2002 Soap Box Archives

Why Did The Democrats Lose?

Ever since the election, people have been trying to figure why the
Democrats failed to regain the House of Representatives and
lost control of the Senate.

It has been blamed on everything from their not having a clearly defined
message to their failure to attack President Bush on the economy,
unexciting Democrat personalities and the perceived Republican advantage
in the probable war on Iraq.

Being neither Democrat nor Republican and having no steadfast loyalty to
either party I would like to offer some observations of my own.
Could it be that the Democrats have just lost touch with the American
people?

That’s most certainly the case when Congressmen Bonnier and McDermott
stood on Iraqi soil and informed us via satellite TV that everything was
all right in Iraq, in essence, we could trust Saddam Hussein more than
we could trust President Bush. This was not only unwise, it was
downright stupid.

Could Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle’s reticence to let the Senate
confirm badly needed federal judges and delaying the home security bill
to a nation in a war on terror have anything to do with it?

They certainly screwed up in Minnesota thinking that the American people
would turn a blind eye to the disgraceful behavior of turning a memorial
for the late Senator Paul Wellstone into a raucous political rally
complete with booing senator Trent Lott who had gone all the way to
Minnesota to pay tribute to a fallen colleague.

They certainly misread the public several years ago when they tried to
adopt Hillary Clinton’s socialized medicine proposal. And the
disjointed, meaningless speech that Al Gore made didn’t help their cause.
Could it be that the citizens of this nation actually like tax cuts, a
strong military, tort reform, school vouchers and less federal meddling
in their lives?

Could it be that the Clinton weary American people are thankful to have
a President who can keep his pants zipped up and who knows the meaning
of the word is? That just maybe they are developing some trust in
George W. Bush and would like to see him have a chance to advance his
vision of what path America should pursue.

Whatever the reason the American people have spoken and they have not
spoken in favor of the Democrats.

The Republicans can have their way for two years and we’ll see just how
in touch with the American people they are. There is much to be
accomplished, much to be undertaken. The war on terror, the immigration
problem, the mess at the I.N.S.,the sad state of our educational system,
the economy and many other things which need serious and immediate
attention.

I hope that the lessons learned in the last couple of elections will not
be forgotten. That every vote counts, that there’s just so much that
the American people will put up with, and that the party which stays in
touch with the people of this country will be the party which is in
power.

After all, these people work for us. We’re their bosses and the will of
the people is more powerful than any political party.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

 

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