Of course, the title makes you think I'm crazy. It's obvious to anyone looking at the polls that Bush is in a major-league slump. His numbers are dropping faster than the thermostat in the Yukon. People increasingly believe that he is a liar, incompetent, and irresponsible. So why, then, would I invoke a near stroke in the casual observer by intoning such an OBVIOUS falsehood in my title?
The answer is simple: So we continue to be the one's living in the Reality-based community.
More below the fold...
It's a heady thing, being a Democrat right now. For the first time since 2000, we are WINNING. And we're not just winning the war on opinions, but we're really winning ELECTIONS. We talk about the big shifts, there are comments about the Republican implosion, and some have said that this might be the end of the Republicans for years, possibly a generation.
But if there is one thing that WINNING tends to bring, it is complacency. There creeps in the feeling that the Republicans are defeating themselves, and the temptation to sit back and watch the circus unfold presents itself. But it only takes one star act in the ring to turn the audience. One fancy juggler, or a stunning elephant show, to put the crowd on it's feet applauding. And that is something we cannot allow. We are watching the tailspin of an unpopular administration, and instead of giving them the chance to pull a stunning aerial reversal, we should be sure that our guns are trained and firing at all times.
So I propose that instead of watching the action, we fix in our mind that number. 75% approval rating. How hard would we have to fight the tide if Bush had that number, instead of 37%? We must make certain that we keep on the offensive, and fight as though our lives and elections still depend upon constant struggle. And the struggle IS there. While Bush is himself unpopular, we cannot forget that we have not yet done enough to reverse the flow of conservative opinion. We have not changed the minds of millions of Americans. They are not suddenly signing up Democrat, but are instead hovering, waiting for another conservative to lie to them. And they'll swallow it, if we aren't careful, because in the end, the Republican agenda is about fear, and fear is a powerful motivator.
There are positive signs, though. The new generation coming up leans decidedly our way. If we can use the current tide to lean our government Democratic, we will have a fresh wave of new blood ready to keep us there in the years to come. We have found new life and new messages that seem to be resonating, and for the first time in a long time, we are refocusing our attention in ways that matter. There are many opportunities that we are missing still, but in many ways, we are maturing rapidly before the eyes of Americans. The country will lean left again, but it will be up to us to be certain it's done before the damage the Right has inflicted is too deep.
So remember, the next time we are congratulating ourselves on a job well done, keep in sight that 75%. To obtain and preserve a majority, we will need to be certain that we are fighting as though we are the minority at all times.