Liberals are racing the clock. Less than a year separates them
from realizing their dream of retaking Congress, staying even, or
worse, losing more seats to the Republicans. Although the media is
mesmerized by the startling fact that Democrats retained two
governorships last week, recent history suggests that they are
going nowhere fast.
While Republicans are also experiencing tough times that often
accompany majority status, recent events have emboldened their
conservative wing, so they are in a strong position to re-orient
the GOP course starboard before the next elections. Not so the
liberals, whose efforts seem to be dragging the Democratic Party
further down.
In February, they dumped Terry McAuliffe in favor of Howard Dean
as head of the Democratic National Committee, reportedly as part of
a deal in which Dean would receive the reins in return for his not
opposing Hillary Clinton’s presidential run in 2008. The idea, one
supposes, was that they might harness his “energy” in a positive
way; which is nicer than calling it blackmail.
So far the price paid by the party has been steep, especially in
the area of fund-raising. Instead of delivering the numerous
donations via the Internet he generated during his brief but manic
presidential campaign, Dean is falling short of the Republicans by
a stinging two-to-one margin. As the Washington Post
noted, “Donors are a little skeptical that the
DNC is a good investment.”
A little skeptical is putting it mildly: “One House Democratic
leadership aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to
preserve relations with Dean’s operation, put it more bluntly:
‘There is plenty of time, but the red flashing sirens should be
going off there.’”
So while their financial wing is not producing, liberals must
trust their media division to do battle on the propaganda front
and, until recently, they’ve been earning their stripes. Their
strategy focuses mainly on President Bush’s failed Iraq policies
and though it’s taken them nearly forty years, they are finally
back up to their full Vietnam strength of biased, anti-war
reportage. But this time, although they have been successful in
turning the minds of some Americans against the war, the current
Commander in Chief remains steadfast.
And, though you’d be hard-pressed to read about it in your daily
newspaper or see it on your network news broadcast and despite
continuing violence, we are winning in Iraq and making great
progress in the War on Terror. Both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani have hinted at the gradual
withdrawal of Coalition troops in the very near future, yet the
media show no sign of standing down their attacks on our
policies.
Still, they can’t keep the hard news closeted forever. In the
past it’s been pretty easy:
Saddam’s regime toppled in three weeks? Rioting and looting
prevail.
Early turnover of sovereignty to the Iraqis? Abu-Ghraib
twenty-four/seven.
Successful General Assembly elections? Two thousand American GIs
dead.
Approval of a new Iraqi Constitution? Scooter Libby lied!
Yet while the liberal media still refuse to concede steady
progress in Iraq, Democrats in Congress are practically
acknowledging as much. Now, it’s not whether we are winning the
Iraq War, it’s how and why we conducted it in the first place.
Although hearings, hearings,
and more hearings to prove that Bush lied us into war
have already been completed, the left will try to drag out further
inquisitions, at least until the 2006 elections.
In the past these tactics have paid off, but — as laid out in a
scathingly brilliant piece by conservative icon Norman Podhoretz
— this time it appears there’s just too much evidence to the
contrary. From the blatant lies of Joe Wilson to the numerous past
citations — lovingly preserved at conservative websites — of
Democrats warning of Iraq WMDs, further probing might not be all
that Dr. Dean ordered.
The Democrats still have time to change their platform from one
of attack-and-destroy to one that actually puts forth ideas that
will benefit the country. That won’t be easy. Their dominant
liberal wing would rather relive victories from long ago than deal
with the reasons for their more recent losses.
Lisa
Fabrizio is a columnist who hails from Connecticut. You may
write her at mailbox@lisafab.com.
