When I called the PatriotMomWest this morning to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day, our conversation ranged from family matters to matters educational, intellectual and political. A Democrat, my Mom expressed frustration with the two Senators running for her party’s presidential nomination: “When Democrats have such a chance to recapture the White House, they couldn’t have picked a worse selection of candidates.”
While my Mom and I do differ on politics, we both agree on the Democratic contenders, her views in accord with my view that if the Democrats had a strong nominee, my party would be toast this year.
I wonder if there are more Democrats like my mother, familiar with the political landscape and the issues of the day, but dissatisfied with their choices in the current presidential contest. To be sure, we’ve read how supporters of one (of the two remaining) candidate are reluctant or unwilling to support the other should their man (or woman as the case may be) fail to win their party’s nod. But, I have only heard passing reference to Democrats looking for a alternative to Obama an Hillary, most in context of the movement to draft Al Gore.
There do seem to be pretty strong divisions among the Democrats. They may be unified in their hatred of George W. Bush, but they’re divided amongst themselves. Despite the favorable political climate this year, the Democrats do seem in disarray.
No wonder they’re so eager to make John McCain into the new Bush. Bush-hatred seems to the the only thing uniting all too many of them.
I wonder if there are more Democrats like my Mom who realize that the only way for the Democrats to profit from this favorable political climate is to find a stronger candidate than one of the two remaining contenders.
H-m-m-m-m. No way am I going to make any assumptions or comments about one’s mother!
As a Republican, I have a great dislike and distrust of many current Republican members of Congress. I am not alone. Therefore, the Democrats should be in a position to strengthen their hold on both houses.
But, a significant number of Democrat candidates and Congressional freshmen are not part of the far left. Reid and Pelosi are continually stymied by defectors within their party on votes that are critical to their leadership. While Rahm Emanuel did a great job recruiting candidates in 2006, he did not make party line loyalty a litmus test.
The Democrat candidates in 2008 range from weak soup to leftist fanatics. But importantly, many are closer to home at the center and center right than with the party leadership.
If the Republicans take a drubbing, so be it. It is past time that my party’s chattering class realizes that conservatism is not an evolving institution. It is based on bedrock beliefs and the application of tried and true principles.
In the meantime, the pendulum of Democrat representation in Congress is swinging right, not left. That is small comfort to me, but if we Republicans can’t do better than revisionists like McCain, Gingrich and Bush then we will have to be satisfied with a more thoughtful group of Democrats.
Technically, I don’t think there is any way to stop the
train wreck the Democrats have locked themselves into. The only
way I see it would be for BOTH to give up the race in favor of some
savior. I don’t see anyone in party with those credentials.
Ankle bitters all.
Why is the political climate so favorable to Democrats this year? The Dems control Congress and Congress’ approval ratings are in the toilet.
From what I can tell this is a year when both parties should lose! If their are any third parties in this country worth their salt, they should be the real winners this year.
I don’t see Obama as the weak candidate that you and heliotrope seem to think he is. Sure, he has zero experience, and the most liberal and most partisan voting record in congress, and yes, he looks down on America, and hes a Marxist…
But the important thing is that the media is going to cover all that up for him while attacking McCain, and distorting his record. That means all Americans will see of Obama is an attractive, personable candidate with a deep, resonating speaking voice and a lot of money for slick commercials.
McCain is not only running against Obama, but against a media that is dead-set on getting a Democrat into the White House.
That’s gonna be a very tough fight to win.
On a different note, I love my Congressman — it’s everyone elses’ that suck.
I’m not sure who’s noticed, but the source documentaries on Hillary’s downfall are already coming out. (H/t Ace)
#3 Because people are told daily that everything wrong is Republicans fault, and everything Democrats do is generous, benevolent and good policy. Also, because there are far more open Republican seats up for grabs in the house than for Democrats, and on the senate side, not only are there more republicans up for re-election, but there are also more open Republican seats due to retirements.
The Democrat base is, despite the primary, highly motivated. They look at 2008 as their last chance to defeat Bush, even though he’s not on the ballot. They are contributing and volunteering in huge numbers while the Republican base is, at best, luke warm about McCain.
I guess the MSM and the culture matter, after all.
Well I liked our nominees, well Hillary, Edwards, Biden, Dodd, and then I get stuck with Obama. I do remember heating, only four months ago, about how scrambled and in dissary the Republicans were with the race between five canidates. How will the Republican party ever come together now!?!?
Even though you all might not be happy with McCain, the party seems basically united. I assume the Democrats will be the same…for the most part they will knit themselves together again. Obama’s ability to bring in new voters will help to make up for any defections that might go on, or that will be the hope.
If not Evan Byah in 2012, or Hillary
I feel ya. I mean, we’re gonna get Communism anyway, so it’s best to just spread your cheeks, smile and hope for the best. Better yet, why bother having a Republican party at all? Let’s let the liberals have the absolute power they crave and that will be that.
American Elephant: I really don’t know what to make of Obama. I think he can ooze his way into the office and get wet kisses for the first 100 days like we haven’t seen in a very long time. I do not think he is a push over. Furthermore, I expect McCain to drop turds in the punchbowl at every Republican event. I do not understand his game plan. I know for sure that, so far, I trust him about as much as using anchovies as an underarm deodorant substitute.
I will be working for McCain and Gilmore in Virginia. Maybe McCain can carry the state. If Gilmore tops Warner, I will be surprised. We have better people, but they are not quite ready for prime time. The Bush hatred syndrome is too intrenched for 2008 to be happy times for the GOP.
Indeed. Here is a rough paraphrase of a dialog I had Saturday with an otherwise very intelligent and worthwhile lady.
Her: Bush is so corrupt.
Me: How do you mean?
Her: Don’t you know about all the corruption in the Bush Administration? Like Cheney.
Me: Like what? Can you tell me what Cheney has done? Has he taken bribes?
Her: Well, my husband is super political and he knows all about it. [Ed: And btw, this lady thinks she is a feminist!]
Me: Can you remember anything he said? It’s important to me because every time I ask someone what specific thing that Bush or Cheney has done that allegedly shows the personal corruption, the person never has anything to say.
Her: I wish you could talk to my husband.
I know the husband nearly as well as this lady. Trust me, he is also a very good guy in his own sphere, AND, he won’t be able to tell me anything specific or factual about the Bush Administration. When you mention “Bush”, reason leaves him. He becomes visibly angry, raises his voice, hoods his eyes almost like a reptile, and interrupts or makes personal attacks on anyone he perceives as questioning him or asking him for facts.
I don’t know what this madness is, that has so many of the American people in its grip. But I think it might have to do with their naked fear. They claim to want freedom, but really, they want security: government goodies (such as “free health care” or whatever) and most of all, a sheltered life. They don’t want to face, and hence they don’t want to admit, the fact that there is real evil in the world and only the American military permits them to have their wonderful, sheltered lives. They deny the real threats out there, and re-focus their energy on hating the safe targets, the 2 people whose policies have been very effectively protecting them: Bush and Cheney.
ILC: You have really nailed it. I have had repeated experiences like the one you detail. Why these folks make such a religion of government using its power to censor, reeducate and enlighten the neanderthal mobocracy is beyond my ability to comprehend.
Their entrenched Bush Derangement Syndrome is unassailable. It is without common sense reason and is often poisoned with crazy conspiracy theories.
You must be correct. They just was to be pampered and fed. So long as the government takes them seriously about the boogiemen in their lives, they feel progress is being made toward their goal of happiness.
I usually try to get these people to talk about what makes them happy and what kind of general society would make them happier. Answer: a benevolent dictatorship. Oh, yeah? Not one of them could take Singapore for more than a month.
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the – Web Reconnaissance for 05/12/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often.
An excellent idea. I hope I have the presence of mind to remember it.
How many times have I heard, “God talked to Bush and told him to attack Iraq”???? That invading Iraq was “All about Oil” and nothing else.
Truly, this is a great lesson for me. I understand now why people burned up other people because they were witches! And how groups of people could see demons (without the help of drugs, too). And how Holland could go bankrupt and throw away its empire over a tulip bulb.
From Up Here in the North, though, I think that political-type American conservatives should concentrate on getting their guys into Congress. You have, by the way, much more hope of surviving the current craziness than has Canada. We have an extremely centralized federal government, one that has decided that freedom of speech is not as important as getting re-elected. Check out Mark Steyn’s site to take in the full implications of all this.
One more thing in this long comment. My parents told me that in the 1930s, before WWII, there were weekly ‘news’ film clips (this was before TV). And every week German soldiers appeared, marching in close military formation…. and still, when my father wanted to join the Canadian army in 1940, he had to wait because there were no uniforms ready for the new recruits. And when he DID go to war, in the Royal Canadian Navy, it was on a ship that had been a coastal cruise ship, which had been furnished with wooden guns, in order to fool the Japanese who were hanging off the west coast of Canada…
So sit back on the couch, load up on popcorn, watch the TV news, and remember, we are living in a grand new century of Hope and Audacity…
Heliotrope and ILC, my favorite comeback is, “How do you like the DMV and IRS?”
When they respond in the severe negative, you come back with, “Well, you know, these are the same people to whom you want to give power over your business, your life, and your healthcare.”
THAT usually shuts up the governmental addicts in a heartbeat.
Flying home this morning from a weekend fishing trip, I had a lot of time, GPW, to ponder your topic, although I hadn’t read your post and was thinking about the flip side (the GOP Ticket).
I know McCain enthusiasts are out there — after all he did win the nomination — but I haven’t met them. I have, I swear, yet to run into a Republican who is happy with McCain at the top of the ticket. What’s more, only a few were happy with any of the Republican candidates this year.
And most Democrats I know sound like your Mother, Dan.
One of the friends on our weekend fishing trip didn’t want to come back to dry land and his telephone. He’s one of the Democratic Super Delegates, one that won’t make a commitment until early June. He calls it a nightmare and swears that come early June (when Howard Dean demands an answer) he’ll flip a coin.
The Super Delegate’s presence prompted a weekend-long discussion of what’s wrong with the political system. Americans are in a bad mood, every direction they look are problems that seem to worsen but no one capable of greatness is stepping up to the plate. There’s an absence of tue leadership, no one to rally and reassure Americans, as FDR did, no one to remind Americans of the spirit and goodness within them, as Reagan did.
We couldn’t agree whether it’s a media obsessed with trivia, or spouses and children not willing to give up their privacy, or men who’ve become successful not willing to make the financial sacrifice. Whatever it is that has poisoned the system, men and women capable of greatness are not throwing their hats in the ring.
Let’s face it: the last time a Republican candidate appeared likely to measure up to a Dwight Eisenhower or a Ronald Reagan it was 1980 and the candidate’s name was Ronald Reagan; the last time a Democratic candidate appeared likely to measure up to a Franklin Roosevelt or a Harry Truman it was 1948 and the candidate’s name was Harry Truman.
My friend the Super Delegate said, hell, he’d be happy if among the Democratic majority in the Senate there was even just one Democratic Senator who is as decent and principled as the late Hubert Humphrey. I had to say amen. While I would have had many disagreements over policy with the great Ohioan, I would be delighted if among the Republican minority in the Senate there was even just one Republican Senator who is as decent and principled as the late Robert Taft.
Heather,
Ooooh, a conservative Canadian! Talk about endangered species!
I am more of a independent, I favor more of the right when it comes to defense and money.
I do agree that both of the democratic nominations are bad ones, only making it worse. to be honest I think all of them are not great candidates, it’s another which ones is lesser evil.