Posted by
D W W Robertson on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 8:03:05 PM
The May 14th New York Times article covers the Democrat victory in Mississippi wherein Travis Childers-D beat out Greg Davis-R 54% to 46% respectively in the Congressional election. In it the writer, Adam Nossiter, reports that this sends “a clear signal of national problems ahead for Republicans in the fall.” He cites Merle Black from Emory University, whose opinion I greatly respect, as supporting this view. However, there is a very important element in this story that may suggest otherwise.
The story reads, “Democrats ran staunch conservatives in both this and in the Louisiana race.” These Democrat candidates ran on a lower-taxes, pro-gun rights, pro-life platform. What this shows is that even if this is a loss for the Republicans, it is at least a partial victory for conservatives. And that is a good thing!
Also, if the author expects this pattern to continue that will require that more Democrats move closer to the center-right on the political spectrum. Finally, it is not good news for Democrats in the presidential campaign where they are running a higher-taxes, pro-gun control, pro-choice Obama. His record shows those trends very, very clearly.
I do hope that Republicans do see victories in the fall and there is a line from Tom Cole from OK, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which states an important aspect to Republican strategy this year. He said, “Republicans must undertake bold efforts to define a forward-looking agenda that offers the kind of positive change voters are looking for.” Although he leaves out the specifics, I do hope Republican voters show up this fall enthusiastic and optimistic about our future.