Too Good to be True?
2009-10-14 - by
We Republicans are dreaming the Grand Political Gift is about to fall into our laps – at last an election is at hand where the national political tides are flowing deep and strong in our favor.
The odd thing about it is it took electing Democrats to about every office in Washington – to get voters to finally decide to vote for Republicans.
Maybe that’s justice. Or irony. Either way, a new Civitas Poll shows Independents now say they will vote Republican 2 to 1 next election. And 22% of the Democrats say they’ll be voting Republican too.
It’s a sea change – the whole thing has echoes of 1994 or…well, I can’t remember when there was another election where folks elected Republicans in a tidal wave.
Then again, sometimes, if something looks too good to be true – it is.
And, besides, this wouldn’t be the first time the political gods dangled a gift in front of someone – then snatched it away.
For instance, Barack Obama – as he proved last year against Hillary – is a world class political counter puncher. He can read a poll and it’s hard to see him rolling over and saying to his political masterminds, Look boys, we’ve lost this election, let’s move on to the next one – the one that really counts. Barack Obama’s still heavyweight champion of American politics – he’s taken some punches but he’s not anywhere near flat on his back on the canvas.
And consider this: There’s a big political wind growing in Afghanistan.
General McChrystal says flat out he needs 40,000 more soldiers or it’s curtains (and our goose is cooked) and the Republicans in Washington have chimed in with a chorus of amens, saying, Send him the troops.
And it looks like President Obama may do it. That once he finishes pondering and weighing and figuring how loud the left wing of his own party will holler, he may turn out to be a hawk instead of a dove and actually have his own 40,000 man surge.
Now, Afghanistan is one of the great tar babies of history. From the British Raj down to the Russians in the 1980’s it’s been a nightmare for anyone fool enough to fight a war there – and we’ve already been there nearly as long as the Russians, who had no qualms at all about slaughtering innocent people, while we fight our wars by Marquis of Queensbury rules.
So what happens if we send 40,000 more men to Afghanistan and the mess turns into a quagmire?
Politically, we’ll have people mad at Republicans for sounding the trumpets to charge; at President Obama for siding with the Republicans; and a good part of the Democratic Party will be saying I told you so…we ought to have cut and run – and we all know how the American people feel about wars that don’t work out.
That could make for a muddled election in 2010 that doesn’t look at all like a gift from the political gods.
Too Good to be True?
2009-10-14/
We Republicans are dreaming the Grand Political Gift is about to fall into our laps – at last an election is at hand where the national political tides are flowing deep and strong in our favor.
The odd thing about it is it took electing Democrats to about every office in Washington – to get voters to finally decide to vote for Republicans.
Maybe that’s justice. Or irony. Either way, a new Civitas Poll shows Independents now say they will vote Republican 2 to 1 next election. And 22% of the Democrats say they’ll be voting Republican too.
It’s a sea change – the whole thing has echoes of 1994 or…well, I can’t remember when there was another election where folks elected Republicans in a tidal wave.
Then again, sometimes, if something looks too good to be true – it is.
And, besides, this wouldn’t be the first time the political gods dangled a gift in front of someone – then snatched it away.
For instance, Barack Obama – as he proved last year against Hillary – is a world class political counter puncher. He can read a poll and it’s hard to see him rolling over and saying to his political masterminds, Look boys, we’ve lost this election, let’s move on to the next one – the one that really counts. Barack Obama’s still heavyweight champion of American politics – he’s taken some punches but he’s not anywhere near flat on his back on the canvas.
And consider this: There’s a big political wind growing in Afghanistan.
General McChrystal says flat out he needs 40,000 more soldiers or it’s curtains (and our goose is cooked) and the Republicans in Washington have chimed in with a chorus of amens, saying, Send him the troops.
And it looks like President Obama may do it. That once he finishes pondering and weighing and figuring how loud the left wing of his own party will holler, he may turn out to be a hawk instead of a dove and actually have his own 40,000 man surge.
Now, Afghanistan is one of the great tar babies of history. From the British Raj down to the Russians in the 1980’s it’s been a nightmare for anyone fool enough to fight a war there – and we’ve already been there nearly as long as the Russians, who had no qualms at all about slaughtering innocent people, while we fight our wars by Marquis of Queensbury rules.
So what happens if we send 40,000 more men to Afghanistan and the mess turns into a quagmire?
Politically, we’ll have people mad at Republicans for sounding the trumpets to charge; at President Obama for siding with the Republicans; and a good part of the Democratic Party will be saying I told you so…we ought to have cut and run – and we all know how the American people feel about wars that don’t work out.
That could make for a muddled election in 2010 that doesn’t look at all like a gift from the political gods.