It’s a good time to be a Republican. The President’s stimulus package finally seems to be making a positive effect, the national Democratic party is marching quickly down the path of oblivion and Louisiana looks destined to elect a real Republican as governor.
Last week a government report showed that the gross domestic product grew at the highest rate in 20 years, 7.2 percent, in the July to September quarter. The sizzling economic growth has yet to turn into job growth, but economists predict it is the beginning of a significant turn- around for every aspect of the U.S. economy.
“The most likely scenario is we’ll get enough jobs so it won’t be the issue Democrats need to oust the president,” Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, told the Associated Press.
This turn-around is similar to the economic turn-around in 1984 under Reagan following tax cuts and proof of the positive impact of reduced taxes. Who would have thought letting people keep more of the money they earn instead of shipping it to the government coffers could make such a difference?
The Democrats’ worst dreams are becoming reality. Despite their greatest efforts to stall positive legislation in the Congress, the economy is on its way up.
But their greatest hope lies with the disarray in Iraq. The approval of the Iraqi spending package may help the administration’s efforts, but as it was in post-war Germany and Japan, rebuilding Iraq will take time and be filled with costly obstacles.
Even with the current spotlight on casualties and chaos in Iraq, the Democratic presidential candidates have been unable to gain any substantive ground on Bush.
A recently released ABC-Washington Post poll showed Bush’s approval rating holding steady at 56 percent. While people are evenly divided on whether they would support Bush or a Democratic candidate, he fares much better against the individual candidates where his lead ranges from eight to 18 percentage points.
This trend may be partly because of the Democratic party leadership’s continued tilt to the extreme left faction of the Democratic party. In the same poll, only 57 percent of Democrats said their leadership was taking the party in the right direction, compared to 75 percent of Republicans expressing confidence in their leaders.
The tilt to the left was evident in the Democratic members of the House of Representatives choice of minority leader ultra-liberal Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California. The voice of moderation and reason in the Democratic party is being drowned out by leftist activists who control much of its inner workings. Republican strategists are salivating at a potential Bush ultra-liberal matchup as Vermont Gov. Howard Dean continues to lead in the polls, and other contenders are racing to position themselves to his left.
The success of Republicans nationwide is mirrored throughout recent occurrences in battleground states. The well-publicized victory of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger in the overly Democratic state of California is just the beginning. Last night, Democrats were ousted from the Kentucky governor’s mansion after holding it for 32 years when Rep. Ernie Fletcher easily won the seat.
In Louisiana, conservatives are making serious inroads in traditional Democratic strongholds. Republican Bobby Jindal has made history grabbing the endorsement of the black Democratic mayor of New Orleans as well as numerous black advocacy groups. This could be the beginning of eroding support from the black communities that the Democrats have taken for granted for so long. If this support translates into substantial votes, Jindal will be the next governor, and the GOP can check off another accomplishment.
Despite having a sluggish economy to harp on throughout Bush’s term, the Democrats have only managed to lose ground. The public is tired of hearing complaining and wants solutions. It appears the solutions they ask for are only being offered through the Republican party.
An improved economy and stable, free Iraq combined with a more liberal, antagonizing Democratic party will spell doom for the Democrats’ hopes in 2004.