Future of the GOP?
September 2nd, 2007 | by Sumo | Published in 08 Elections, Iraq War, Politics | 7 Comments
If Republicans think they’ve had a few rough years…wait until 2008. Things look bad because of the public disenchantment with the GOP that reared its ugly head with the 2006 elections. And now it has only worsened. A recent poll found that 50% of Americans now identify themselves as Democrats, compared with 35% that call themselves Republicans. The public was just about equally divided 5 years ago. Another poll, found that the public trusts Republicans more than Democrats on only 4 of 13 major issues…terrorism, illegal immigration, taxes, and moral values. And Republicans can see a humbling sign that the Democrats are actually raising more campaign contributions than themselves…which hasn’t been the case in years. So, yeah…they are worried.
Two little words are the GOP’s problem…George Bush! His disapproval rating for one thing…the longest resident of the Oval Office that has been the most unpopular since Truman left office in 1952. Traditionally when an unpopular lame-duck president leaves office…the voters avenge themselves by voting against their party…in presidential elections and congressional races. When the president is in troubled waters…so is his party.
Republicans need to do more than hope that the public dislikes them less. The leading GOP presidential contenders are hardly inspiring the nation. They continually spout small government, military strength and strong families. Hardly enough to inspire and ant. The heaviest boulder the right has to drag around is the war in Iraq…which is seen as “Bush’s War”…and rightfully so. Republicans will have to figure a way to put themselves into the current arena of discontent and show they have a way out of it. They have to look like they too are tired of the partisanship that rules Washington. (as if they can pull that successfully off, they ARE the epitome of partisanship) They’ll have to find an optimistic America…like Ronnie Reagan was able to pull off. They have to stay away from all that has gone wrong…because most all of it has gone wrong within their own party. Right now it looks bad for them in 2008…we can only hope.
With the concerns of health care and global warming being in the forefront…things are looking better for the Democrats. And, if that continues…the GOP is going to have an even tougher load to pull and uphill at that…in the next year and a half.
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September 2nd, 2007at 7:12 pm(#)
Bush is the one who will ultimately destroy the Republican Party unless the spineless Democrats led by Pelosi and Reid help save it by their continued enabling of Bush.
September 2nd, 2007at 9:48 pm(#)
Let’s see, Sen. John Warner of Virginia is retiring, giving Democrats another key pick-up opportunity next year. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho is resigning, and the DSCC is talking about making a serious run at that seat, too.
Looking ahead, Dems also appear to be in a good position to pick up seats in Colorado, New Hampshire, and Minnesota, with Maine, Oregon, New Mexico, Nebraska, and even Kentucky very much in play. Dems go into the cycle with a cyclical edge — the GOP has 22 seats to defend in 2008, the Dems have 12 — and the rest of the political landscape, at least at this early date, seems tilted in their direction.
And how are Republican insiders responding to this landscape? With dread and panic.
“It’s always darkest right before you get clobbered over the head with a pipe wrench. But then it actually does get darker,” said a GOP pollster who insisted on anonymity in order to speak candidly. […]
“About the only safe Republican Senate seats in ‘08 are the ones that aren’t on the ballot,” a GOP operative with extensive experience in Senate races said. “I don’t see even the rosiest scenario where we don’t end up losing more seats.”
If you consider just those seats for those states listed in the list, that gives us 61 votes, without LIE-berman.
September 2nd, 2007at 11:20 pm(#)
Larry…I think the Republican party is imploding on itself right before out eyes.
Earl…you are right…with dread and panic. They will need years to get themselves out of their own darkness.
September 3rd, 2007at 9:22 pm(#)
I certainly wouldn’t want to be a Republicon running for office in ‘08, never mind the Presidency. George has proved to be a death knell for his party, & rightfully so. That’s the good news
The bad news is that the Democrats who follow will be trying to pick up the shattered pieces of a horribly divided & riven populace, which is the fallout in Bush’s wake. The damage the Moron Cowboy has done to this country, both internally & abroad, is beyond anything anybody could have imagined before the neo-cons took office, & the difficulty of picking up should not be underestimated. First & foremost will be the undoing of all the legal treachery Bushco managed to foist upon us, not least the “unitary executive” theory.
That’s a mighty big task for even the most optomistic.
September 3rd, 2007at 9:45 pm(#)
I agree with the great tasks they all have ahead of themselves…but somebody has got to do it.
September 3rd, 2007at 11:19 pm(#)
Yes, somebody has to & should. They have their work cut out for them, is all I’m sayin’. It won’t be easy with the legacy of extreme partisan politics Bushco has left.
I wish Dems would see that impeachment is absolutely necessary to wipe the slate clean & set an example for the future. A clean break & demarcation, not to mention the psychic relief from the harrowing Bush years, can only help the process, not to mention it could maybe prevent Dick Cheney from prosecuting another war we can’t afford in Iraq.
September 3rd, 2007at 11:26 pm(#)
I think the Dems should wipe that slate clean if for no other reason than to show the world out there that we Americans want no part of what HAS gone on…and it will stop from Now on. We have to show the people outside of our country that we mean business and hopefully we will be forgiven as a people for what the Buhsites have done. I know they got “some” help from the left side of the isle…but a whole lot was afoot at the time too. Some of it can be explained away…even though it shouldn’t have happened…but none-the-less I want other nations to know we are sorry and were not a part of it. The administration needs to be held accountable for the world to see and understand us better.