2006: A Warning

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National Journal magazine has a Liberals’ wish-list of an article up, titled “What If?” In that article, authors David Baumann, Kirk Victor, and Richard E. Cohen practically drool over the prospect of a takeover in Congress by the Democrats. Unfortunately, sane people should heed that warning, though not for the reasons these three authors propose.

First off, let’s not forget that elections do not always turn out the way they are expected to go. Bill Clinton was hardly qualified to serve as President, yet he was elected to two terms. He admitted to committing felonies, yet even the Republicans in the Senate could not agree to all vote to convict. John Kerry was such a complete fool as a party nominee, that even Saturday Night Live, hardly a friend to Conservatives, could not resist mocking him, yet he claimed more than 48% of the Popular Vote. Al Gore has revealed himself to be an absolutely insane demagogue, yet in 2000 he actually claimed a plurality of the Popular Vote. Liberals can win, even when they are unqualified, even when they are criminal, even when they are insane. We have to defend against that possibility.

Fortunately, the 2006 Elections will not be as easy for the Liberals as they believe. The authors of the National Journal article, whom I will simply dub the ‘3 idiots’ for easy reference, submit that “the once smugly ensconced Republicans have been struggling to overcome abysmal approval ratings and major fissures in their ranks. They’ve been reeling from criticism over their party’s handling of the Iraq War, Hurrican Katrina, gas prices, Social Security reform, and other domestic issues - not to mention the indictments and criminal investigations facing several GOP officials in Congress and the Bush Administration.”

Classic Liberal Mythology, that. I shall address each contention in the order the ‘3 idiots’ presented them:

1. Approval ratings - this is a laugher. The idiots never mention that the polls showing poor approval for Republicans has even lower numbers for Democrats. And the President’s numbers are not only better than either party’s Congress approval, but Dubya’s polls have been climbing. And the idiots have been trying to forget the critical fact that in the last mid-term election, the support from the President made all the difference in several key races. So this is actually a GOP asset, not a Liberal advantage.

2. “Major fissures" - I think they mean guys like me, who felt that certain Conservatives damaged the process by ambushing Harriet Miers and denying her a fair hearing before Congress. Also, there are Republicans who remember the promises made to the American people in 1994, and who fear that we are drifting a bit too much towards the ‘go along’ style of the Democrats. But that is family business - for all the noise, we also remember Reagan’s 11th Commandment, and when the election time comes, we will come together and pull the lever for the RIGHT candidate. The Liberals are lying to themselves to think we will repeat the old mistakes of staying home or splitting our vote. We know the Liberal tricks and history, and while we will argue about ideas and decisions among ourselves, there are few indeed who are foolish enough to think that a Democrat majority in either house is good for the nation.

3. The Iraq War - A classic case of Liberal self-delusion. Between MSM lies and rising casualties with no clear proof of victory during that year, 2004 was the low mark of public support for the war. The evidence of multiple free elections in multiple countries, significant captures and kills of high-ranking terrorists, improved capabilities of Iraqi police and army, and similar successes, has improved public confidence that the war was right and necessary, and that the best course for the future is to finish the job and support the war. The Democrats are not only still on the wrong side of this decision, they continue to notice the tide of support for the troops, the cause, and the determination to finish what we started.

4. Hurricane Katrina - Only a Liberal would still try to blame the Republicans for a natural disaster. This episode is one which the Liberals would actually do well to avoid mentioning, since any serious investigation into who failed to do theri job would unerringly point to the Democrat Mayor Nagin, and the Democrat Governor Blanco. While former FEMA director Brown did not anticipate the confusion which the Governor and Mayor’s ineptitude would create, and State DHS head Landreneau failed to implement the plan developed for just such a crisis, it is impossible to review the events and actions, and somehow blame the Federal response or the Republicans.

5. Gas Prices - If the Liberals want to bring up gas prices, it could be an easy trump for the Republicans, to simply point to all the Democrat obstruction to simply drilling in U.S. territory for the oil we need. Especially with worries about Iran’s intentions, the most logical thing in the world for oil, is for us to drill in ANWR right now - yet that is precisely what the Liberals have tried to prevent. Bringing that up in 2006 would improve the Republican stock, not the Democrats.

6. Social Security reform - This is a laugh. Every debate in the past decade has made it clear that Republicans want to reform Social Security, while Democrats oppose it. Now would be a very good time to remind the American people, who wants to address problems and who wants to hide them.

7. Indictments and Criminal Investigations - that’s Liberal code for 'we figure the charges won’t stick, so let’s get the most mileage we can’. The fact is, by the summer of 2006 the DeLay trial will be over, and from the look of the evidence, it won’t be a problem for The Hammer. As for ‘Scooter’ Libby, the most telling point in that case, is that the charges against Libby have nothing whatsoever to do with the reason Fitzgerald was given his job - Libby neither did nor said anything which endangered or exposed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent - never mind that she was never a covert operative in the first place during the time concerned. Notice also, that there has been no sense of outrage among the American people - they know a political dirty trick when they see one, and they aren’t buying.

After all that, you might think that there’s nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, we cannot be casual about the threat. One thing the idiots do that should be considered, is warn us about who would be in control, should the Democrats actually succeed intaking over Congress. The idiots send a clear warning we should heed. Consider this roster:

John Conyers as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House
Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader

These are people whose hatred for the troops and the President, whose antipathy for tax reform and contempt for the public will is so well-known, that we can promise their ascension to power would lead to tax increases on an order not seen since Carter, with concurrent legislation to compel Americans to accept the most radical Liberal social agenda imaginable. Remember how Hillary tried to nationalize Healthcare? With a Democrat-held Congress, it could happen. Remember when Reid said we needed to pay more taxes, not less? With a Democrat-held Congress, it could happen. Remember when Murtha seriously wanted us to pull all our troops out from Iraq with no notice? With a Democrat-held Congress, it could happen.

During the primaries, we must support the most Conservative candidates possible, but when the fall rolls around, make no mistake, the Republican majority must be protected.