Random thoughts on the passing political scene

By Aussiegirl

In response to the post about Bush's close advisor McKinnon backing Sen John McCain for President in 2008, One Eyed Cat commented and asked whether I thought Bush would back McCain in 2008, and stated that he thought a McCain/Rice ticket in '08 would defeat any candidate (presumably including Hillary). As I considered these questions, I had a number of thoughts on the current political scene, including the possible candidacies of McCain and Rice.

I do not trust McCain - and never have -- for many reasons. He has alienated the conservative base of the Republican Party with his campaign finance bill which has completely distorted our election campaigns and has brought in all these virtually lawless 501 groups, like Soros' Moveon.org, etc.

Furthermore, at every turn he seems to work against the Republican leadership for what can only be seen as his own personal political gain, as the Republican that the media love to use against the mainstream party. That maverick status of media darling may serve him well in the current climate, but if he thinks that he will get the same pass from the media if and when he becomes the Republican candidate, he's got another think coming. (It is even extremely unlikely that he could win the nomination -- it was not Bush's meanness that kept him from winning primaries -- he simply is not going to garner the support of the base of the Republican party in primaries -- and he is creating even more resentment and ill-will among the party faithful with his current actions.)

Also -- McCain has melanoma, a very serious form of cancer which has returned several times, and I think that will work against him -- we don't want a candidate dying in office shortly after being elected. I personally think that many candidates who are not even being mentioned or thought about now may emerge in the future. Four years before Bush was nominated -- who even had the Governor of Texas on their political radar?

One person I would not discount is the present Republican governor of my state of Maryland, Bob Ehrlich. Not only did he manage to get elected in an overwhelmingly democrat state, but he has stuck to his guns even with a democrat legislature and is making some good progress. He has a very able and charismatic Lieutenant Governor, who happens to be black -- both men should have a bright future on the national scene, if the Republican Party isn't quite as stupid as it often appears to be.

Another frequently mentioned candidate is former Va. Gov. George Allan, an engaging, able and articulate spokeman for Republican values.

Personally, I don't think Condi Rice is a good candidate for many reasons. She is attractive, and well-spoken and intelligent, no doubt -- but she has no experience in politics other than as an advisor. She has no executive experience, and she does not exude the kind of charisma and toughness that a female politician must have -- the sense of a Maggie Thatcher or Golda Meier -- she seems somewhat diffident and speaks a bit haltingly to make a convincing case as a wartime leader, for instance.

Unfortunately for us, Hillary has that appearance of toughness -- of a street fighter who can lead the charge -- and she will disguise herself as being pro-military and pro-defense, while making all the right secret noises to keep her left base appeased -- all the winks, nods and elbow nudges will be there -- like -- bear with me on this one -- when we get in you know I'll do what we've always dreamed of doing - meanwhile -- help me pull the wool over the eyes of the unsuspecting public.

It's going to be an interesting few years as we head to the next election, because right now there is a complete power vacuum in Washington, no one is stepping up to the plate and leading. Bush seems out to lunch and content to have photo ops with Blair and to go on his endless "road trips" with staged speeches and media events in front of friendly audiences, but no one's paying attention to that.

The issues which are really burning in people's minds are not issues that he or his associates seem to find important -- issues like the immigration crisis, our insecure borders, simplification of the tax code, or even any movement to reform taxes. He seems content to let the war in Iraq smolder on as the bodies of our finest men mount up in caskets, while he switches his attention to the more media friendly issues of global warming (!!!) and spending billions of dollars in aid to Africa -- aid which we know will line the pockets of the corrupt, and never put a dent in the real misery and suffering of countless millions there. But it will, he thinks erroneously, garner him some good publicity from the media darlings -- and from his European compatriots.

He hasn't learned the painful lesson that they will NEVER like him -- no matter what he does. In that sense -- he is in the position that Americans are in vis a vis the Muslims -- they do not hate him because of what he does -- they hate him because of what he IS!!!

All in all, I see a coming major dislocation in American politics. The poll numbers show that Bush's popularity and approval are slipping in a big way -- and Congress' even more so. And these are not merely artifacts of push-polling and artificially constructed questions formulated to garner desired results -- but, judging by my own reactions to the President's actions since the election, and those of many conservatives and even moderates who supported him wholeheartedly during the campaign, they reflect a real sense of disillusionment in the entire political process -- and in the leadership as a whole.

Frankly, we feel like we were sold a bill of goods, and that what we expected to see happening in Congress and in the White House, as a result of our concerted efforts to win this election and to return an ever bigger majority to both houses of the Congress, has not materialized. Instead, we have a pathetic display of aimlessness, inaction, appeasement, passivity and concession.

There appears to be no Republican agenda at this point.

Perhaps the first time in decades I feel unsure as to what our party stands for. Since the time of Ronald Reagan, who redefined what being a Republican is all about, this party has had a firm footing in its fundamental core beliefs. Gingrich sealed those ideas with the "Contract with America" and the takeover of the Congress during Clinton's watch. But since the advent of George Bush, we have sadly seen -- except for the war on terror, which in itself seems to be undergoing some crisis of conviction -- a fuzzing down of what Republicans really stand for.

Ultimately -- what IS this "compassionate conservatism" -- a phrase I have always disliked, as it has implicit in its core the incorrect impression that conservatism as it has always stood, was somehow "uncompassionate" -- already that phrase cedes the "moral high ground" to liberalism, which loves to arrogate to itself alone the appellation of "compassion". Do we really need another president who "feels our pain"?

And beyond that, what does our party stand for? We see many things that need attention -- too many to mention here -- but one thing we know for sure -- where there is a vacuum -- there will be an inrushing of something to fill it -- the dangerous question is -- who -- or what will fill this present leadership vacuum?

The Republicans have abdicated their hard won victories -- and have remained passive in the face of a relentless Democratic and media-led onslought of endless criticism. And Republicans can speak only of "comity" and "senatorial collegiality" -- while Rome burns.

The Democrats have no ideas except that they are against everything Republicans try to do -- and Republicans are so busy trying to make them happy that they have forgotten about the people who elected them.

When there is such a vacuum of leadership I fear that we face the very real danger of a third party populist demagogue emerging -- some yahoo with loads of money - financed by someone like by Soros -- or self-financed like the fool Perot -- who will manage to capture and capitalize on the frustration of millions of voters -- both conservative and moderate who no longer feel like their voice is being heard in Washington.

If we are lucky, some wise person will come along and capture the imagination -- but that is almost too much to hope for.

As it is, the ship of state seems to be adrift and rudderless -- and sadly, lacking a captain at the helm. The Republicans have lost the PR war, for now at least -- and seem intent only on doing damage control, even going so far as to suggest that they would close Gitmo because of media complaints of a few instances of "Koran mishandling". When the American public hears this we can only be dismayed -- this is not the man we thought we elected -- this sadly seems to be a man who appears weak and indecisive -- and who give all the appearance of wanting to be liked and accepted by his critics -- the European elites and the media mavens.

So we watch and wait -- there is little else we can do -- the Congress and the President seem deaf to our concerns.