Still stinging from their recent electoral defeat, Democrats are desperate to derail the Republican juggernaut. Not only did the Republicans win a majority in both houses of Congress, but they won majorities in state legislatures throughout the country. In fact, so significant were their victories that some pundits are saying it could be the beginning of a long period of Republican dominance.
Sixteen months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush’s popularity ratings are still very strong. He rates high primarily because people trust him on matters of national security, an area where Democrats have traditionally been weak. In fact, one reason Democrats suffered such widespread defeat at the polls is their obvious reticence on the war on terrorism. Instead they attack the president at every turn.
Well it seems they still don’t get it. Taking a well-intentioned, but misguided, compliment by Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) to Sen. Strom Thurmond (R.-S.C.) at his 100th birthday party and trying to parlay it into a lifelong record of racism–and smearing the entire Republican Party by association–was a desperate attempt to weaken Republicans. The Democrats’ frustration stems from the fact that Republican gains come from the president’s efforts to change the image of the Republican Party from the Democratic parody of the mean-spirited, race-bating, politics of personal destruction, tax breaks for the wealthy mold to the more accurate portrayal of the party of equal opportunity, freedom and family values.
Take the issue of race, for instance. There were more Republicans who voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than there were Democrats. Eighty percent of inner-city blacks, desperate to find better schools for their children, favor school vouchers. Democrats have joined with the teachers’ unions to oppose school vouchers at every turn. Republicans, on the other hand, promote them. Republicans believe that a man should be judged by the content of his character, not the color of his skin. That is why they favor programs that put everyone on an equal footing regardless of race. Democrats support affirmative action, a race-based program of set-asides that try to right yesterday’s wrongs by creating new wrongs today.
After decades of unfulfilled promises from Democrats, African-Americans are beginning to see the light. Democratic policies have contributed to the breakdown of the black family, creating a huge class of dependents and a ready-made constituency for them. It is not in the Democrats’ interest to solve this problem and watch their base erode. As blacks become more aware that their lot will never improve under Democrats, they are slowly beginning to migrate to the Republican Party and independent parties. This is the real motivation for the attacks on Trent Lott and the Republican Party. Democrats cannot afford to let George Bush succeed at redefining the Republican Party as the “Party of Compassionate Conservatism.”
