Perhaps the biggest danger to Republicans in the wake of all these bad polls is that their volunteer base, so critical to victory in 2004, won't put their heart in their work. If volunteers become convinced that Republicans will lose control of Congress, what incentive do they have to work hard?
If you're ever read a profile of Ken Mehlman, you know he is obsessed with metrics. For him, one of the most important sources of data is a weekly e-mail his political team prepares called the "Weekly Grassroots Report." It meticulously records the work of tens of thousands of volunteers in targeted states, counties and congressional districts across the country. The data summary allows the RNC to determine which states are meeting goals and which states are falling behind.
The RNC declined to share the most recent report, which was issued Monday. But two independent sources who saw last week's report professed to be surprised: not only was their no drop off last week, 12 states broke new voter contact records.
In a month, the party completed more than a million phone calls and door contacts combined. Bigger states are putting up big numbers -- even Ohio, which lagged behind its targets all summer, has caught up. The RNC is particularly pleased with their progress in New Jersey, where they've rapidly set up a more aggressive version of their 72 Hour Program in light of the state's more competitive Senate race.
It is obvious to anyone who is paying attention that the media has abandoned even the pretence of objectivity and is actively working for a Democrat victory next month. Of course they are not openly saying so, that would diminish their effectiveness as Democrat operatives.
However they are creating polls and writing articles which are not designed to report truth, but to create a set of conditions. The narrative which the media is attempting to imprint on the American public in general and the average Republican voter specifically is that the Republican "base" is furious at the party and is planning to either stay home and not vote or vote for Democrats. Christian voters especially are being subjected to a barrage of propaganda intended to convince them that Republican leaders hold them in contempt, treat their sacred religious beliefs as so much superstitious nonsense and lead lives of depravity totally at odds with Christian moral values.
In other words they want Christians to think that the Republicans view them in the same way as Democrats view Blacks. As people so stupid that you can buy their votes with lies.
There are plenty of indicators out there that this strategy is backfiring. The article quoted above is only one of them. It may very well turn out that Republican voters, religious and secular alike, are too smart to have their vote suppressed by lies.
What all the media reports of the anger of Republicans at their own party deliberately fail to mention is that the anger is for the most part there because the Republicans have all too often acted like Democrats. Republicans have spent money like Ted Kennedy in a liquor store and a highly visible block of Republicans in the Senate have stabbed their Party and their nation in the back on a number of occasions.
On judicial confirmations there were enough votes to change the Senate rules to prevent a filibuster from being used against a judicial nominee. That rule change was blocked by Senator John McCain who led a small group of liberal Republicans into an alliance with a small group of Democrats and together they hijacked the confirmation process.
On illegal immigration, an issue which most Americans recognize as the single most important issue facing the nation today, Sen. McCain led a small group of liberal Republicans into an alliance with Senate Democrats and attempted to force an amnesty and open borders plan down an unwilling nation's throat.
In the War on Terror Sen. McCain (are we detecting a pattern here?) led a small number of liberal Republicans in an effort to grant terrorists captured on the battlefield with weapons in their hands the same rights that an American citizen would have in an American court.
Sen. McCain loudly declared that he would willingly sacrifice his presidential hopes for his principles, yet when told that the public was angry with him and that not only were his presidential hopes going out the window, but that he might not even be reelected to the Senate, he caved in like a West Virginia coal mine.
The above examples demonstrate my point. Republicans have failed when they crossed the ideological divide and allied with liberals. What can Democrats offer Republicans in exchange either for their votes or their non-participation in the upcoming election?
Can Democrats promise to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and reduce out of control domestic spending?
Can Democrats promise to build a wall along the entire border between Mexico and the US?
Can Democrats promise that every last illegal alien found by any American law enforcement officer at the local, state or federal level will be deported back to his nation of origin, regardless of how long he has been in this country?
Can Democrats convince the nation that they care more about saving American lives from terrorist attacks than they do about respecting terrorists' "rights"?
Can Democrats promise to work for the appointment of federal judges (including to the Supreme Court) who will interpret the constitution according to the original intent of the writers rather than according to current left-wing intellectual fads, and who will not use foreign law as a template for judicial activism?
The answer to all of the above is no. Democrats can not and will not promise any of those things. They can and will promise to promote judges like the ones who gave us Roe vs. Wade. They can and will promise to allow the ACLU to write the policies which the American military and intelligence establishment must abide by when questioning captured terrorists. They can and will promise to repeal the tax cuts which are driving the current economic recovery and sending the Dow to almost daily records. They can and will promise to open impeachment proceedings against the President. They can and will promise to hold congressional hearing to "investigate" every kook conspiracy theory from "Bush is lowering gas prices to help Republicans" to "the WTC was a controlled demolition".
Democrats can and will do all within their power to grant amnesty to illegal aliens and to open our borders to unrestricted Third World immigration. Then they will do all in their power to grant citizenship and voting rights to those Third World aliens. To serve this goal of buying Third World votes they will gut the welfare reform which Bill Clinton was forced to sign and expand benefits until America can not be distinguished from France or Germany.
Democrats can and will work to bring the nation HillaryCare (tm), a socialized medicine scheme which will turn America's health care establishment into a giant federal bureaucracy with all the compassion of the IRS and all the efficiency of the DMV.
Republicans are not perfect, but they are not Democrats either. With the White House and the legislature in the hands of Republicans you will not get everything you want and some of what you do not want. However with Democrats in power you will see the effort to dismantle every advance made since the Reagan Administration. You will see the construction of a grim socialist superstate on the rubble of American freedom and prosperity.
I believe that the average Republican knows this and will do all in his/her power this November to keep the government of the US in the hands of responsible adults.
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