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told new voters were registering in record numbers. This was supposed to be the death of the GOP. The people were supposedly rising up to vanquish the evil Republicans. Little did we know that at least half of the new voters registering were doing so because they were fed up with the Democrats. In fact, it would serve the GOP well if voter registration was done away with. Register everyone by social security number, once for life. But that is the subject for another essay.
The point is that it is not the Democrats who stay home on Election Day and it is not Liberals who never get around to registering to vote. It is Conservatives of all stripes who are the most difficult to motivate to action. Conservatives demand loyalty. That is one of the things that they love about George Bush, his loyalty and his expectation of loyalty in others. When Conservatives doubt the loyalty or sincerity of a candidate, that candidate is done. Conservatives see the act of staying home as the best message they can send to their leaders even if it means they are being less than loyal themselves. They justify this in their minds by seeing it as the appropriate response to someone who has „stabbed us in the back.‰
The Democrats, having been beaten three times by W, know that this is their last and best opportunity. And that brings us to the Harriet Miers nomination. President Bush has taken a verbal beating from Democrats, assisted, as always, by the press. The hurricanes, Iraq, the price of gas, and Tom Delay have made this the toughest period of the Bush Presidency. Nervous Congressional Republicans, whose tendency towards political self-preservation trumps their loyalty, are balking more than a year before the next election.
On the day Meirs‚ nomination was announced, George Will, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Kristol, et. al. immediately expressed reactions ranging from disappointment to anger, this despite the President‚s track record. They did more damage in a few minutes with sound bite commentary than the Democrats could do in five years attacking George Bush. More levelheaded conservative leaders like James Dobson gave the President the benefit of a doubt that he has earned.
The only way the Democrats can make gains in an election is if the Conservative vote is depressed. They know their verbal abuse in 2004 only served to motivate voter turnout. Far better for them to let Republicans shoot their own wounded. Even better for them to let ambitious self-serving Congressional Republicans act in a way that will depress the conservative grass roots. It‚s the Democrats only hope. It‚s not much of a plan but it seems to be working perfectly.
Richard Miller
Former Caswell County, NC GOP Chair
Former member Caswell County, NC Board of Elections
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