In Search of the Bulletproof
Democrat
Go Forth and “Yaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggghghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!”
No More
As we bear down on Election Day 2006, the final
outcome as to who controls the House and Senate may be in doubt,
but the themes of '06 are already clear.
First, despite the efforts of the left to make the election a
referendum on President Bush and Iraq, this will have almost nothing
to do with the outcome. To the degree it matters at all, it will
probably help Republicans more than hurt them. Because even if
one disagrees with the Administration on specific strategies and
approaches, the American people are an awful long way from accepting
the Democrats as competent on matters of national security.
Second, disenchantment with the Republican Congress is very real,
and rightly so. Their performance the last two years has been
pitiful in many areas. Especially in the area of spending, they
have completely failed to keep themselves or the President in
check. If you stop and think about it, Republicans are at a real
disadvantage here. To do what is expected of them – sell
influence and bring home bacon – they must either compromise
on core principles of fiscal prudence, have no such principles
to begin with, or to defy expectations and stick with principle.
It is a rare politician who can resist the lure of purchased popularity
and so most don’t. How this plays out is not completely
clear. One would think that spending like drunken sailors would
make the Republican Congress more popular with the left.
Apparently it doesn’t work that way. If the magnetic repulsion
with spendthrift Republicans is greater than the magnetic attraction
of conservative social issues, then we may see a bloodbath….
Third….Unless rumors about lower black turnout turn out
to also be true, thereby counteracting conservative ennui. Word
on the street is that the energetic propaganda efforts by the
left may be backfiring on them. Having worked for years to convince
the American people that Republicans are suppressing black votes
and stealing elections, it seems that someone is believing them.
Specifically, black Americans seem to believe them, and may stay
home. If this were to happen it would add a whole new chapter
to the book on Liberal Over-Reach.
Fourth, 2006 is clearly the year of the bulletproof Democrat candidate.
At least the erstwhile bulletproof candidate. Having had such
marvelous success with setting up “morally unchallengeable”
policy experts such as Cindy Sheehan and Michael J. Fox, the Democrats
are staking their electoral hopes on a cadre of equally morally
unchallengeable candidates. Every military vet and tragedy victim
they can find they have pressed into service as candidates for
office. This is a conscious effort to avoid giving the American
voter the impression that the Democrats are a bunch of frothing
leftwing loonies. One can almost hear the dying echoes of Howard
Dean’s famous "yaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggghghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!”
in this strategy. Lefty democrats may be loony, but they are not
stupid people. They know that the surest way to lose is to let
the American people think that Moveon.org is setting the parameters
of debate.
If you wish to understand which party is more in synch with the
zeitgeist, look at which one runs away from its core identity,
and which one runs towards it. Despite a few years of bungling,
questionable political strategy, and rough sledding in Iraq, virtually
no Republican candidates are engaging in liberal impersonation.
Those who are genuine liberals, such as Lincoln Chaffee, are being
true to their beliefs. But there are not genuine conservatives
out there pretending to be liberal in order to pass muster with
the American people. Well, except for the pork-barrel stuff. But
almost every Democratic candidate outside of Marin County and
Connecticut is desperately seeking to cultivate an appearance
of middle-of-the-road normalcy.
This strategy could result in the desired effect. It is entirely
conceivable that Democrats could win the House, or Senate, or
both. But even if they were to pull it off this time around, their
subsequent behavior would guarantee that they would not keep power
for long. There is absolutely no doubt that the majority of the
American people value liberty and reject the tenets of liberalism/progressivism.
Every time the left lightens up and lets its true colors show,
the people will knock it back down. And, sooner or later, another
"yaaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggghghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!” will issue
forth from some beacon of the left to remind us just with whom
we are dealing.
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