Where to even begin? I will just choose to ignore the fact that it
has been 5 months since I posted last, other than to mention it now. So
now that that is out of the way, as Miles Lane would have said: "lets
get it on".
There is so much I want to say and just no
way I can say it all. I will focus on something that I was thinking
about today while I was working. It has been nearly a year since the
unthinkable happened and our fellow citizens re-elected Barack Obama.
It just didn't seem to make any logical sense. There have been days,
weeks, months that have looked very bleak to me in regards to our
nations presidential politics but today was not one of those days. If
you actually look at the results of our elections over time there is
room for optimism.
Let me start with the first election
of my lifetime...1976. I was yet to be born but had been conceived by
the time that election took place. This was the first post Watergate
election. Watergate was suppose to relegate the Republican Party to
minority status for a generation. One could imagine that President Ford
would stand zero chance of winning because of the stain that Richard
Nixon created. Well, the 1976 election was anything but a landslide.
Despite the scandals, Ford lost the election by less than 2% of the
popular vote, about 1.7 million people and 297-240 in the Electoral
College. Ford actually carried 27 states to Carters 23. If any
election should have been a blow out for the Democrats 1976 should have
been it.
There was a blowout in 1980 but it was for the
Republicans. Ronald Reagan beat President Carter by almost 10% in the
popular vote, 489-49 in the Electoral College and he carried 44 states.
Carter's defeat was the biggest by a sitting president since William
Howard Taft was defeated in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt.
The Republican Party had returned to prominence in 4 short years, due
in large part to Carter's incompetence and Reagan's conservative
optimism.
1984 was an even bigger landslide. Reagan
defeated Walter Mondale by over 18% in the popular vote, 525-13 in the
Electoral College and he carried 49 states in one of the biggest election landslides we have ever seen.
1988 saw
George H. W. Bush ride Reagan's coattails to an almost 8% win over
Michael Dukakis, 426-111 in the Electoral College and carrying 40
states.
1992 saw Bill Clinton win the presidency with
only 43% of the popular vote. Carrying 32 states and winning in the
Electoral college 370-168. Ross Perot got almost 19% of the vote,
sealing President Bush's defeat.
1996 was a sequel of
the 3 way race, this time seeing Clinton win with just over 49% of the
popular vote, beating Bob Dole 379-159 in the Electoral College and
carrying 31 states. Perot dropped to only 8.4% of the vote.
2000
was a squeaker. George W. carried 30 states, won 271-266 in the
Electoral College and became the 4th person to win the presidency
despite losing the popular vote (48.4% to 47.9%) about 500,000 votes.
2004
was a little less of a nail biter for Bush. He carried 31 states,
winning the Electoral College 286-251 and becoming the first President
in 16 years to get more than 50% of the popular vote.
2008 saw Obama beat McCain 365-173, while carrying 28 states and getting 52.9% of the vote.
In 2012 Obama become the first President to win re-election while getting
fewer popular and Electoral College votes. 332-206, 26 states and 51.1%.
I give all these stats to
point out facts. The media, the left and the establishment Republicans
all blame the "right" for everything that is wrong. They say that the reason for the lack of recent success for Republican party is that the tea party and the
conservatives that are pulling the party too far to the right. Horse pucky!
Look at these elections. The only real conservative was Reagan and he
won two HUGE victories. When were Republicans defeated? First was in
1992. The country thought that George H. W. Bush was going to be
Reagan's "heir". When he failed to fill the shoes they threw him
overboard. Ross Perot split enough of the vote to guarantee a Democrat
would be president.
The next defeat was 1996. The Republicans
nominated moderate Bob Dole who looked old and stiff next to the younger
Clinton. Dole was "the next in line". He had been in Washington for almost 30 years and was the poster boy for the "establishment".
Then next loss came in 2008. Ancient moderate John McCain against
youthful eloquent Barack Obama. McCain had been in Washington for 25 years and was the media's darling for ripping his own party and being a "maverick". He was "the next in line" because he was runner up to George W. 8 years before. I held my nose and pulled the lever for him.
Then came moderate Mitt Romney, a
former governor of the socialist state of Massachusetts. He wasn't my first choice, or second choice, or third choice, or fourth choice but he was "the next in line". Held my nose again.
What do the last 3 "losers" have in common? They are moderate, big government Republicans. It seems to me that it is the moderates that lose presidential elections for the Republicans. Now Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are suppose to be the problem with the party. Try again. 2016 can't come fast enough and there are some REAL conservatives that are rising stars. A showdown is already underway between the old guard and these new stars. The people are with the new kids and they are winning. A tidal wave is coming, first in 2014. It is going to wash away some of the entrenched big government Republicans that inhabit our nations capital. Then on to 2016.
