You seem to have forgotten McCain/Fiengold, and Medicare Part D both of which should probably be their own item in the list.

Your analysis was excellent, especially the part about most of our wounds being self-inlicted. I would add the widespread perception that the Administration badly mishandled Katrina.

Your analysis was excellent, especially the part about most of our wounds being self-inflicted. I would add the widespread perception that the Administration badly mishandled the response to Katrina.

Amen to all of that. As a young man I dreamed of the day that the Republicans would hold the House, the Senate and the White House. Nothing could stop sensible government, budget-cutting, practical idea, drilling for oil in Alaska, not being pushed around by the UN. It was going to be glorious.

Well, it wasn't. Besides some early successes, (like 1994-6 and Bush's first round of tax cuts) we got zip, empty, nothing. The dream is over.

EJM

I would add that both the Republican Party and the President did a very poor job of explaining both the War on Terror and tying the Iraq war to it. Granted that there is a hostile media who continually tried to tear them down, but almost nobody was or is willing to say that this war is going to go on for years, actually generations, and they allowed the Democrats to frame it as we are not winning. The truth is we are not winning as fast as anyone would like, but there has been slow but steady progress. When one looks at history, the rate of progress is remarkable, but how many people realize that? I wonder how this generation of Democrats and the Press would have reacted to World War Two. I wonder how they would have reacted to the Marshall Plan. Based on what I've seen, they would have been screaming for us to get out within two days of our entrance to WW2, and as for the Marshall Plan, the first little thing that went wrong, they would have been screaming to quit. What would that have meant for such things as the Berlin Airlift? The press seems to be keeping its head in the sand and not seeing that things weren't perfect back then, but yet expect perfection now.

Hopefully, the Democrats will now grow up and act like responsible adults. I have my doubts, and I look for all kinds of hearings while they try to prove a bunch of things that even they know are not true, but I can hope. They managed to get elected by not advancing any plans, now it is put up time. For the sake of the country I hope they are up to it, but fear that may not be true. To me, as a Libertarian, it makes no difference which party is in power, but I do care much about policy. Bush and the Republicans were really only right on two things in my opinion. Those things are the War on Terror (including Iraq) and economic policy. I was and remain against most of their social policies. For all their gaffs they did not deserve to be re-elected, but the Democrats deserved to be elected even less. They claim that Bush lied, but their whole campaign was built upon their own lies and the power of personal destruction.

There is an old axiom that the people get the kind of government they deserve, and I suspect we are about to see what that means if the Democrats don’t grow up and face the fact that there are a bunch of people who want to kill us or force us to convert to their religion. It would be wonderful if we could get those terrorists to stop simply by being nice to them, but appeasement has never worked. Not once, in all the annuals of history, can it be shown to have worked. Yet the talking heads of the Democratic Party continually talk as if only we would talk to the terrorists and be nice to them, we could solve all the disagreements. Perhaps they think that talking with rabid dogs will stop those dogs from biting.

The really sad thing is that a lot of them appear too stupid to realize that much of what they say is helping the terrorists. The terrorists know they cannot win militarily, but can only win through propaganda, and many of the Democrats buoy them, keeping their hopes up by saying things like there is no progress, or it is a quagmire, or we cannot win. The terrorists understand history while the Democrats don’t appear to do so. The terrorists are banking on history repeating itself and the U.S withdrawing. That is the only way they can win. Unless the Democrats are willing to grow up and face facts, it will get even worse. If we withdraw, they will continue to push and the next war will be even more costly.

The stars were aligned against us, true, but some stars burned brighter than others, and those that weren't burning bright on their own had the national party dumping hydrogen into them like there was no tomorrow.

So, in order for us to win, the national party has to master gravity and realign the stars back onto their proper courses. Or they could continue pouring on mass until they collapse into black holes; that way, they'd at least keep information from flowing out. Of course, they'd be guaranteeing the destruction of human race.

Eh, perhaps it’d be a better idea not to carry that analogy too far.

Still, if the Republican leadership isn’t going to master gravity, they should at least provide me with answers to this. I think it’s important.

I agreed with most of what you said, but I think that you are dreaming if you believe you will get most people to believe there is a war on Terror unless and until a major attack happens somewhere inside the United States and lots more people are killed. To be truthful I think one of the reasons Osama struck New York city was to get our attention because he was at war with us and we refused to acknowledge it.

I talk to people about all this, we all do. They by and large think I am being melodramatic or as my brother said, "The right wingers got in your head".

Do you really believe that a speech by Bush is going to make these folks believe that there is a threat to our way of life by the likes of the mullahs or Osama? No they will not, not even Ronald Reagan could.

As far as that is concerned a shocking number of people did not believe that communism was really a threat and Reagan could not convince them otherwise. One would think that bomb shelters all over the country and over 100 million dead worldwild would convince them, but nope it was just a con job.

I remember those times, there was not a consensus during the cold war, we just happened to win it anyway. Thanks in large part to the incomepetency of the Soviets at everything but propaganda and Reagan's refusal to believe that there was enough room in this world for the two of us.

The Axix of Evil speech by Bush was very good, but when most people heard it did they worry about the axis of evil or the fact that Bush called them one? If I remember correctly there was more talk of his use of the word evil than there was of the threat posed by these rogue nations.

A lot of those factors will go away - but the ill will that the American people have acquired will take a bit longer to pass. Don't expect to fall back into power in 2008 just because the American people have got over their mad. It will take more than that. Either ill will to the Democrats will have to accumulate to the point where the people are pissed off enough to force change (as happened this year) or the GOP will have to somehow acquire a positive adgenda which appeals to the American public.

If we wait for the peiople to get angry it could well take another twelve years as it did for the Democrats. If Republicans keep their poweder dry. stick to first principles, and procide measured & calm opposition to the threadbare Democratic majority I think that period can be reduced to as little as 4 years.

"(There is something very disturbing about people who elevate every smallest political position of theirs to the level of a principle of righteousness versus evil; it's so Cromwellian.)"

Agreed. But I wouldn't blame poor Oliver Cromwell for such attitudes. Charles I, yes. Perhaps somne of Cromwell's pariementary colleagues. Cromwell was not nearly such a self-righteous man as this passage implies....

Ah but this is exactly why I have hope for the future.

The Dems won seats almost impossible to hold for any length of time. They will flip back the next election.

They ran many Democrats who pledged basically to adhere to Republican values. These guys are either going to end up supporting the Republicans on most issues, or getting booted in the near future.

DeWine and Chafee - so consorting with the Dems got them what exactly? Actually, I'm happy to see them go. A lesson for the rest.

I would say that not only were Republican wounds largely self-inflicted (a huge part due to incompetent leadership in the Senate and House), I would say that the Democrats showed themselves largely incapable of inflicting wounds, which has much larger implications.

Fixing Blame

In the aftermath of a political defeat this stinging and particularly one this unnecessary, it is appropriate to spend SOME time in fixing blame, not for the purposes of scapegoating or finger pointing, but rather for the purposes of instruction. You did something stupid; don’t do it next time. Most of the usual suspects are obvious and deserve what they are getting: timid and ineffective congressional leadership (and a bit too damn much “You don’t own me!” in congressional FOLLOWSHIP as well), failure to control spending, failure to police ourselves, the Gang of 14, McCain’s pomposity, Lindsay Graham’s insistence on being a JAGdorf (as in Judge Advocate General), President Bush’s inarticulateness, the inability to find an acceptable compromise on immigration, the War, the 6 Year Itch, mainstream media lies, the distance from 9-11, candidates who ran away from or towards the POTUS depending on which way the wind was blowing, etc., etc., etc. However, let us not forget one very deserving group despite all the pious warnings not too:

The voters.

And not just any voters, and not even most voters. It is hard to fault Mr. & Mrs. Average American. Unlike us political junkies, they didn’t know all they needed to know long before November and thus were susceptible to falling for some of the most outrageous lies in our political history, which is saying a LOT. Poor things; unlike us they have LIVES. Nor can one blame too harshly those poor unfortunates whose medical desperation led them to fall for the cruel hoax of a future of health if we only let researchers kill enough teeny tiny babies. Nor do I have the heart to rail too loudly at African-Americans who once more let their white Democrat “massas” lead them down the garden path by simultaneously conducting racist campaigns against black Republicans and race-baiting campaigns for black Democrats, which Barack Obama managed to handle with as straight a face as any Clinton could. And our lunatic traitors simply are who they are; their last conscious thoughts should they be killed in future terrorist attacks will be to blame Bush rather than the terrorists. No, the voters I wish to fix blame upon are those who knew EXACTLY what the political situation was and chose to cast their votes (or their half votes in the case of third party or stay-at-homes) for the Democrats anyway:

The Cut and Run Conservatives.

We’ve all met plenty of them online if we are not so unfortunate as to know any. Their primary characteristic was (and still is) ANGER for which SOMEBODY had to PAY. Santorum had to pay for his peculiarly old-fashioned attitudes on loyalty towards one’s political mentor regardless of strong political differences. Dewine had to pay for being so weak in character as to allow himself to be seduced to the Dark Side by Darth McCain. Conrad Burns had to pay for accepting campaign contributions from a man who turned out to be a crook. Senator Allen had to pay for criticizing the fiction writings of a man who ATTACKED HIS MOTHER and for allegedly behaving badly by a man who turned out to have been a racist in his youth, a misogynist in his prime, and an anti-Semite in both of his political campaigns. Finally of course Bush had to pay for every single thing that has pissed you off for the last six years.

Well, you got your wish. Earned citizenship (amnesty you call it) for illegal aliens is now a foregone conclusion unless Democrats are so stupid as to prefer sending Bush veto bait rather than something he can sign. Donald Rumsfeld is gone. John Bolton will soon be gone (because Senate Democrats have already announced that he won’t even get a VOTE, and a second recess appointment would apparently require him to serve WITHOUT PAY). The opportunity for a conservative SCOTUS has probably been lost for ANOTHER generation. Finally it is more than a bit unclear whether having finally received their payoff: “Vote for me, or I shoot the country!”, Democrats are now willing to stop trying to lose the war we cannot afford to lose. And don’t give me any crap about your vote not mattering. It appears we lost the House by a TOTAL of less than 50,000 votes in the closest races, and we lost the last two Senate seats by only a few thousand more. Even if you believe the Democrats stole the elections, who made it close enough to steal?

If we are LUCKY, Republicans will learn enough useful things to take advantage of the suicidal hubris we have come to expect of Democrats in this situation. If we are LUCKY, Bush will at least be able to figure out how to NOT LOSE the war for the next two years. However, Cut and Run Conservatives cutting off their noses to spite their faces during the last election have made his job a LOT tougher.

Try not to make the same mistake in 2008.

So what now?
...

Narxist:

So what now?

Funny you should ask that... see next post.

Dafydd

Excellent post. But we can come back in two years. The only long term loss - and it's a big one - will occur when the next Supreme leaves. One more was all it would have taken. Ahh, so close.

Some of the reasons are "insider baseball". Most people don't follow politics that closely or that often. Note this comment from above--"A lot of those factors will go away - but the ill will that the American people have acquired will take a bit longer to pass. Don't expect to fall back into power in 2008 just because the American people have got over their mad."
And believe me, the media will do all they can to stoke their mad. Dem screw-ups will be swept under the rug and Repubs will continue to be demonized. There is still a ways to go...not that we have any choice but to keep on keepin' on :)

Could conservative bloggers start a movement for regular Americans like myself to make a contribution to fund John Bolton's salary so the work with no salary thing could be overcome. Wouldn't that send a remarkable message of support. He really seems like the man we need at the UN and I'd hate for our country to lose his services. Big Lizards, you have a powerful voice in the blogosphere...what do you think?

And believe me, the media will do all they can to stoke their mad. Dem screw-ups will be swept under the rug and Repubs will continue to be demonized. There is still a ways to go...not that we have any choice but to keep on keepin' on :)

I think Bush should steal Clinton's playbook for 1995. Negociate toughly on some things, then sign. If the Democrats overstep (they will) rap them on the knuckles and veto - but explain the veto concisely and well and tell people what he will sign - so he's not seen as being obstructionist for the sake of it.

The House Republicans should hang loose (or even pass some of the proposed legislation before the end of the session as Dafydd suggested). Then get the new leadership together and - wait. Wait for Pelosi to make a mistake, Dingle to start the impeachment hearings, whatever. Wait for mistakes and hit them shrewdly.

Great Post. Don't forget the Senate and House Campaign Committees getting mixed up in primaries. We ended up losing both of those seats: RI-Sen and AZ-8.

Hopefully the next pair of committee leaders will learn not to attack conservative republicans.

Hopefully the next post will list what we did right. I would put the Club for Growth there.

Steve

Fritz-

The really sad thing is that a lot of them [Democrats] appear too stupid to realize that much of what they say is helping the terrorists. The terrorists know they cannot win militarily, but can only win through propaganda, and many of the Democrats buoy them, keeping their hopes up by saying things like there is no progress, or it is a quagmire, or we cannot win. The terrorists understand history while the Democrats don’t appear to do so. The terrorists are banking on history repeating itself and the U.S withdrawing. That is the only way they can win. Unless the Democrats are willing to grow up and face facts, it will get even worse. If we withdraw, they will continue to push and the next war will be even more costly.

Unfortunately, I think it’s even worse than that. How many of them are really “too stupid to realize that much of what they say is helping the terrorists?” Very few, I fear. They do remember history -- they remember Viet Nam very well. The sad reality is that they are playing on the moonbats’ visceral hatred of Bush to gain political power by whatever means possible. If that means sabotaging the War on Terror, then so be it.

And, by the way, I think another mistake was calling the current conflict the War on Terror. Pundits on both ends of the political spectrum are right: Terror is a tactic, not an enemy. What we really are engaged in is a war on militant Islam. Admittedly, it would have been much more difficult for the Muslim world to understand, at least at first, that a war on militant Islam was not a war on all of them. And the militants themselves would of course have accused us of waging a crusade on all of Islam. But I think that Muslim religious and political leaders would have gotten the message much more clearly that they needed to take action against the rotten apples in their midst.

Finally, I hope I’m wrong, but I also have a nagging suspicion that calling it the “War on Militant Islam” would have made it more difficult to include the Iraq invasion under the same rubric.

Don E. I was trying to be diplomatic, but you are right. Yes, the "War on Terror" is a war against militant Islam, and yes, I do think that many of the Democrats were willing to help the enemy just to reclaim political power. As I said, the people get the government they deserve, and now we will all have to pay the price.

Don E. I was trying to be diplomatic, but you are right. Yes, the "War on Terror" is a war against militant Islam, and yes, I do think that many, not all but many, of the Democrats were willing to help the enemy just to reclaim political power. As I said, the people get the government they deserve, and now we will all have to pay the price.

When one looks at history one can only marvel that most people are unwilling to recognize the lessons it teaches. WW1 was followed by WW2 and only through the Marshall plan was the cycle stopped. Wars had been going on in Europe for many generations, but that stopped most of them. It was my hope that the Iraqi war, and the reconstruction, would lead to the same thing in Iraq. I recognized that it would not be a quick thing, and expected us to be directly involved for six years if we were lucky, with a presence there for many years after that. I had hopes that if we held fast, conditions in the Middle East would improve enough in two generations to say it was successful, but I fear we will never know. What I do think can safely be predicted is that this is not the end of it, but only the beginning. The bad part is that I fully expect the next war with militant Islam to be more like WW2. On an even worse note, we may find ourselves more in Hitler's position with his attempt to kill all the Jews except it will be us against Islam. Of course there will be the difference that we have a reason unlike Hitler, but I truly do not wish to see that. Can anyone imagine the reaction if some terrorist group manages to set off a nuclear bomb in our country, or manages to kill millions with either chemical or biological weapons? Any country which had contacts with such a group would then be fair game and we have lots of nukes. All that would be left of the Middle East is a bunch of camel and goat herders and an occupying force pumping oil.

As for was Iraq the right place to wage the war, when one looks at the conditions as they were, there are many reasons to say it was. That conditions have changed doesn't change the original logic of it.

In closing, I sincerely hope I'm wrong, and that militant Islam does not turn out to be as bad as it now appears, but if it does, we will long regret not continuing now. The price will be much higher in the next round.

I would add another item to your list....When Dennis Hastert stood behind Rep. Jefferson and demanded that the Justice Dept. give back any items siezed from his office. The impression I and many others got was that Republicans want the Congress to be a "good ole boys club" again......like the good old days of the Check Kiting Scandal

Thanks for hissing in, . Now you can slither in with a comment, o wise. (sign out)