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Bush Delivers Knockout Punch
Human Events ^ | 11/8/02 | Editorial

Posted on 11/08/2002 3:02:32 PM PST by Jean S

It was a major applause line in President Bush’s stump speech in state after state last week as he asked voters to give him a Republican Senate and a bigger Republican majority in the House.

"The Senate has done a lousy job with my nominees," said Bush. "I need a senator with whom I can work to make sure we stop playing petty partisan politics with the judicial nominations I’ve sent up, to make sure people’s records aren’t distorted, and to make sure we have a bench that is full of judges who aren’t there to write laws, but are there to strictly interpret the United States Constitution."

This was central to the President’s pitch in Minnesota, where former St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman returned Democratic dinosaur Walter Mondale to the political tarpits. It was central to his pitch in New Hampshire, where he helped boost Rep. John Sununu into the Senate over an incumbent Democratic governor. It was central to his pitch in Missouri, too, where he declared: "I know I’ll be able to count on Sen. Jim Talent’s support for putting up judges that you’ll be proud of."

"Make no mistake about it in this race," Bush told Georgia in calling for the defeat of incumbent Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, "if you’re interested in a judiciary which is going to work and represent your views, Saxby Chambliss is the right United States senator"

The other two pillars of the President’s issue-driven campaign were tax cuts and national security. In every state he struck the same themes.

"We need to make tax relief permanent," he said. "Be wary of folks that say we need to revisit the tax relief plan. That’s Washington, D.C., code for ‘I’m fixing to raise your taxes.’"

His most powerful issue, however, was national security. In every speech the President pounded the Democratic Senate for kowtowing to Big Labor by refusing to create a Homeland Security Department unless it included labor-union type job protections for workers charged with following the orders of the Commander-in-Chief in defending America against terrorists.

"The House of Representatives passed a good bill," said Bush. "This bill is stuck in the Senate. It’s stuck in the Senate because some senators are trying to extract a price from the President, and the price is that I will give up the capacity to suspend certain bargaining rules in the name of national security, the ability that every President since John F. Kennedy has had."

"It doesn’t make any sense," said Bush. "I need to put the right people, at the right place, at the right time, to protect the American people."

This was the endgame of a brilliant, carefully crafted, and beautifully executed campaign—one of the best in American history. And indeed, its results were historic. As Human Events presents graphically on Page 3, President Bush has put himself in position to become the first Republican President since Calvin Coolidge to govern alongside a wholly Republican controlled Congress for an extended period of time.

The future shines brightly for the GOP if the party stays on track.

By contrast, a bloody civil war looms among Democrats. House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (Mo.) has already announced he is surrendering his leadership position. Leftist Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and conventional liberal Rep. Martin Frost of Texas will battle ferociously for control of House Democrats.

Ambitious Democratic senators and governors will soon be wandering all over Iowa and New Hampshire running "exploratory" campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination. They will be trying to outmaneuver one another to the left, to attract the primary votes of the most rabid and ideological Democratic partisans. They will be driven even further left as they try to outflank the certain frontrunner, former Vice President Al Gore, who has already hit the trail talking a leftist line not seen since the days of . . . Walter Mondale.

The Democrats show every sign of forgetting the lesson Bill Clinton’s fleeting and essentially fraud-based political success should have taught them: To win they must pretend to be conservatives, who can win swing voters in Middle America. They must fool people into believing they intend to "cut taxes for the middle class," "end welfare as we know it," make "abortion safe, legal and rare."

And now, in the wake of September 11, they must do something Clinton never did, and could not have done: They must create the illusion they can be trusted with national security

President Bush set up Tom Daschle’s Democrats for a fair-and-square political fistfight. He asked them to make his tax cuts permanent, to confirm his judges, and to give him all the tools he needs to win the war on terrorism. The Daschle Democrats failed on all three counts. The President went to the people. They responded with an election-day knock-out punch that blasted Daschle right out of the Senate leadership and gave the President a bigger, more conservative, House majority.

The Democrats are not just down, Republicans have a chance to keep them out of power for years to come. If Republicans stay their course, they will keep voters’ confidence. If Democrats stay their course, they will fall even harder in 2004.


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: presidentbush
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To: Enterprise
**If Bush wants his agenda to pass he has GOT to get LOTT's attention! I won't suggest how he could do it, but LOTT is something of a wimp and he needs a good kick in the ...!**

Who do we need to email, call, fax to fix this problem??

I could not believe my ears when Lott said he did not think the Homeland Security could get passed in the lameduck session.
21 posted on 11/08/2002 4:31:15 PM PST by Salvation
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To: JeanS
Bush bump.
22 posted on 11/08/2002 4:36:16 PM PST by Rocko
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To: Salvation
I'm really not trying to sound like a one note Johnny either, but LOTT MUST realize by now - ESPECIALLY WITH THE BREATH TAKING DEFEATS OF SOME INCUMBANT RATS - that we as a nation are frightened and we know that a chief source of terror right now is our pourous border. LOTT brings to mind the picture of "fiddling while Rome burns." Homeland Security is not something that can be put off while the perfumed hanky sniffing LOTT dithers and comraderizes with scum like Dasshole. LOTT had better start hoppin' 'n steppin' or he is going to be responsible for Republicans being tagged with "party before country" like the RATS have. The choice is really easy here, loyalty to country or groveling to DASCHLE!

I would encourage everyone to start beating the drums and hounding all Republican Senators about this.

In my case though, it wouldn't do me any good to contact my Senators because they are those two lameassed (rhymes with witches) Beerstein and Boxarocks.

23 posted on 11/08/2002 4:44:44 PM PST by Enterprise
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To: willyone
Right after '94, I remember Bob Livingston trying to cram budget legislation down the throats of the just-defeated Democrats that I really liked. I was literally cheering for him.

The press and clinton turned that use of power into the "government shutdown", and took all the steam out of the 94 victory.

I like W.'s approach better. He doesn't cram, he finesses.

24 posted on 11/08/2002 4:51:31 PM PST by copycat
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To: copycat
It wasn't Bush, it was Bush's "message."

FreeRepublic needs to index all these well-written obituaries of the Democratic Party.

25 posted on 11/08/2002 5:04:54 PM PST by Cultural Jihad
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To: Enterprise; Common Tator
My guess is that Hillary is behind Pelosi's push for Minority Leader.

Clintons win races by 'appearing' moderate, by triangulating. Hillary will need a third point for her triangulatory run in '04 or '08. She needs some people on the far left to fill that spot.

She's probably worked out a deal with Nancy. Hillary gets to dump on her in order to get elected, and Nancy will get goodies from the First Woman President after the election.

That's the only scenario that makes sense. Dems aren't THAT stupid, and Bush has swept up everything mildly moderate from out of their reach. Ford is lining himself up to support Hillary's 'sensible' positions, imo.
26 posted on 11/08/2002 6:16:38 PM PST by pinz-n-needlez
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To: Common Tator
It has been said a number of times on this forum that the Dems play checkers and Bush plays chess. I have reminded myself of that on a few occassions, "Chess, not checkers." It has now come true. The Dems didn't even know what game they were in or what the rules were.
27 posted on 11/08/2002 7:09:18 PM PST by TenthAmendmentChampion
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To: Common Tator
It is true. It takes RINOs. We can't do it with out them.

Tator, you're pure genius. I just wanted to post your wisdom again, in case anybody missed it.

RINO's vote for judicial candidates, pass tax cuts, and support Homeland Security.

I can live with RINOs.

28 posted on 11/08/2002 7:20:24 PM PST by sinkspur
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To: William McKinley
Coleman is a RINO? He has a reputation as a moderate mostly based

Coleman is just as conservative as Jimmy Carter, Barbra Striesnand. Dan Rather, and Janet RENO. They all want to recognize CUBA and trade with Castro.

You obviously think Jimmy Carter is conservative too.

There will never be a day that Liddy Dole will be as RINO as Coleman. Coleman will be the most left senator in the SENATE.

Do you know what the difference in views are between Coleman and Wellstone? Coleman is taller and not as dead.


29 posted on 11/08/2002 7:44:53 PM PST by Common Tator
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To: Common Tator
Must agree with you. I think most Americans consider themselves moderate, or centerists. Look how Clinton always ran elections? He pretended to be a moderate! So is Hillary now, which of course, is a lie in both cases.
30 posted on 11/08/2002 7:49:08 PM PST by ladyinred
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To: Common Tator
This is exactly right as to the principle you suggest, although I would quibble about who is and who is not a RINO. We will know for sure in a couple of years.

You have restated (from the right) JK Galbraith's principle--he always supported the "leftmost viable candidate." But then he was always a better political operative than he was an economist.

31 posted on 11/08/2002 8:04:13 PM PST by ffrancone
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To: Common Tator
Good post.
32 posted on 11/09/2002 12:58:45 AM PST by Roscoe
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To: Common Tator
You are right. I forgot that Carter recently came out for social security reform and allowing people to use some of their social security taxes to invest in the market. It had slipped my mind that Barbra Streisand decided that Saddam must go, and we must use force if need be. Dan Rather's coming around to the fact that regulation tends to stifle business was another thing that slipped my mind. And I forgot that Janet Reno decided that abortion on demand just isn't that great an idea.
33 posted on 11/09/2002 4:38:30 AM PST by William McKinley
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To: Roscoe; sinkspur
I can live with RINOs.
28 posted on 11/08/2002 7:20 PM PST by sinkspur

"Good post."! - roscoe -

It's good to see you boys finally 'outing' yourselves as RINOs. - Thanks.
34 posted on 11/09/2002 6:06:31 PM PST by tpaine
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