LazarusLong
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- Jun 1, 2005
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Let me start with a simple statement: I am a Democrat. Always have been and always will be. This makes what follows much harder to say.
If you look at the last presidential election you have to ask , "How in the world did Bush win?" Consider the following:
1. The stock market was far below what it was when he took office.
2. Unemployment was almost double what it was in 2000
3. In his first four year tenure he turned a budget surplus into a huge
budget deficit with no end in sight.
4. We were in a war that should never have been started and it is clear
that the administration "cooked the books" to create a threat where
no threat existed.
5. Spending by the Republican controlled congress and the Republican
controlled white house had increased far faster and higher than it ever
did under the democrats
6. Passed tax cuts that almost exclusively benefited the richest Americans
and will be paid for by cutting spending for the poor and middle class
(read as cuts in social security, Medicare, veterans benefits, etc.)
7. Alienated almost every other country on the face of the earth to the
point that we are now hated by almost everyone (the return of the
ugly American)
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. So what great accomplishment did Bush point to and say this is why you should give me another four years? The answer is none. You will note that all of the items listed above concern economic issues or foreign affairs. And these are the issues that Democrats hammered on and it got them nowhere. Voters were clearly concerned with other issues. (The strange workings of the electoral college helped also.)
What Bush brought to the table was one thing: RELIGION. With almost every preacher and catholic priest in the country telling people they will go to hell if they vote democrat it is not too hard to understand why people voted for Bush. After all, what is a few years of economic pain when balanced against eternity in hell. And it gets worse.
Consider this: In 1996 with the US economy humming like a fine machine, no wars, and everything looking good, Bill Clinton could not get 50% of the popular vote. The fact that Ross Periot ran and split the republican vote got Clinton elected in both 1992 and 1996. I can assure you that the republican party will take steps to insure that does not happen again. And here is the kicker: The great depression started in 1929. Hoover had four years to help ease some of the suffering that was going on in the country. He did nothing. When the 1932 election rolled around, yes Roosevelt won but Hoover still got almost 40% of the popular vote and if the south had voted in 1932 the way it now votes (IE republican)there is a good chance that Hoover could have won re election! Now, when the country can be in the financial trash can and people still vote for the party that put it there ( bear in mind that the republican party had complete control of the federal government for the 10 years leading up to the depression) then there are some things going on that we are not talking about. Those things are religion and race. I live in the south and don't kid yourself. The south votes republican on one issue above all others. Southerns believe that the republican party is anti minority and specifically anti black. Why so many people think God is a republican, I don't know. part of it is tied up with abortion but don't forget that this is the same party that gave us Prohibition.
This has not been lost on the republican party. When you look at the news, republicans are walking all over themselves to see who can kiss the collective butt of the religious right the most.
Where does this leave the Democrat party? The answer is simple, nowhere. The party would have to do a hundred eighty degree turn to woo the religious right to vote democrat. In short, become republican. This is not an answer and the republican party is wrong in their position. Freedom of religion should not mean freedom to be a Christian only, and if you are not a Christian we will force you, by law, to obey Christian tenets.
Bottom line: There is no set of economic conditions or world situation that will get someone whose main concern is religious or ethnic to vote democrat, the voting trends since the civil war prove that. (Wilson was also elected because Teddy Roosevelt split the republican vote) and there is nothing in the foreseeable future that is going to change the minds of the churches or the south. So get ready America-here comes the theocracy!
Final note: The south started down the road to being republican in 1964. The only states that Barry Goldwater carried was the deep south and that is because he was perceived as being anti civil rights. The final nails were put in place when Johnson pushed through the civil rights act of 1964
If you look at the last presidential election you have to ask , "How in the world did Bush win?" Consider the following:
1. The stock market was far below what it was when he took office.
2. Unemployment was almost double what it was in 2000
3. In his first four year tenure he turned a budget surplus into a huge
budget deficit with no end in sight.
4. We were in a war that should never have been started and it is clear
that the administration "cooked the books" to create a threat where
no threat existed.
5. Spending by the Republican controlled congress and the Republican
controlled white house had increased far faster and higher than it ever
did under the democrats
6. Passed tax cuts that almost exclusively benefited the richest Americans
and will be paid for by cutting spending for the poor and middle class
(read as cuts in social security, Medicare, veterans benefits, etc.)
7. Alienated almost every other country on the face of the earth to the
point that we are now hated by almost everyone (the return of the
ugly American)
I could go on and on but I think you get the idea. So what great accomplishment did Bush point to and say this is why you should give me another four years? The answer is none. You will note that all of the items listed above concern economic issues or foreign affairs. And these are the issues that Democrats hammered on and it got them nowhere. Voters were clearly concerned with other issues. (The strange workings of the electoral college helped also.)
What Bush brought to the table was one thing: RELIGION. With almost every preacher and catholic priest in the country telling people they will go to hell if they vote democrat it is not too hard to understand why people voted for Bush. After all, what is a few years of economic pain when balanced against eternity in hell. And it gets worse.
Consider this: In 1996 with the US economy humming like a fine machine, no wars, and everything looking good, Bill Clinton could not get 50% of the popular vote. The fact that Ross Periot ran and split the republican vote got Clinton elected in both 1992 and 1996. I can assure you that the republican party will take steps to insure that does not happen again. And here is the kicker: The great depression started in 1929. Hoover had four years to help ease some of the suffering that was going on in the country. He did nothing. When the 1932 election rolled around, yes Roosevelt won but Hoover still got almost 40% of the popular vote and if the south had voted in 1932 the way it now votes (IE republican)there is a good chance that Hoover could have won re election! Now, when the country can be in the financial trash can and people still vote for the party that put it there ( bear in mind that the republican party had complete control of the federal government for the 10 years leading up to the depression) then there are some things going on that we are not talking about. Those things are religion and race. I live in the south and don't kid yourself. The south votes republican on one issue above all others. Southerns believe that the republican party is anti minority and specifically anti black. Why so many people think God is a republican, I don't know. part of it is tied up with abortion but don't forget that this is the same party that gave us Prohibition.
This has not been lost on the republican party. When you look at the news, republicans are walking all over themselves to see who can kiss the collective butt of the religious right the most.
Where does this leave the Democrat party? The answer is simple, nowhere. The party would have to do a hundred eighty degree turn to woo the religious right to vote democrat. In short, become republican. This is not an answer and the republican party is wrong in their position. Freedom of religion should not mean freedom to be a Christian only, and if you are not a Christian we will force you, by law, to obey Christian tenets.
Bottom line: There is no set of economic conditions or world situation that will get someone whose main concern is religious or ethnic to vote democrat, the voting trends since the civil war prove that. (Wilson was also elected because Teddy Roosevelt split the republican vote) and there is nothing in the foreseeable future that is going to change the minds of the churches or the south. So get ready America-here comes the theocracy!
Final note: The south started down the road to being republican in 1964. The only states that Barry Goldwater carried was the deep south and that is because he was perceived as being anti civil rights. The final nails were put in place when Johnson pushed through the civil rights act of 1964