Dems Are Facing A Nixon-Like Dilemma

IBD Editorials ^ | October 7, 2010 | BRAD O'LEARY

[Kaslin]

President Obama's sinking popularity has many Democratic congressional candidates running as fast and as far away from the president and his policies as they can. The health care takeover, cap-and-trade, stimulus spending, gun control ... you'll hear nary a peep about any of these issues, and in some cases Democratic candidates are bad-mouthing them.

But is this a wise strategy, or will it backfire on the Democrats much as it did on the Republicans in 1974?

That year, Republicans running for office at the state and federal level abandoned President Nixon in droves. And though Nixon resigned from office three months before the election, his name was still synonymous with the GOP, and Republican candidates succumbed to the pressure (mostly coming from the media) to distance themselves from him at every opportunity.

How much did Republicans benefit from this strategy? When the dust cleared that November, Democrats picked up 49 U.S. House seats and gained a veto-proof majority in the Senate, and Republicans lost ground in state legislatures and county courthouses in 49 of 50 states. Only Texas saw GOP gains in both state legislative chambers and county courts.

Voter turnout for the '74 election told the story. Republican turnout dropped 36% from the presidential election two years before. Meanwhile, Democratic turnout only declined 19% in the off-year.

Though a majority of voters nationwide disapproved of Nixon, a strong contingent of Republican voters resented what they saw as a betrayal of their party's standard-bearer. Voter analysis showed that the Republicans who didn't turn out were the strong Nixon partisans.

[ansel12]

1974, My discharge active duty Army service officially ended, and we were in recession is the way I remember it.

Shortages of gasoline, shortages of meat, Americans eating horses, and stores were mixing cereals with ground beef, I think that 1973/4 era was when wheat prices shot up due to a sale to the Soviet Empire. That was a strange time.

[SnuffaBolshevik]

LOL! That’s the year I went in the Army.

That might explain some of the chewy “meat” in the mess hall!

[HarleyD]

...the president's job approval rating still scores in the 70% range among Democratic voters.

Yeah, but they don't mention that 25% of what use to be the "Democratic voters" have become Tea Party members and have left the party. Their base is smaller and of those remaining 70% approve.

The bloodbath will be among the Democrats who will either have to go along with the Marxist philosophy or find another way out. I predict the 30% remaining Democrats will quietly try to impeach or encourage impeachment procedures against Obama before the next Presidential elections.

[Bean Counter]

I was an Airman Apprentice (ABEAA fresh out of “A” School in Lakehurst) onboard USS Ranger (CVA-61) off the coast of North Vietnam standing 5 minute alert with the waist catapult flight deck crew, working as holdback man for the F-4 we had on the cat on hot alert, the night Richard Nixon resigned.

We had been off of PI 2 days before when the Admiral came aboard with no notice, the entire Airwing recovered back aboard from Cubi Point, we set 5 minute alert Phantoms on all four cats with tankers on Alert 15, and headed out for Yankee Station just in case anyone got ambitious during the Change of Command in DC; only we didn’t know what was up at the time.

We stayed there until the day after Gerald Ford was sworn in as President. As I recall, we got a radio broadcast of the ceremony live.

Interesting time that we found out the details of months after the fact...

[coydog]

I’ve mixed oatmeal or bread crumbs with hamburger on occasion. When done with egg and finely minced onion, it’s not bad.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Three bean salad growing up. A lot of three bean salad...