THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VIII, Issue # 219, November 15, 2006
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
ELECTION AFTERMATH: PICKING UP THE PIECES
By Christopher G. Adamo
THE NOVEMBER 7, 2006, CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS: OUTCOME & CAUSES -- THE FAULTY ANALYSIS OF LIBERAL
DEMOCRATS & "ME TOO" REPUBLICANS -- WHAT THE LEFTISTS FAIL TO SEE: RECENT HISTORY OF U.S. ELECTIONS
DEMONSTRATES THAT REPUBLICAN ELECTORAL LOSSES CORRELATE DIRECTLY WITH REPUBLICAN LEADERS'
ABANDONMENT OF THE CONSERVATIVE POLICY AGENDA & THE FOREIGN POLICY GOALS OF TOTAL VICTORY IN THE WAR
AGAINST ISLAMIST TERRORISM & ELIMINATION OF THE THREAT THAT ISLAMIC JIHADISM POSES TO AMERICA &
WESTERN CIVILIZATION
FULL STORY:
In the tumultuous aftermath of the 2006 mid-term elections, virtually every
known political subgroup is attempting to “interpret” the election results
as proof that the side it represents is winning the day.
It is undeniable that many complex circumstances converged last Tuesday to
yield the current results. However, the public is being deluged with
disingenuous and factually inconsistent “analyses” of the elections. For the
most part, the self-serving motives of those engaged in such fraud are
readily apparent.
To begin with, it must be conceded that the shift in Washington’s political
landscape cannot be explained away as merely a result of standard mid-term
electoral shifts. While that dynamic played a role, by itself, it simply
would not have been sufficient to overshadow other concerns among the
electorate.
But neither can the political Left honestly contend that the public was making a
decisive statement against the prosecution of the terror war. Those who
reflexively oppose the war were already firmly lodged in the
Liberal Leftist Democratic camp. And while they provide the party with a sizable and
reliable Liberal “base,” their numbers could not have prevailed against a
motivated and inspired Conservative voting bloc.
Ultimately, it was the absence of such inspiration and motivation on the political
Right that, once again, allowed the Left to assume dominance. As has been the
case for over four decades, Republican Party electoral fortunes can be directly
correlated to the Party’s willingness to firmly embrace and courageously
advance the Conservative agenda. The GOP, partly in deference to its current titular leader, Republican
President George W, Bush, abandoned this course during the past few years, and is now
paying the price.
Despite bogus Liberal claims that the country wants “Moderates” and Leftists
to set its future course, both the campaign tactics and a thorough analysis
of election results attest strongly to the contrary. Moreover, the
fraudulent manner in which Democratic Party leaders are “interpreting” those
election results proves that they are still about the same business as has
consumed them over the years, which is the acquisition of power at any cost,
with an intent to hold onto it by every available means.
Consider some of the key races on which the Democrats' fortunes rested. Incumbent
Republican Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania lost by a considerable
margin to Democrat Bob Casey. But, while Santorum has indeed been a stalwart
Conservative, Casey’s claim to fame is that of being the son of former
Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey, a hero of the pro-life movement and
advocate of traditional values.
Even in this bluest of blue states, the Democrat had to ride the coattails
of a venerated Conservative father in order to establish credibility with
the voters. Elsewhere in the country, the pattern is repeated.
In an apparent repudiation of his strong advocacy of border security,
Arizona Republican Congressman J.D. Hayworth has apparently lost to Democrat
Harry Mitchell, although, at this writing, a vote counting debacle has
forestalled a final result. Yet, concurrently in Arizona, strong
ballot measures against illegal aliens passed handily, flatly refuting media spin that Hayworth
suffered as a result of his opposition to open borders.
Furthermore, it turns out that Mitchell spent the last few weeks of the
election cycle copycatting Hayworth’s well-known advocacy of tighter border
controls. So, once again, Liberal Democrats cannot win in such situations,
unless they pretend not to be Liberal Democrats.
Meanwhile, with each passing day, Democratic Party leaders become more emboldened
and are now construing the election as a license to institute their visions
of Liberal utopia, comprised of such disreputable actions as the “cut and
run” capitulation to the terrorists in Iraq, coupled with a renewed
expansion of “nanny state” social policy here at home. Even the specter of
“Hillary care” is, once again, ominously raising its ugly head.
Worse yet, the abhorrent tendency of the “me too” Republicans, ever willing
to follow the Democrats' lead, portends a possibility that the Liberal agenda
may be implemented with GOP collaboration. Thus have the Democrats
all-too-often defined and dominated the political landscape, even while a
political minority.
Among Republican mouthpieces, reaction to the election spans the entire
political spectrum. Some, such as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey,
advocate a complete retreat from social Conservatism. By such words, Armey
and his ideological cohorts display their total lack of comprehension as to
why the GOP lost this round, as well as being totally clueless as to how it
ever won in the past.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich advocates the dangerous establishment of
alliances with socalled “Conservative" Democrats, as if those who were
elected by engaging in such deception actually have the slightest intention
of remaining true to their pre-election posturing.
In the midst of this turmoil, a growing number of Republicans are embracing
the strategy of returning to “Reagan Conservatism” (The term is now as
popular among Republicans as it was with the “red state Democrats” prior to
Election Day). Some, such as Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, are
sounding more Conservative than they ever have in the past.
Not to be outdone, the “Great Pretender,” John McCain, who trashed the First
Amendment and betrayed those in his party who sought to return the nation’s
courts to their constitutional role, now professes to be the patron saint of
Conservatism. But “leadership through treachery” is hardly a believable
substitute.
Clearly, they recognize the futility of governing as nothing more than
watered-down replicas of the Democrats and, instead, seek to contrast
themselves in a positive light against the political philosophies of the
American Left. Whether or not these Republicans are sincere in their
beliefs remains to be seen.
The GOP has barely a year to learn the right lessons, identify its
unprincipled opportunists, sift out the “fair weather Conservatives” from
its midst, and get back on message. The 2008 presidential election cycle
will start early.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics & Political Competition
American Government & the U.S. Presidency
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, & Other Leftists
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
-------------------------
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
COMPETING SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism: Questions & Answers
Conservatism: Attitudes, Types, & Present Status
Constitutional Conservatism: American & British
Liberalism
Classical Liberalism: Intellectual Foundations
Classical Liberalism: Conservative Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism & Social Darwinism
Modern Social "Liberalism": Statist "Liberalism"
Radical & Totalitarian Ideologies
Radicalism, Utopianism, & Totalitarianism
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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