I always knew it would get bad for the Republicans in Congress and the White House, but I never thought it was possible to get this bad this quickly. If you look past the fact that Republican incompetence and recklessness is costing the country billions of dollars and thousands of lives, you could almost feel sorry for them.
The fact of the matter is that in less than a year, Bush and his Republican minions in Congress have suffered an almost Nixonesque collapse in popularity and are showing no sign of bottoming out.
On top of that, 53 percent of Americans say they would vote for Democrats in the next Congressional election, if it were held today, while only 36 percent say they'll vote Republican, according to a Newsweek poll. The shocking part of it is Republicans are currently wooing only 26 percent of independents to their side.
Barring any huge turnaround, it looks like 2006 is going to be a very bad year for Republicans. Independent analyst Larry Sabato remarked last week, "If elections for Congress were being held next Tuesday, Republicans would lose both houses. The GOP knows it."
So much for the sweeping mandate Republicans claimed last November. This next election wasn't even supposed to be close; if you would have watched enough Fox News at the time, you would have thought that the Democratic Party was on its way to extinction.
The best part about this GOP implosion is that it was mostly the party's own fault.
To the average person, the Republican Party has become so fantastically corrupt it cannot be trusted with power. To the average person, Iraq looks like a self-inflicted wound on our country. To the average person, the Republican Party no longer represents its own values.
However, being the only alternative will not automatically sweep Democrats into power in 2006 - though at this rate, it may get them close. Sitting by and watching the Republicans self-destruction is a perfectly acceptable strategy for now, but eventually Democrats are going to have to hit back with a widely acceptable national strategy.
If it were up to me, I would organize the 2006 national campaign around three central issues. The No. 1 goal would be to portray the Democratic Party as the party of reform and accountability. Democrats need to make sure Republicans answer to each scandal that has occurred on their watch. Check.
The next issue will be Iraq - few issues are as emotionally driven as this war. Democrats need to be the anti-Bush regarding Iraq. They need to promise to set a timetable for withdrawal so the conflict does not turn into endless war. This simplest of steps could automatically endear the Democratic Party to the 65 percent of the country that disapproves of Bush's handling of the war. "Stay the Course" does not qualify as a foreign policy, and most of the country knows it.
The next issue might be the most important problem facing this country's future. The fact remains that America as we know it cannot function without imported oil. I don't know about you, but I do not want my future economic prosperity and security tied to the most unstable region in the world. My guess is that a winter of skyrocketing gasoline and natural gas prices will make most of America a little more receptive to exploring alternative energy sources. Democrats need to seize this growing discontent and become the party of scientific exploration and discovery.
Congress will not automatically fall into the lap of the Democrats. In order for Democrats to claim majority party status, they will have to show the country they are the correct choice to truly guide America into the 21st century.
Write to Steve at
nawarainthedn@hotmail.com
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