| Vichy Democrats |
November 2002
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Me-Too is not a Policy
Guy Fawkes night in England saw bonfires and fireworks, while in America, it saw the incineration of the Democratic Party at the polls. Mid-term elections traditionally harm the party in the White House, but George Bush Minor now has minions in charge of both houses of Congress. The reason is the gutless collaboration of the Democrats over the last two years.
Many believe that a hard-left campaign by the Democrats would have lost them even more, and perhaps, they are right. Yet politics requires one to take advantage of opportunities -- like the Dow meltdown and the ensuing 401(k) debacle. But as Pat Cadell, an old McGovern man, noted, the Democratic leadership made a conscious decision not to use Wall Street's trouble in the campaign -- and thereby protect the corporate money that has flowed into DNC headquarters for years.
They couldn't run against Bush on war -- 3,000 dead on American soil just a year ago gives the President a rather free hand. And they decided not to stand up for investors, institutional and individual, after Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, etc. That left, what? Cheaper prescriptions for old folks?
The ugly truth is that the Democrats have not just entered the wilderness, but they have reached its dark heart. How long they stay there is largely up to them. In the meantime, the Republicans will have the votes to do as they wish.