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Democrats: Can they Fend Off the Coming Disaster?

by Conservativity Staff,
Originally Posted: 1/25/2010 1:33:02 PM

What could possibly save Barack Obama’s presidency from ruin? In the one year plus five days since Mr. Obama was sworn in as our 44^th president, he has gone from stratospheric approval ratings to sub-majority approval in the fastest elapsed time since these metrics have been collected. His crown jewel, healthcare “reform” (in reality a government takeover of the industry, which comprises 18% of the economy), was so unpopular with the people that key legislators in both houses refused to vote for it. It barely passed in the House, and in the Senate it was watered down and still could not break 58 votes.

To pass a bill – something, anything – Harry Reid and Mr. Obama bribed various senators with pork for their states: The “Louisiana Purchase” for Mary Landrieu; the “Cornhusker Kickback” for Ben Nelson. Joe Lieberman, showing integrity, demanded the removal of the “public option” for his vote instead of a payoff for his state. The resulting bill created a Mexican standoff in the House, with Bart Stupak rounding up over a dozen congresspersons opposed to the abortion provisions of the Senate bill. On the Left, Louise Slaughter rounded up over ten lefties who would vote “No” unless there were a public option.

The entire time, the people fumed in anger, expressing in polls their disgust with any of the proposals in the Congress. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents to a Washington Post poll stated that they would prefer a government with lower taxes and fewer services.

Then, a special election happened. Sen. Edward Kennedy died last year. On January 19, 2010, Mr. Obama’s 365^th day in office, the bluest of states sent Republican Scott Brown to Washington. Mr. Brown campaigned as the 41^st vote to stop the healthcare boondoggle. This development was a body blow to the Leftists, who also lost a spate of elections in November of 2009. The independents who were angry at George W. Bush for the prolonged war and for economic issues mostly not of his making, and who propelled Mr. Obama to office, expressed rage at his bait-and-switch campaign. The “Moderate” they thought they elected turned out to be the most radical socialist who ever managed to claw his way into the White House.

Now, the Congress is in serious danger of flipping completely to the GOP this year. The Republicans can easily capture the House. If the election were held today, Nancy Pelosi would be handing the Speaker’s gavel to John Boehner. In the Senate, the election portends to easily catapult the GOP to 48-49 seats, including Harry Reid’s own seat. GOP offers to Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman could easily raise the seat count to 51, if that is even needed.

How do the Democrats plan to respond? They plan to attack George Bush! They don’t care that the polls show that the people are overwhelmingly fed-up with blame being shifted to a man that has been out of office for more than a year, and a party out of power in both houses for three years.   This strategy would bring a whole new meaning, in the political sense, to the term “massacre.” Yet, James Carville wrote in Financial Times on January 25, 2010, suggesting that very strategy.

In my opinion, there are few things that would save Mr. Obama and his parties from humiliating losses in both 2010 and 2012. These would be:

1. Leave Iraq in Victory. No victory, no glory, no credit. No apologies, no, “Bush lied people died” leftist chants. Victory. Pure. Simple.
   
2. Capture Osama Bin Laden. No trial in New York. Capture him. Put him on a plane to Saudi Arabia, where the King’s executioner meets him on the tarmac to separate his head from his body within minutes of landing. Photograph the execution. Run it on the front page of the New York Times. Take credit for it.
   
3. Slash the daylights out of expenses and taxes. The resulting economic boom would be the ultimate lifesaver. The chances of leftists enacting such conservative tactics? Zero, or less.

Disaster looms for the Democrats. If we conservatives can avoid the temptation to hubris or schadenfreude, we win – big. Only the extraordinary events listed above have any hope of saving the Democrats from themselves.