Free Republic

If you've been listening to John Kerry at all recently you've heard his take on America in the year 2004. According to his telling it's certainly not "morning again in America." No, to quote virtually every federally elected Democrat in the 1980s, it's midnight. We all remember the Democrats' gloom-and-doom rhetoric in the early 1980s, the early 1990s, and the dawn of the 21st century. The problem for the Democrats here is that within this time we've seen America create enormous wealth and all kinds of labor-saving, life-improving technologies. How long can one group bet against the American worker and...

With a boost from President Bush, central Appalachia's mountaintop coal miners are finally embracing the future again, flagging more of this state's ancient summits for blasting and more of its hollows for burying than in many years. The industry hasn't yet reversed more than a decade of trouble with output, jobs and environmental lawsuits. But its backers are at least feeling resurgent confidence — which could mean a raft of votes for the president this fall across the region. Others are more disheartened than ever. Some conservationists and hill dwellers say the energy-hungry Bush administration is encouraging miners to pulverize...

Ralph Nader may have performed a real public service by running for President again, despite the pleas and outcries of his liberal admirers. Oblivious to charges that his candidacy cost Al Gore the 2000 election, Nader has again put his own agenda first and foremost. By doing so, Ralph Nader may at last force some people to actually think about him, especially in quarters where gushing about him has been the only accepted response in the past. Liberal columnist Albert Hunt, for example, says that Nader is "tarnishing a glittering record." Nader does indeed have a glittering record. But all...

Candidate Nader Susan Estrich Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004 Conventional wisdom says Ralph Nader will hurt the Democratic nominee. Democrats are quick to point the finger to Nader and to the Supreme Court as the reason Bush won and Gore faded away. Conventional wisdom, buttressed by the most recent polls, says that Nader will drain 4 percent from a John Kerry-John Edwards ticket. Conventional wisdom says that a Nader 4 percent is more than enough to make a difference in key battleground states like New Hampshire and Florida -- where Ralph Nader's votes, had he withdrawn, would have provided a victory...