THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VI, Issue # 90, May 5, 2004
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POLITICS 2004:
BEWARE OF THE "TORRICELLI MANEUVER"
By Christopher G. Adamo
FULL STORY:
Republicans love to pass around that now famous picture of John Kerry and
Jane Fonda, ostensibly sitting side by side at a Vietnam era anti-war rally.
Whether or not the picture in question is the doctored version, showing them
seated much closer together than they apparently were, the obvious
camaraderie existing between the two serves as a huge indictment of Kerry’s
Leftist ideology.
Unfortunately, an equally incriminating picture exists, by which Democrats
can similarly accuse the Bush administration. The home page of Liberal
Republican Senator Arlen Specter is highlighted by the Senator embracing
Vice-President Dick Cheney. With Cheney and Bush’s diligent assistance,
Specter managed this week to scrape out a victory over Conservative
challenger Pat Toomey, thus setting him on the road to chairmanship of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, where he can corrupt constitutional law even more
effectively than ever before.
In light of the razor thin electoral victories in Florida as well as several
other states during the 2000 presidential election, it is entirely
conceivable that, had such a picture been widely circulated during that
election cycle, we would presently be under the authority of a Gore
administration. And since that time, President Bush has been working
feverishly to eradicate any justification Conservatives might have once had
to support him. At present, just two reasons still exist for those on the
political Right to remain in the Bush camp. One of them is 9-11 and the associated
threats of Islamic terrorism. The other, unwittingly provided by the
Democrats, is John Kerry.
At present, Republicans are enjoying regular Kerry gaffes, and jubilantly
alluding to the likelihood of an eventual “meltdown.” However, their
celebrations may be entirely premature. Kerry is indeed floundering, and
shows signs of completely self-destructing as a viable presidential
candidate. Yet something ominous is occurring within Liberal ranks. And it
should raise the warning flags for wary Republicans.
Liberals are beginning to go after Kerry in a manner which they usually
reserve for Conservatives. Kerry’s military medal controversy, and more
importantly, the inconsistencies of his re-telling of the event, possesses
the potential to become an embarrassment on the order of Clinton’s famous
“sex is not sex” comment. And the flames of this controversy are being
fanned by none other than the network news anchors.
Across the political spectrum, everyone from Rush Limbaugh to James Ridgeway
of the ultra-Leftist Village Voice is suggesting the possibility that
Kerry won’t remain as the Democratic nominee. However, it is dangerously naive
to assume that the Democrats have any intention of simply writing off this
presidential election and biding their time until 2008. They don’t work that
way. Unlike Republicans, they play to win.
Consider the events as they unfolded in the 2002 New Jersey Senate race.
Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli, having been embroiled in scandal, was
severely lagging in the polls. Nonetheless, he had handily won that state’s
Democratic Party primary and was the incumbent candidate. As Election Day
approached, and well past any legal deadline for doing so, he suddenly
dropped out of the race and was replaced by former Senator Frank Lautenberg
who went on to win the general election. As a result, New Jersey’s contested
senate seat remained firmly in the hands of the Democrats.
Some predictions are risky to make, especially in politics. However, dirty
tricks from the Democrats, between now and November 9, is a safe bet. The
Democrats may even once again attempt to ignore any deadlines. One of the
distinct advantages of the Lautenberg substitution, occurring as it did
during the final days of the 2002 campaign season, was that Republican
candidate Doug Forrester was hardly able to campaign effectively against his
new opponent, while his own “battle scars” remained intact. If Kerry absorbs
all of the Republicans’ arrows while he continues as the official candidate,
they will have little unused “ammunition” to direct at his replacement.
A new candidate, unencumbered by the sort of baggage presently dragging
Kerry down, would likely appear as a plausible and worthwhile alternative to
Bush. Any rapid response from Bush/Cheney against this “fresh new face,”
whoever it might be, will largely be perceived as nothing more than partisan
rancor.
With President Bush’s “Conservatism” being little more than a skeletal
caricature of that which got him elected, and with the Republican Party
defined by the lowest standard it enthusiastically embraces (in this case,
Arlen Specter), it wouldn’t take much for Democrats to find a candidate
whose political philosophy appears entirely reasonable in comparison.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics & Political Competition
American Government & the U.S. Presidency
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian.
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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