Eight years ago, four years ago, the media, the special
interests, the Democrats all declared that Republicans were finished as party.
“If we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf,”
Virginia Congressman Tom Davis admitted.
After Barack “The Great One” Obama won, Democrats were
taking out their knives, and the media helped serve up the dish.
They were convinced—assuredly so—that Republicans were a
dying breed, a bad brand who would go the way of Sears, Kmart, etc.
I still remember Time Magazine’s snide November 2008
edition, suggesting bright new logos for everyone. They had nice red Elephants,
or post-modern drawings with think chalk lines. “2012 we can be great again!”
In 2009, James Carville poured gasoline on the Bonfire of
the Democratic Vanities, and wrote “40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule
the Next Generation.”
Of course, 2010 stopped that dream, at least in the House of
Representatives.
And then came 2012. We got purplish Mitt Romney, the
architect of Obamacare.
Was anyone really excited? Meh. Not me. He was not my first
or second choice, and the GOP bench was one of the weakest in modern times.
An election which Romney should have won—from the failures
of Obamacare, to Benghazi, to the unilateral executive orders—Romney ended up
losing. Yes, Ted Cruz was so right, Romney “French-kissed” Barack Obama in
Debate #3 on foreign policy.
Let’s not forget—Romney sucked, dragged down the ticket,
turned off likely voters.
With a guy like the Blue Rhino of Massachusetts running for
President, who needed Democrats?
Blechhh!
Winnable US Senate seats slipped out of Republican hands
that year, too, including Missouri, Montana and North Dakota. (It was an
illegitimate rape of our chances that year.)
Obama’s GOTV machine was strong, but let’s not forget Romney
at the top of the ticket was a weak—and weakened—front-runner. 54-60 million
Evangelical voters did not turn out.
Indeed, it looked as if all was lost for the Republican
Party. I remember hugging my Dad and crying. For the first time in his life, he
had donated to a Presidential candidate. The setbacks of 2012, combined with
the upset of 2008, would give any Republican, especially a conservative in
California, the sinking feeling that we were losing, and would never gain any
kind of traction or preeminence ever again.
Can you blame me for feeling so down?
After Romney’s loss, I talked to another, older man, who
admired my pluck but was convinced we would be stuck, furious and fearful for
the future, now that Obama had secured a second term. Another friend winced and
shrugged his shoulders: “In 20 years, we’re going to be Greece!”
January 2013, I attended a town hall meeting in Hermosa Beach,
California. Congressman Henry “Rat Face” Waxman had just beaten a well-financed
independent in California’s newly drawn coastal 33rd Congressional
district. He delighted in Republicans stunning losses that year.
“The Republican Party has become a regional party. They are only
competitive in the South, and they are losing the rest of the country.”
The shellacking of 2010 was inspiring, and the Tea Party
movement which wiped out all of the Democrats’ gains in the House of
Representatives stirred our spirits again. The new crop of Republicans were
going to flex their muscles, this time. No more negotiating with an ideologue
who had no interest in working within the framework of the Constitution.
Obama shuffled his stuff. Talked about 57 states, forgot how
to spell “Ohio” and “Respect.
Then Obama’s scandals hit the fan.
An alphabet soup of corruption, from the DOJ’s seizure of AP
reports phone records, to the IRS’ arbitrary attacks, burst on the scene.
Then came 2014. The sixth year itch is always good for the
party not in power in the White House.
Republicans were feeling their oats again, and Obama’s charm
had already long worn off.
With RNC Chair Reince Prebius, fresh off of incredible
victories in his blue state of Wisconsin, Republicans were ready to take on the
country and win.
Republicans flipped nine US Senate seats, including five
ousted incumbents.
Could Republicans turn their 2014 tide into a 2016 ride to
glory?
An incredible, deep bench of Republican Presidential contenders
were strutting their stuff on the stage, including Donald Trump (whom I had
underestimated, disparaged, but now esteem).
Democrats showcased five old white New Englander socialists
(except for DINO Jim Webb).
A new media, the Wikileaks revelations, the no longer Silent
Majority who wanted hope and change turned on the Democratic Party.
The same party that was supposed to reign for forty years.
Their prized Ice queen got froze out by the High Energy
Trumpster.
 |
| WINNING! |
Incredible!
Oh, how the tables have turned for the Democrats!
Despite defending a tougher field of seats, Republicans held
onto Congress.
Democrats have been shut out of legislative chambers all
over the country. Republicans have gained governorships in New England for the
first time in years.
Kentucky has a GOP trifecta, as do 24 other states.
For all their gloating and the media’s incessant
cheer-leading for the Left while signing dirges for the right, Democrats are in
the very spot they claimed would engulf the Republicans.
Beaten.
Reduced.
Rendered irrelevant and out of touch.
My former Congressman Henry Waxman was slapping his chest in
2013. I wonder what he thinks now.
And what about James Carville! Forty years? HA!
Democrats are the regional party, hugging effete coastlines
while ignoring the vast swath of middle American. They remain an urban party,
all while driving inner cities into poverty and moral blight, with no left to
vote for their decrepit agenda.
For the first time in fifteen years, a credible challenge
has emerged against Nancy Pelosi! Will Democrats learn that they are out of
touch, or will they run out of time?
 |
| Loser Pelosi |
One thing’s for sure: Republicans need to live up their
promises, and they better not claim a forty-year mandate until they have
followed the dictates of the no-longer Silent Majority.
