With new polls out this week suggesting that more voters are likely to vote Republican, I was trying recall what the Republicans did in the last two years that would justify such a larger change. General polls show the public has a bit of a bad taste in their mouth regarding Republicans, so what exactly can we expect out of the Republican party?
* Teabaggers - With cries of 'bring back the Constitution", it is hard to put a central face on the Tea Party. We know from looking at various numbers that they are mostly Republican - which isn't much change if you look deep enough.
* Party of 'no' - Congress/Senate members of Republican party unwilling to be bipartisan. Blocking legislature is so much better than passing it, isn't it? Blocking presidential appointments is how government is supposed to work, right?
* Religious fervor - Religion is okay, as long as it is the one we choose for you. Republicans are painting a lot of things in their own light - the Muslim community center in NYC is just one example of how things have gotten a touch out of hand. Evidently, Republicans have forgotten about the freedom of religion as guaranteed by the Constitution. The same Constitution the teabaggers want to slap you with.
* Socialism - In the Republican dictionary, socialism is bad. Elitism is so much better. The rich keep getting richer (so they can fill the pockets of the politicians) and the poor are those who you just step on to get higher on the ladder.
* Deficit Spending - Republicans continue to rail on this, but look at the extension of Bush tax cuts to the more wealthy (above $250k). Graphs have been produced that show the long term affects of extending these cuts would be detrimental to the budget.Republicans would like to continue the wealthy tax cuts as it is some of those same people giving larger amounts to their election funds.
* Birthers - A small constituency of the Republicans (though larger than you would imagine) still believe that Mr. Obama is not a US citizen. No small task to convince them otherwise. Of course, these are typically the people who have voted 'R' all their life and aren't about to change that either.
* Focus on Anger - Voters are at least being reported as being angry. Republicans want to fuel that anger by having the voters vote 'against' big government. Remember what happened with less regulation on the banking industry and home loans?
What should Democrats do? At very least, remind the American public they are indeed working for the working man/woman. It takes a while to dig out of a mile deep trench. With Republicans in control of House or Senate, not much work will get done. Review all of the bills that President Obama has gotten through that are to the American public's benefit.