The Republican take on our recent election is exemplified in the Republican spinmeister pseudo news reporter Robert Novak?s comments:
Democratic candidates Jon Corzine (N.J.) and Tim Kaine (Va.) won their states' respective governor races yesterday, as we expected. Typically, victorious Democrats are already attempting to spin their double win as though it were a harbinger for 2006.
Yeah yeah. I guess that?s what I?d say, too, if I were a Republican flack trying to figure out what hit the GOP yesterday from California to Virginia to New Jersey. I'd also probably say to try and rally the Republican troops, battered as they are by ugly indictments at the national level, the bloody debacle in Iraq, and the unraveling of Bush?s globalization foreign policy in Buenos Aires, to name a few minor difficulties. Mr. Novak goes on to pontificate:
Democrats already stand to have a good year in 2006, but these elections had almost nothing to do with that, and historically off-year elections rarely portend the outcome of midterm elections. Republican victories in the off-year gubernatorial elections in 1997 predated a disastrous mid-term election for them in 1998. Democrats won both the New Jersey and Virginia races in late 2001 -- at the height of President Bush's popularity -- only to be blown away in the 2002 mid-terms
You know, this is true insofar as it goes. The Dems certainly did not build on wins in mid-term 1977 or 2001. And whose fault do you think that might have been? It is sweet of Mr. Novak to admit that Democrats will have a ?good year? in 2006. I take that as fair warning, considering how he follows up that comment.
But 2005/2006 is not 1978 or 2002. We now have evidence that the public has begun to learn its lesson about Bush, and that they won't unlearn it anytime soon. Thus, Bush's approval ratings continue trending downwards; where they stop, nobody knows. Democratic Senators - some of them, anyway -- seem to have finally discovered a backbone. Grassroots organizations offering alternative strategies and policies against the Republicans are leaping up like a spring planting, and many Republicans themselves are, ah, distancing themselves from their erstwhile leader.
Aside from Virginia and New Jersey yesterday, during the past few months we've had Cindy Sheehan at Camp Casey and Paul Hackett in Ohio to put the fear of God into the hearts of top Republican politicos (assuming Karl Rove and Dick Cheney HAVE hearts).
There?s more from Mr. Novak:
These were local races about local issues and candidates, and even President Bush's late visit to Virginia to campaign for Jerry Kilgore (R) does not change that fact. Kilgore lost because he proved to be a bad candidate and his campaign staff had an abysmal grasp on the issues that would motivate Republican voters. As further evidence we note, as we correctly predicted, that Bill Bolling and (apparently) Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidates for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General, won their races even as Kilgore went down in flames. (McDonnell's race will probably be subject to a recount.)
I love how Novak pats himself on the back for predicting the outcome of the Virginia Lt. Governor and Attorney General?s races, after first blaming Kilgore?s loss on his campaign staff. That's right, the same staff that included Scott Howell, previously considered almost as wise and invincible as Karl Rove, but now with a gaping chink in his armor. Kilgore, also previously adulated, is dismissed as a ?bad candidate,? presumably because he followed Scott Howell?s advice. Well, well, well.
True, Kilgore WAS a bad candidate, as we've been saying here since early 2005. That's "bad" in the context of character and proposed policies, not in the context of simply being a poor campaigner. Regardless, I propose that we Dems do not rest on our laurels for even a nano-second. There is still a deep, ugly well of bigotry, short-sighted greed, and nativism tucked away in our midst, and it isn?t all in ?the heartland,? either.
One more point about this election is that it clearly demonstrated a wide-spread dissatisfaction with government and a persistent contempt for politicians. Over and over, I heard comments like these from people the past few months: ?What a negative campaign! Both Democrats and Republicans. No difference between ?em.? ?I?m tempted to vote for Potts just to tell both parties to go to hell.? ?You can?t trust anybody. I?m splitting my ticket.? ?No one?s any good. Can?t we do better than these two??
Where was all this cynicism and negativity coming from? Here's one possibility: the Republican tactics of vicious lies and character assassination -- as practiced by Grover Norquist, Karl Rove, and Scott Howell -- were deliberately designed to turn off voters, suppress turnout, and destroy the very foundation of our Democracy. Seriously, I wouldn't put it past these people.
To fight such negativity and nastiness, Tim Kaine is going to need continued strong support the next 4 years. For one thing, the Senate President will be a right-wing Republican who will seek to frustrate Kaine?s agenda at every turn (they can?t afford to let Kaine have any successes) and possibly even implement Kilgore?s policies without Kilgore. That's why we must help Tim Kaine have an effective tenure. If not, then Novak will be proven right; this election will NOT have signaled a trend, at least here in Virginia.
No matter what Novak says, however, yesterday's elections DO signal that many Americans are unhappy with the Republican Party's current agenda and leadership. Now, it is up to us to ensure that Republicans like Novak do not succeed in convincing voters that there is ?no difference between ?em.? They'd love that, no doubt, but we're going to fight them.
Yesterday, we elected Tim Kaine as our next great Governor of Virginia. Now, moving forward, we must make clear the distinction between the Democrats' positive vision for America and the Republicans' relentless negativity. Hopefully soon, we can start a new trend in this country, towards a brighter future for all of us and away from the Republicans' divisive, "slash and burn" agenda for America.