November 06, 2002
From the desk of Jane Galt:Thoughts on the Election --
Thoughts on the Election
-- The Democrats fell into the same error as the Republicans in the late Clinton years -- they focused all their energy on assaulting a president whose popularity was an unbreachable fortress. The Democrats could have done fine attacking Bush domestically -- but refusing to pass judges they thought might be pro-life, when over 50% of the country is against abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or life of the mother, hurt their image. And the dithering about the war was handled about as badly as it could have been. While they debated what to do about Iraq, they lost valuable time they could have spent on domestic issues. That would be okay if their debate had been fruitful. But really, all they were debating was what they could do to steal the President's momentum on Iraq. And the answer was, "Not much."
-- As Kaus says, the "It's just a symptom of the 50/50 nation" spin is ludicrous. Republicans took every race they were expected to, staged several upsets, and exit polling indicates that many of the voters were motivated by handing the Senate to the president's party. Apparently the only way to lose as a Republican in a close race was to divorce your wife of 29 years and marry your younger aide, in a southern state. The Dems can't really count on all the GOP candidates doing this.
-- That doesn't mean it's a mandate to go hog wild. And everyone who's been telling me they're going to pillage the land and sow it with salt should relax. The Senate is still too close to ram the Republican party's unvarnished platform through, since they don't have enough votes to overcome a filibuster. We'll get some judges, is all, and about time.
-- Democrats who are saying things like "This is a victory for the Taliban wing of the Republican Party" should take a minute to think. That would make your guy the Guy Who Was So Awful He Couldn't Win Against The American Equivalent of Osama Bin Laden.
-- The memorial service for Paul Wellstone was a disaster. I took a lot of heat just for saying that it probably wasn't going to play well -- partisans responded "Who the hell are you to tell the family how to grieve?" Well, no one, unless they put it on TV and invite me to watch it. And it looks like it cost them Minnesota, which means no hope for a save by Lincoln Chafee. It's your party . . . so was it worth it?
-- I think I was right that the Republican base was energized by New Jersey and Minnesota, while the Democratic base was apathetic. I think the rally, and the New Jersey substitution, may have cost more than they gained. Republicans were mad as hell. Democrats stayed home.
-- Going after Jeb Bush because of who his brother was was a waste of time and money, and didn't exactly improve the image of the party.
-- I don't think this represents a long term trend. This is about 2002, not the new millenium.
Posted by Jane Galt at November 6, 2002 10:17 AM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links