Dean will make GOP the majority party

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 12/31/03 | DAVID E. JOHNSON

[Pokey78]

Entering 2004, it appears that America is poised to have a defining election that will create a permanent Republican majority.

Democrats appear likely to nominate Howard Dean, rather than someone like Dick Gephardt or Joe Lieberman or Wesley Clark who could present a stronger challenge to President Bush in the general election. In doing so, Democrats are also setting the direction that they want their party to follow -- the extreme left.

Dean has stated again and again that his first objective is to take over the Democratic Party and return it to its roots. In doing so, he will part ways from Democrats such as Bill Clinton and Lieberman, who felt that Democrats need to veer to the center in elections and then govern from the left.

Like another presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater, Dean's first objective is his party's machinery. But unlike Goldwater, Dean is wrong on what the American people want.

From the 1952 election of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Americans have been turning more conservative. Goldwater's ideas were right on target with millions of Americans, but he was shot down by his own misstatements and by liberals in his own party who thought imitating Democrats was the way to victory. The subsequent elections of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush demonstrate the resonance of Goldwater's ideas.

Dean's ideas, on the other hand, are not popular with a majority of the American voters or even a majority of Democrats. But under the arcane nominating rules, Dean will most likely be the Democratic nominee. Sensing this, Al Gore recently rushed to endorse Dean. In doing so, Gore hoped to imitate Nixon. Nixon knew Goldwater would lose in 1964. But Nixon realized that Goldwater's overall philosophy was a winner, so he supported Goldwater wholeheartedly, hoping to inherit his support in 1968 and with that the presidency. Gore believes that the same will happen to him.

But Gore is miscalculating. The country is more conservative and grows more so daily. Gore and Dean are out of touch with a majority of Americans with their support for same-sex marriages. In foreign policy, they resemble Neville Chamberlain more so than Harry Truman. And by backing them, the Democrats are consigning themselves to minority status for the long term.

The 2004 presidential race will be a defining election in American politics, akin to that of Franklin Roosevelt's in 1936 that truly established the Democrats as a majority party.

Key groups that can make up a new Republican majority are forming. Jewish-Americans, long a stalwart of the Democrats, are ready to vote Republican over what they see as not only Dean's but the Democratic Party's abandonment of Israel. Hispanics have also shown, most recently in the California recall, that they will vote Republican.

Finally, Democrats are writing off an entire section of the country -- the South. The Dean nomination will be the final action needed to set off the Republican majority at all levels.

Dean is not a godsend to Republicans; he is the defining moment that Republicans have needed to become the majority party.

--David E. Johnson is the CEO of Strategic Vision LLC, an Atlanta-based public relations and public affairs company.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

I hope he is right -- and most of the time I think he is. We will see.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

I hope he is right -- and most of the time I think he is. We will see.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Sorry about the double-post. It's late.

[thoughtomator]

The AJC wakes up to 2002... we already have a GOP majority at all levels. But yes, it is growing, and will continue to as long as the Democrat party continues to fail to present a viable alternative.

[vaudine]

They REÅLLY printed this in the Atlanta Journal? Good grief! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. This truth can't happen too soon.

vaudine

[Lucy Lake]

You have FReepmail.

[Kay Soze]

"The country is more conservative and grows more so daily."

So why is the GOP moving left?

[DefCon]

The Atlanta Journal ran this story?
Amazing.
Someone down there must be smoking crack (again).

[Dont Mention the War]

They REÅLLY printed this in the Atlanta Journal?

The media is scared. They know the end of liberalism as we know it is guaranteed if Dean gets the nomination.

[quesera]

Looks like a fight coming up between Gore and the lady beast for the '08 democratic nomination.

[DefCon]

"...Goldwater's ideas were right on target with millions of Americans, but he was shot down by his own misstatements and by liberals in his own party who thought imitating Democrats was the way to victory..."
- - -
As though LBJ's absolute LIES about the (alledged)
Gulf Of Tonkin Incident had nothing to do with it.

[Kay Soze]

I am so old I recall that the GOP was a conservative party.

[longtermmemmory]

It is not enough to simply become the majority party. There are still too many gorezones. Palm Beach comes to mind.

The Democrat Party must become irrelevant on the political landscape. A closed chapter next to other extinct parties. Gone like the whigs and the bull moose party. Gone from the face of the earth as the USSR is gone and despised.

The next DNC HQ should be a spider hole or a phone booth. (do phone booths even exist anymore?)

[Pokey78]

Got it & have replied.

[sinkspur]

I am so old I recall that the GOP was a conservative party.

It's still conservative. You want perfection.

[Jumper]

Dean is no more Extreme than that Duo of Bill & HIllary c0-chaired by Terry McAuffee. The only difference is that Dean is the ONLY Democrat stating to remove the CLINTON CANCER from the Democrat Party. Both of these Power Brokers are liberal and socialist and play the race card and rich vs. poor class warfare.

[dts32041]

What does it matter if the pubbies become the majority?

After all they have proved they can spend money just as fast as the rats.

[faithincowboys]

I really think it is unwise for us to telegraph our desire to face Dean. I favor a passive tact in the Dem primary. And then once the Dems come up with their nominee, we should whack the Hell out of whomever it is.

I think Dean could be more challenging than many of us imagine.

[vbmoneyspender]

Dean has stated again and again that his first objective is to take over the Democratic Party and return it to its roots. In doing so, he will part ways from Democrats such as Bill Clinton and Lieberman, who felt that Democrats need to veer to the center in elections and then govern from the left.

I want to thank Mr. Johnson for confirming that 'centrist' democrats lie in order to get elected so that they can govern as leftists. Given this, Mr. Johnson should acknowledge that the only difference between Clinton and Dean is that Dean has been forthright before the election to tell everyone exactly how he intends to govern.

[Paul Atreides]

that will create a permanent Republican majority.

This sounds like a comment meant to scare liberals into action. Almost nothing in politics is permanent.

[AUH2OY2K]

The Democrats have the Jewish vote locked up. Just listen to the clak-clak-clak at your local mahjong meeting. I guarantee that the Democratic candidate for president, no matter his position on Israel, will receive 80% of the Jewish vote.

[SAJ]

Geez, Kay -- for a moment there, I thought I was the only one that old. (rueful g!) Happy New Year to you and your family and friends!

[tbeatty]

The defining moment will be when the republicans get 60 seats (or close enough) that filibusters are not even possible. The Dems will implode when that happens and they will remake themselves. It will be interesting to see if they follow Europe and become a broken coalition of Greens, Socialists and Labor Unions instead of one party.

[LA Conservative]

Republicans got 40% of the Jewish vote in the October California election, according to Ari Fliescher.

[tbeatty]

Dean is a political whore. He is even more Machiavellian with power than Clinton is. He knows he has to veer to the left to energize Dem base. But as soon as he has the nomination, he will pivot to the center. The press will immeidately seize on this as their hope to beat Bush and we will see Orwellian press coverage on the "centrist candidate Howard Dean". They will "forget" all the crap he is saying now and we will see huge emphasis on how he "governed from the center" in Vermont. You heard it here first but it's not that hard to figure out.

[NormsRevenge]

But Gore is miscalculating. The country is more conservative and grows more so daily. Gore and Dean are out of touch with a majority of Americans with their support for same-sex marriages. In foreign policy, they resemble Neville Chamberlain more so than Harry Truman. And by backing them, the Democrats are consigning themselves to minority status for the long term.

---

They worked hard to make it so,, now let them receive their just reward; a place of ignominy few have achieved so willingly nor so foolishly.

[Welsh Rabbit]

The media is scared. They know the end of liberalism as we know it is guaranteed if Dean gets the nomination.

I'm expecting some major drama from the DNC camp in the very near future. The other dwarves are going to get much more vicious towards Dean. McAwful and the other Clintonites running the DNC clearly don't think much of him. Put this on top of Dean's thin skin and tendency to throw tantrums, and we have the makings of a major meltdown somewhere down the line.

[Welsh Rabbit]

He is even more Machiavellian with power than Clinton is.

He definately has the Machiavellian spirit. I wonder if he has the skills. He's not nearly as smart as Bubba. I'm not sure the press will be able to help him much.

[Consort]

"permanent" is a meaningless word and should be banned permanently.

[Welsh Rabbit]

They REÅLLY printed this in the Atlanta Journal?

I was at my uncle's home in Atlanta for Christmas and asked him where the paper was so I could see what events were going on in the city. He told me he cancelled his subscription in disgust years ago. I'm glad the ACJ isn't getting any money from any members of my family.

[Go Gordon]

Dean is not a godsend to Republicans; he is the defining moment that Republicans have needed to become the majority party.

The Clintons pushed the party to the cliff's edge. Coward Dean will simply push the party over the cliff. For the 2004 elections I'm gonna grab a 30-pack, take a personal day the day after the election, and entertain myself by watching ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC - all night long.

[GulliverSwift]

Dean is a political whore. He is even more Machiavellian with power than Clinton is. He knows he has to veer to the left to energize Dem base. But as soon as he has the nomination, he will pivot to the center. The press will immeidately seize on this as their hope to beat Bush and we will see Orwellian press coverage on the "centrist candidate Howard Dean". They will "forget" all the crap he is saying now and we will see huge emphasis on how he "governed from the center" in Vermont. You heard it here first but it's not that hard to figure out.

That will be his m.o. but his insane rantings will stop him and his presstitutes from pulling it off.

[ZOOKER]

I'm watching the media closely.

If they turn on Dean, I take it as a sign the fix is in.

As long as no Dem candidate has a clear majority to win the nomination on the first ballot, the field is open for a newcomer to swoop in and steal it

(for the good of the country, of course)

[GulliverSwift]

There are 2 main things wrong with the article. Nixon never governed as a conservative. He pretended to be one but never was. Most American Jews don't place Israel as their No. 1 priority. And why should they? Most are afraid of (and some hate) Christians and since the Dims are militantly anti-Christian, that will keep most Jewish people voting for the Democrats.

[driftless]

Peters is right that most Americans are more conservative than liberal. That's true here in the Midwest where most of the Dems I know are socially conservative. There's only one probem: most of them hate Republicans and continue to vote for Dems. Whenever there is a party, like the Dems, advocating easy solutions to hard problems, there will be many people looking for the easy way out. That is why there will always be a Dem Party or a variation thereof. Many people refuse to believe that the solutions to their problems lies within themselves and not with "nasty white males, evil corporations, etc".

[Jumper]

As sure as the Sun rises from below the horizon each morning, so too will the press to redress Dean and entice the embittered nominee foes to rally 'round Dean. However, Dean has emphasized booting the Clinton Machine and McDuffie from the party power structure - I have no doubt he is very serious. This should be fun as the Clintons have no intension of allowing anyone from taking the power base they have built in the Democrat Party - yet, the Clinton hold seems only a love affair with the money they generate from donations - most of which stays with the individuals and not the Party War Chest....

[Ann Archy]

I agree....the Clintons are just as angry as Dean, only Bill softens his harshness with that fake smile.....Dean smiles like a snarling dog.

Hillary is as dangeros to our country as Dean...more so because she can cloak it.....be very scared.

[KantianBurke]

I disagree. With the Rats moving to the left Bush and the GOP have made sure to capture the center. See the recent Medicare bill along with staying clear of any divisive cultural issues. While the GOP may become a majority party the newest members aren't conservative by a long shot. The GOP has simply made them feel more comfortable voting for them. If the GOP had launched a conversion effort along the lines of the Contract with America then conservatives might have cause for celebration.

[ballplayer]

Dean Is not going to make it to the nomination

[rhema]

[jpl]

The Democrat Party must become irrelevant on the political landscape. A closed chapter next to other extinct parties. Gone like the whigs and the bull moose party. Gone from the face of the earth as the USSR is gone and despised.

I think a healthy mainstream two-party system is actually a good thing for this country. It might not necessarily be better for the Republican Party, but I think it would be far better for America if the Democrats simply returned to the way that they used to be before the Communist Front more or less hijacked the party in the post-Kennedy era. Sadly, I'm not sure at this point that it is possible though; if Dean gets nominated it's a signal that the Democrats are dangerously close to the point of no return.

[JLAGRAYFOX]

This writer is right on the mark. I travel extensively, and while cooling my heels at an airport awaiting my flight time, sometimes I watch CNN on TV monitors placed throughout the terminals. (Fox News is not available, so one is forced to view the Clinton News Network). I never make any comments in public about politics or other news, but I listen to those around me. In 2002, as every political pundit was talking about potential Democrat gains in the House and Senate, I was hearing just the opposite from "the man in the street". It was not the economy that was the big issue as the media was preaching daily, but the security of the nation. I wrote several pundits and told them they were going to proved wrong. Two answered me back and said that I had a point, and then publicly began hedging their predictions. The rest did not even bother to answer me and continued their usual liberal mantra, siding with Dick Gephardt who was predicting that Democrats would pick up forty House seats (They lost six, making for a "Gephardt" 46 seat error!) This year I sense an even larger swing to the right, so much so that the "liberal" major newspapers are now beginning to say the 2004 election could be a wipe out for the Democrat Party. Whether this trend will continue, I do not know, but it is sure headed that way know. The Democrats, of course, only have themselves to blame. I suggest they begin practicing "Mangement by walking around" to get the real feelings of the American people. I can assure you it is not an a anti-war or anti-tax cut feeling! Howard Dean and the left wing of the Democrat Party is toast, and the morons don't have a clue!

[Rome2000]

The media is scared. They know the end of liberalism as we know it is guaranteed if Dean gets the nomination.

The struggle is over the day Dean wins the nomination.

On that day, the Democratic party will cease to exist as a national party and a threat to national security.

Its remaining constituency will consist of communists, sex perverts, morons, and trial lawyers.

Nobody thought the Soviet Union would collapse within 12 years of Reagans election.

I predict the collapse of the Democratic party within 8 years.

[Rome2000]

If they turn on Dean, I take it as a sign the fix is in.

Make no mistake about it, the inmates are now running the asylum, and the Democratic party is out of control.

The Klintoonoids will try to prevent Dean from winning the nomination at ANY cost.

Its not surprising Dean is ahead among Democratic primary voters, if they had any brains they wouldn't be Democrats in the first place.

[jmaroneps37]

All of that, and "...Dean is not a godsend.."?
This guy woke up just as he was finishing this piece. He must have had a visit from the ghost of harry truman, yelling at him " Don't say things like this!"

[Stultis]

Democrats appear likely to nominate Howard Dean, rather than someone like Dick Gephardt or Joe Lieberman or Wesley Clark who could present a stronger challenge to President Bush in the general election.

Either Gephardt (because of his soul connection with the union get-out-the-vote squads) or Lieberman (because of his relative moderation) would be stronger candidates than Dean, but I think Wesley Clark might be even weaker.

Wes has that Ross Perot kooky paranoia thing going on big time, with an extra helping of downright creepiness. He's also got those vacant, glassy eyes, custom made for the classic deer-in-the-headlights stare. When those peeper hit the kreig lights on debate night you've got the makings of a landslide.

[randita]

I predict the collapse of the Democratic party within 8 years.

I'm not that optimistic. If Dean is nominated and loses big, he still will not be out of the picture. He will still have his diehard supporters--the far left who view him as their savior.

Hill and Bill will try to move in and exert control over the party. If they can manage to wrest those far left adherents away from the Dean camp, they could cobble together a coalition that would again be viable. Their hope would be that there would be a conservative third party candidate who would siphon enough votes away from the mainstream GOP candidate so that the Clintons could win as they did in '92. i still think the Democrat Party is on the wane, but Bill/Hill could postpone its demise for a few more years.

There are enough disgruntled far right conservatives who think they've been betrayed by Bush to cause trouble, I think.

The key is to keep the GOP united in 2008 and beyond. That will be tough, but hopefully Bush/Rove will throw enough bones to the "real" conservatives to keep them on board. Some fiscal restraint, any at all, would really help. If the GOP remains united, I don't think they will lose.

If the Democrats continue in their decline, it will be interesting to watch where the blacks go. Will they stay glued to an out of power party that can do absolutely nothing for them? Will new black leaders rise up who are sympathetic to the GOP and can exert some influence there?

Lots of interesting stuff to watch in the coming years.