Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Numbers Don't Lie: A Warning to Republicans

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll out today should be a huge red flag to the Republican party: only 33% of Americans are happy with Congress while 51% are not. Further, in the upcoming '06 mid-term elections, only 40% want another Republican-controlled Congress while 47% would rather see Democrats rule. When also factoring in that roughly 60% of Americans now feel the Iraq war wasn't justified, together with Bush's low approval ratings, the mid-terms could spell disaster for conservatives. As I often do to monitor the Right, I briefly listened today to Sean Hannity's radio program. One of his guests, the venerable conservative icon Pat Buchanan, went head-to-head against Hannity on issues ranging from the budget and trade deficits, immigration and especially the war in Iraq, which Buchanan believes is a disaster for America. Buchanan is old school Republican; a conservative's conservative. A proponent of small government, fiscal conservatism, states' rights, and isolationism on the foreign policy front. He is no more a classic neo-con than Howard Dean. And it is precisely this breed of traditional Republican that is growing more and more disenchanted with the GOP, and with these radical neo-cons and religious fundamentalists that have hijacked the party. The party is split, but few will discuss it publicly. But the numbers don't lie. Republicans in Washington are too obsessed with God, Gays, judges and the filibuster that they're forgetting why the average Joe voted for them in the first place. At this rate, they will implode come November '06.
Andy

No comments: