A Shift In Momentum?

I've been talking about that for a month now. It's nice to see a magazine as reputable as The Hill pick up on it. Here's a glimpse into Patrick O'Connor's article:

"We have to raise money to sustain and to win," House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) told a group of reporters after the conference meeting. "People are anteing up, and we're looking forward to increasing our majority next year."

Last week, I wrote about Lindsey Graham's bearish outlook on the elections, chastizing him for selling party activists like myself short. There's a reason why Graham has a less-than-glowing reputation with conservatives and why Karl Rove is called 'The Architect'. Let me refresh peoples' memories of why I'm bullish on Republicans this fall:

• GOP activists like me don't like the fiscal insanity of the Republican Congress but I hate the thought of Democrats controlling the purse strings even more.
  
  
• I also hate the thought of a Chairman Leahy of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a Chairman John Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee and a House Majority Leader Murtha and Speaker Pelosi.
• GOP activists like me know what's at stake and we're working hard to keep Republican majorities in the House and Senate. What's at stake is the difference between confirming a Chief Justice Roberts or a Justice O'Connor.
  
  
• Another potential difference is whether a Republican congress will keep funding the war in Iraq or whether a Democratic majority would cut off funding that war.
  
  
• Yet another difference is whether a Republican majority would keep taxes low or whether a Democratic majority would let some of the tax cuts lapse, sending the economy into a slowdown or recession.

Something that I didn't put into that post is a more compelling reason: if the Agenda Media is predicting doom & gloom for Republicans in the next election, bet the opposite. I don't remember the last time they had it even close to right in predicting an election's outcome.

As I said in that post, it's time that the Agenda Media and the GOP weenies in the Senate to understand that "conservatism is the dominant force in American politics." PERIOD.

Congressional Democrats are quick to point out that they have outraised their GOP counterparts and believe that any optimism Republicans are expressing is unfounded.

No amount of money will disguise the Democrats lack of an appealing agenda. As President Bush said in his last debate with Jean Francois Kerry, a list of complaints isn't an agenda.

"I hope they think they have the momentum up until Election Day," said Bill Burton, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "The fact of the matter is that they have not spent a lot of time at all in this Congress focused on issues that people care about." For example, Burton said, Republicans have made a major issue out of immigration this campaign season, even though Congress has not yet approved a reform bill.

Mr. Burton would be well-advised to not talk about who hasn't done what. The Democrats are a picture of a 'do-nothing, say-nothing, stand-for-nothing' political party.

Furthermore, I can't wait until GOP candidates start talking about the Senate Democrats' amendments to the immigration reform bill.

• I can't wait until the Dodd Amendment gets highlighted. The Dodd Amendment says that we have to consult with Mexico before building the border wall.
• I can't wait until people hear about Ted Kennedy's idea to pay illegal aliens Social Security.

Mr. Burton is foolish if he thinks these things won't get mentioned this fall. And I'll guarantee that these types of ideas won't fly in America's heartland.

"They're waging a single-issue campaign on an issue they don't have any accomplishments on," Burton said.

Someone should inform Mr. Burton that the GWOT and the war in Iraq are the biggest issues of the day. They're issues that Democrats are extremely vulnerable on.

But to the delight of Democrats, a Texas judge ruled that former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) must remain on the ballot. The ruling, which has been appealed, could help Democrats win DeLay's seat in November.

This isn't a victory for Democrats, as I said here:

They wanted him on the ballot, not in the race. DeLay jumping back into the race is the last thing they want if you polled them quietly. They might say otherwise in public but you can bet that they'd feel deflated if DeLay ran again. His base of support is still strong and loyal. The scandals that they were planning on using against Republicans, especially against DeLay, have been rendered usless thanks to William Jefferson being found with $90,000 of marked bills in his freezer.

A DeLay candidacy is Nick Lampson's worst nightmare. DeLay's base of support is still very loyal to him. They're willing to run through walls for him. That's the last type of candidate you'd want to face.

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Posted Thursday, July 13, 2006 6:38 PM

June 2006 Posts

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