Faint-Hearted Fred

Posted by: Good Samaritan
on April 25, 2005 @ 03:39 PM EST

Fred Barnes' advice is all wrong:

What's required now, however, is that he be ready to accept defeat in a manner that saves Republicans from losses in the 2006 election and allows him to pursue the rest of his agenda effectively...

Meanwhile, Bush's focus on Social Security reform has exacted a political cost. The president's foreign policy has become stunningly successful and the economy is strong and growing despite soaring gas prices and a shaky stock market. Yet his job performance rating in nearly every poll is 50 percent or less. What's the reason? It's certainly not Bush's limited involvement in the Terri Schiavo case. And gas prices have been stuck at about $2.00 a gallon for only a few weeks. No, it must be Social Security. MORE...

If Bush is forced to accept defeat on Social Security, it's important he do it the right way. If he's petulant, it will only make things worse. And if he says the fight isn't over yet and he's going to try again in the next Congress to push through a reform measure, it will only make life easier for Democrats. They've become completely reactionary and have nothing to campaign on in 2006. Keeping Social Security reform alive would give them an issue to run on--or rather against...

Most House Republicans would rather run on other issues--taxes, gay marriage, national security, judges--which are more likely to help them avoid the usual fate of a party with a president in his sixth year in office. The average numbers of seats lost by a president's party in the sixth year of his administration are, roughly, 28 in the House and 7 in the Senate.

Baloney. Taxes will not play well for the Republicans in 2006, because the deficit is making the Bush tax cut look unaffordable. Gay marriage is more of an issue for the states and the courts. As for national security, the success of Bush's foreign policy is precisely why the electorate might throw Republicans out, as the Brits threw out Churchill in 1945: the job's well done, it's the other guys' turn now. And how exercised is your average voter going to get over a few obscure judicial appointments? Social Security is the issue. It affects everyone. It's a lousy system, and Republicans have exactly the right policy to improve it. Bush should keep pushing. Republicans in the House and Senate can be for or against, depending on how they value their short-term electoral advantage compared to the good of the nation. Bush should skewer the hedgers, the fudgers, the flip-floppers, demand to know where they stand. The American people deserve to know who's with him and who isn't, so they can make their choice when the time comes.

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