You know a party in power is exhausted when you start to see editorials like this that ask the question:
What kind of party is it that can’t do anything more convincing than point at the dire and dirty alternatives? The kind of party the Republicans have become? That is the truly troublesome question for Americans who have looked to the GOP for action, as well as common sense, on vital questions like taxes, national defense and immigration. Are the Republicans as drained and divided and nervous and wrung-out as they look? And if they are, would the Democrats be that much worse?
It’s fascinating to see the Republican commentariat begin to ask the same questions about their party that the left-wing blogosphere has been asking about the Democrats: “can we win just by not being the other guy?”
The Democratic Party has its problems. We are familiar with them. But we have a lot of advantages over the Republicans. I’ll lay out a few of them.
The Bush administration has been a colossal failure on every front. And it has taken a toll on their leadership. Let’s take a look at where their leaders stand. In the House, Tom DeLay is under indictment. Dennis Hastert has been implicated in taking bribes. Roy Blunt lost his bid for majority leader to John Boehnert, a man best known for passing out checks from the tobacco industry on the House floor. Their leadership is badly compromised, and none of them have any prospects for advancing their careers or becoming viable Presidential candidates in ’08.
When we look at the Senate, we see similar, although less catastrophic, patterns. The first majority leader of the Bush era, Trent Lott, had to resign his post after obliquely praising segregation. His replacement, Bill Frist, is under investigation for insider trading. He has also been an ineffective and unpopular leader of his caucus who has stumbled badly on issues like Terry Schiavo and has been frequently outmaneuvered by Harry Reid. The only Republican Senator that appears to have a real chance to become President in ’08, John McCain, is also a Senator that is out of step with the Christian base of the party.
The administration leaders have faired no better. Colin Powell has been badly compromised by his WMD presentation to the United Nations. Donald Rumsfeld is openly opposed by his own military. George Tenet and Porter Goss have been forced out of the CIA. John Snow and Paul O’Neill have flopped as Treasury Secretaries. Michael Chertoff has flopped at Homeland Security. Fleisher and McClellan have discredited themselves and are gone. The Vice-President has been exposed as a warmongering liar, has shot a man in the face, his chief-of-staff is on trial, and other members of his staff are cooperating witnesses. He is polling at 18%. Karl Rove and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley face the prospect of indictment. Condi Rice has left a trail of deception and incompetence. And Bush? Well, what can we say about Bush?
We can add to this the prospect of many more Republican lawmakers facing indictment over their roles in either or both the Abramoff or the Cunningham scandals. Prominent Senators like Rick Santorum and Conrad Burns face the real prospect of defeat.
When we contrast this with the Democrats the result is striking. The Democrats have two high profile politicians, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, that are largely free from scandal and are ready to step into the White House tomorrow. They have promiment lawmakers like Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Bill Richardson that could provide a palatable alternative without upsetting the status quo. Harry Reid has been an effective and largely popular majority leader. Nancy Pelosi is less effective, but is not besmirched with taint of corruption.
It’s unfortunate that neither party can articulate a bold, coherent, and sensible platform. The Democrats are still behaving with an astonishing lack of self-confidence and are displaying an appalling lack of fight and principle. However, when you compare the respective statuses of the parties, the Democrats are in an enviable position.
