The Republican Party in Disarray

Things can change really fast, huh?

Only two years ago, Democrats were scrambling to try to take back Congress. Since the days of Bill Clinton and Al Gore's close call, the Democrats had nobody to rally around and to guide them. Sure, they had a lot of big names, with Hillary, Kerry, Lieberman, and others, but nobody to step up and take the reins. September 11th, the WMDs in Iraq hoax, and the then-staunch unity of the Republican Party around a confident, if not well-informed President George W. Bush, not to mention his re-election when there was still hope for Iraq, made this a Republican nation for the past eight years.

And then, only a little over a year ago, with Bush's approval ratings dropping what with the War in Iraq turning the wrong way, the economy starting to slide, the inability to capture Osama bin Laden, the mess-up with Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff scandal, Tom DeLay, the Mark Foley congressional page scandal, and the general inability to make sound decisions or intelligent statements throughout his staff, led to the Democrats finally taking back the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994, and the Senate for the first time since 2004. The seats in the House literally flipped, going from 232 Republican seats to the Democrats' 202 with one independent to 233 Democratic seats and 202 Republican onces. The Senate was more of a close call, with big battles in Montana and Virginia going the Democrats' way (what with name-calling and poor decision-making by Republican senators Conrad Burns and George Allen, respectively) giving them a slight edge with the two independents caucusing with the Democrats.

What is really funny, though, is that the Democrats had to recruit more conservative candidates whose views did not necessarily follow party ideologies but were Democrats in name only to run for office in their respective areas. For example, Representative Heath Shuler of North Carolina opposes abortion and gun control, two of the bigger social issues facing America today. Senator Jim Webb of Virginia worked for the Reagan administration and endorsed future opponent George Allen in the 2000 election (though he did endorse Democrat Chuck Robb in 1994), but ran as a Democrat and won. Also, the Democrats did not have big names in this election, or even previously (which led to then unknown candidate Barack Obama becoming a rock star in 2004), that could help win a few seats, leading to other unknowns Webb and Jon Tester of Montana (due to coverage of the hotly contested seats), and even Harold Ford of Tennessee, who ran a strong campaign but barely lost, gaining attention. Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, Rahm Emanuel, and others, who organized the Democratic cause, also got their fifteen minutes of fame as well, especially with Pelosi becoming the first female Speaker of the House.

Also funny is that strong candidates who were poised to win back their seats, aside from Burns and Allen, lost because of the distaste with Republican decisions. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, despite controversial remarks, was a star in the Republican Party, and lost to Bob Casey, Jr. Sherrod Brown beat Mike DeWine in another closely monitored contest in Ohio. Even Jim Talent of conservative Missouri, who did not do anything wrong, lost to Claire McCaskill just because he was Republican and thus associated with the President and the party's failings.

Now, the Democrats are in control of both houses, and have bigger star power and more electable candidates in the upcoming presidential elections with Obama, Hillary, and John Edwards. The Republicans have the lame duck President who despite obvious discontent from the American people, is still stuck in his own world, and the Republican nominees may not have enough change available that Americans want. Senator John McCain is the most independent of the bunch, but may not survive the primaries due to this independence. Rudy Giuliani, the biggest Republican name, has not done anything to win the primaries yet, and his strategy of counting on the big states of Florida, New York, Texas, California, Illinois, and others may be too daunting. Otherwise, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee will not provide enough change from the eyes of the American people, and Ron Paul is a Republican Dennis Kucinich who has good ideas but not enough power to win.

It's only been two years since the Republican Party was in control and everybody was saying that it would take a near-miracle for the Democrats to win back Congress. Now, the views are completely the opposite. Funny, huh?