Free Republic

KARL ROVE SAID LAST YEAR that the question of realignment--whether Republicans have at last become the majority party--would be decided by the election of 2004. And it has. Even by the cautious reckoning of Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, Republicans now have both an operational majority in Washington (control of the White House, Senate, and the House of Representatives) and an ideological majority in the country (51 percent popular vote for a center-right president). They also control a majority of governorships, a plurality of state legislatures, and are at rough parity with Democrats in the number of state legislators....

President Bush can follow up on the success of his convention by moving to take it. -snip- Whose party was it in New York last week, anyway? Bush, Cheney, Miller, and McCain mentioned Franklin Roosevelt a total of seven times and Harry Truman twice — always favorably. John Kerry, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton, speaking in comparable slots at the Democratic convention, mentioned Truman not at all and Roosevelt a grand total of once, when the presidential nominee announced, "So now I'm going to say something that Franklin Roosevelt could never have said in his acceptance speech: Go...

<p>"There are two political parties in America, the stupid party and the evil party," goes the old adage. This is about the stupid party -- the Republican Party.</p> <p>The majority of Americans consistently tell pollsters they prefer lower taxes and less government spending. More Republicans than Democrats consistently say they believe in smaller government and lower taxes. Given these statements of belief, the Republican Party should be the permanent majority party, but it is not.</p>

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...

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...