Republicans Can be Wusses Sometimes, But That’s a Good Thing
Bill Frist will be elected Senate majority leader today. Democrats haven’t let go of the race issue, though. They want to keep it alive:
But largely because of the Lott flap, Democrats hope to make civil rights a key issue as they look ahead toward the 2004 congressional and White House elections.
Democrats’ tenacity on issues like this has pluses and minuses. On the one hand it enables them to ram through unpopular policies, like tax hikes, when they enjoy majorities. On the other hand, it makes them pay far too much attention to issues on which they’re apt to lose.
Exhibit 1: Corporate Accountability. Democrats pounded Republicans on this, but Republicans gave in rather quickly by passing the tough Sarbanes bill and holding congressional hearings to distance themselves from corporate fraud. Democrats held on to the issue, though. Democratic strategists James Carville and Bob Shrum wrote a memo urging the Democrats to use Enron in the elections and they did. The effect? In polls just before the elections, the people trusted Republicans more than Democrats on corporate accountability. Republicans know when to cave. Democrats didn’t know when to stop.
Exhibit 2: Homeland Security. Who would have thought president Bush would use this as a winning issue? Democrats obstinately defended their union-friendly provisions and payed for it with at least one Senate seat (Georgia.) Even after the election, only two more Democrats defected: Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) voted with the Republicans on some special interest provisions. One has to ask: Of all the issues on which Democrats could have picked a fight with a popular president, why this one??
Exhibit 3: Silly Senators. Notice the way Republicans handled the Lott situation and Democrats are handling the Murray situation.
I rest my case. Yes, Republicans can be wusses sometimes, but it’s often good politics. Democrats, on the other hand, live in a liberal media cocoon and are much less clever about picking their fights.
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