Some Democrats are in the cheeriest of moods right now. They may not be in power, but their Republican rivals who are are not exactly having an easy go at it. The President entered his second term with political capital to burn, but since then his plans for Social Security reform have foundered, Congress embarrassed itself in the Terri Schiavo matter, Hurricane Katrina struck, gas prices and budget deficits will not go down and the war in Iraq slogs on.
The President can point to little more than the success of the Chief Justice Roberts confirmation - one obscured and counterbalanced by the disappointing choice of Harriet Miers - and to the still tenuous success of the Iraqi constitution.
As if this chain of events were not enough, the President is still coping with the lowest approval ratings of his presidency - a robust 38% the last time I checked - Rep. Tom DeLay is being his ever ethical self, Congressional approval ratings are down around where they were right before the Republicans swept into power in 1994 and the GOP is having trouble recruiting its first choices to challenge incumbent Democrats and contest open seats.
And not only are Republicans down in the count, but morale is not very high in the dugout.
A growing number of conservatives are dissatisfied with budget deficits and felt betrayed when the president and the Republican leadership in Congress passed a huge prescription drug benefit in 2003. These same conservatives could not fathom the amount of pork in the recent highway bill or the complete lack of accountability for funds allocated to Katrina relief.
This dissatisfaction has been present for a while, but it is coming to a head at an awkward time for the President, who has just nominated his second candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. Social conservatives and the evangelical vote won the last election for the President, and now they want results. Promising more Supreme Court justices in the mold of Justices Scalia and Thomas and then spinelessly nominating a questionable conservative simply because she has no paper trail smacks of political cowardice to the right. A lot of conservatives are wondering why they supported the President in doing some not very conservative things if there will be no payoff.
Yes, Democrats are smiling at the prospect of a rumble in the GOP big tent, but on the inside, they know that they have no better solutions to offer the public.
Last January Democrats were desperate for a win, and they found a dishonorable one by opposing the President's plans for Social Security reform. While a lot of people may have been hesitant to accept the specific proposals that the President was pushing, a solid majority of Americans believe that something should be done to provide for the system's solvency without bankrupting our great-grandchildren. This would be the part where Democrats stepped up to the plate and offered... nothing.
High marks for leadership, guys.
And this is only one example of Democrats passing up opportunities to propose real solutions to real problems. If you think that budget deficits are too high, then you set an example by making your party repudiate pork barrel spending. If you think that the war in Iraq was wrong, then you tell me how we should fight a war on terror. If you think that homeland security is nonexistent, then you figure out how to shut down the borders. If you have a problem with Chief Justice Roberts, then why not go out and actually win an election?
Sorry. That last one was mean.
As for the others, however, I have never seen Rep. Nancy Pelosi offering any solutions in her repetitive press briefings. All that I hear is culture of corruption this and culture of corruption that. Fair enough. Maybe Mr. DeLay and Sen. Frist are having ethical troubles, but I still know that they want limited government, lower taxes, personal responsibility and strong defense. Until the American people see a Democratic Contract with America that does not include big government, higher taxes, victimized entitlement and tail-between-our-legs defense, Republican majorities, even with ethical problems and legislation that does not gel with stated ideology, are not going anywhere anytime soon.
Jonathan D. McPike, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, is the Eagles middle-of-the-road columnist.
