed with BS countries trying to win on the floor what they could never dream of achieving on the battlefield.
Also, besides us, Russia, China, Mexico (as you stated) India and some others I forgot now have their own problems with this court.
That being the case I really would have liked to have seen a "coalition" of countries collectively laugh them off right out of the box, in the hopes it would have damaged their credibility badly enough to cause their collapse.. Or at least taint their "judgements" to a large degree.
I am very concerned about treating them as a legitimate world body.
Well well, dissention in the anti-Bush camp.
Oh my, it looks the "NEE" camp is saying "NEE" amongst themselves.
Herein lies the GOP's exposed soft underbelly...
Even though they hold the so-called bully pulpit of the Presidency, AND the House, they are both unwilling to "advance" their position OR "hold the line." In otherwords, The Republican Party IS IMPOTENT. Period.
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