Quoting Rob:
"I'll just wait here for all those wannabee pundits from the Left, who crowed about how the Democrat ranks were swelling during the primaries because people were soooo dissatisfied with the Republicans and their policies, to explain the current decline in the Democrats' fortunes. It couldn't be Barack and his policies now could it? Or was the former spike in Democrat registration merely a variation on "Operation Chaos", and therefore, the Republicans weren't all that dissatisfied. Either way, wouldn't it mean that the wannabee pundits were...wrong?"
That sounded a lot like spin to me. But was Rob right? Were the Democrats, my party of choice, on the way out? Had President Bush, despite his record low approval rating, failed to drive people to the 'loyal opposition'? (To be fair, the approval rating for Congress was even more dismal.)
So it was reassuring to me (probably not to Rob), that an article in the New York Times suggested that my initial panic after Rob's post was unfounded. Republicans weren't increasing their popularity and Democrats certainly weren't on the way out as Rob suggested.
The article commented:
"Yet while an unpopular war, a faltering economy and a president held in low esteem have certainly combined to hurt the Republican Party, Democrats are also benefiting from demographic changes, including the rise in the number of younger voters and the urbanization of suburbs, which has resulted in a different political flavor there, voting and campaign experts said. The party has also been helped by a recent willingness to run more pragmatic candidates, who have helped make the party more appealing to a broader swath of the electorate.
Among the 26 states with registration data, the percentage of those who have signed on with Democrats has risen in 15 states since 2004, and the percentage for Republicans has risen in six, according to state data. The number of registered Democrats fell in 11 states, compared with 20 states where Republican numbers fell.
In the 26 states and the District of Columbia where registration data were available, the total number of registered Democrats increased by 214,656, while the number of Republicans fell by 1,407,971.
The unsettled political ground has manifested itself in state and local elections. Democrats now control 23 legislatures, and Republicans 14, with 12 states with divided chambers (Nebraska has a nonpartisan legislature). After the 2000 election, 16 legislatures were dominated by Democrats, and 17 by Republicans, with 16 divided.
It is a similar story in governors’ mansions. After the 2004 election, there were 28 Republican governors and 22 Democrats; those numbers are now reversed. After the 2000 election, there were only 19 Democratic governors.
Elected Democrats have made significant inroads even in places where Republicans have enjoyed a generation of dominance. In Colorado, for example, Democrats control the governorship and both houses of the Legislature for the first time in more than 40 years. Last year, Virginia Democrats gained a 21-to-19 majority in the State Senate, the first time the party has controlled that body in a decade.
In New Hampshire, Democrats control both the legislative and executive branches for the first time since 1874. In Iowa, Democrats have taken over the statehouse for the first time in a generation."
I am feeling better.
Maybe Obama has a chance this November after all. It sure feels like we need a change with the economy in the dumps, our troops bogged down in a war feeling more and more like Vietnam, our federal budget in shambles, the environment threatened, and social programs like dealing with poverty, healthcare and the elderly neglected.
O.K. that's my spin, I admit it. But do you really believe that you are better off than you were eight years ago when the Republicans took over?
Another 'wannabee pundit'.
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Comments: 10
Thanks, Robert.
What's truly sad though is that I think many Republicans have the ability to take a lie they know is a lie and twist it in their mind until it actually appears to them as being true. Any psycologist will tell you the most successful liars are those who are best at believing in their own lie.
Corruption at the top is everywhere in government. The real scarey thing is that one of those Keating 5 is actually running for President.
McCain was not cleared of any wrong doing. They knew what he was about to do, and what he was willingly involving himself in, but whoever tipped him off, as to the investigation, helped buy him time to cover his own tracks, so he wasn't caught with cookies in his hand from the cookies, but their was plenty of crumbs on his face.
Actually, it appears no one reads his stuff anyway. Oh well.
The 2006 elections saw a sweeping change in the make up of the House and Senate. This year is shaping up to be a continuation of the deluge as Democrats are likely to build their majorities even larger. Why? Because the people have shown they are tired of the Rovian politics that is willing to sacrifice their own conservative voices for the chance to keep themeselves in power.
Think about it. Conservative voices will actually be heard better under an Obama Administration than it has under a Republican Administration. Fiscal responsibility? Bush tossed that one out on his way in the door. Integrity? Nuf said. High moral ground? Dug a deep grave for that one. Respect of the world? ...................... (sorry, had to go away and laugh hysterically for a minute or three).
So Obama gets elected President and the Democrats increase their majority in Congress. And learning from the mistakes of the Republicans (and their own in past times), the Democrats learn to listen to the other viewpoints on the table. President Obama insists that all sides get a hearing, and the goal is for the Executive and Legislative branches of government do their jobs - which is to represent the citizens of the United States and deal with the pressing issues of our time. Things get done. Neither side gets everything in their partisan Easter baskets. And the people of this country finally have a government focused on the real issues.
Pipe dream? Maybe. But with Obama there is a chance. With John McCain there is not. The Republicans had their chance to show leadership and they blew it. Barack Obama brings an opportunity to change the dynamics. With our help, it can happen.
I agree that the tailwind is behind the Dems this year. They are likely to have an excellent year in terms of Senate races. the one question mark is the White House. Americans no longer like Republicans as much for Congress, but the electoral college empowers rural voters because they collect extra voting power from the two extra votes that correspond to their Senate seats. Really, it is weird, but I am not making this up. It has nothing to do with one man one vote, the electoral college allows the states to elect the president, irrespective of the popular vote.
If you look at the electoral map, you see a little blue on both coasts and an enormous red thing in the middle, and you say gee, Dems are just a trace element. Then you realize that most americans live on the coasts. Yes, there are more Dems than Republicans.