Column: Long primary won't hurt Dems
April 11, 2008
At this time last year, no one but a few prescient politicos thought the Democratic primary had any chance of going this far. Most people bought into the conventional wisdom that the media love to sell (i.e. John McSame is a maverick; hint: he’s a Bushie through and through), and pretty much thought Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., would have the race wrapped up by South Carolina, or Super Tuesday at the latest. We all now know the reality is very different. With the Pennsylvania primary looming on April 22, and with Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., closing rapidly on Clinton in most polls, there might be a chance the nomination is decided before May. Even if the contest goes on, it’s not a big deal. Yes, you heard me — no big deal.
The media have blown this Democratic primary completely out of proportion. With their incessant harping on the idea that a long primary will hurt the Democratic nominee in the fall, they have bought into a conservative talking point, and, as they are so skilled at doing, have changed the popular opinion. But let’s review a little history here: Former President Bill Clinton didn’t wrap up his nomination in 1992 until early April, and he beat a sitting president who had high approval ratings. We need to step back and get some perspective on this election.
I disagree with the very notion that an extended Democratic primary is bad for the party; in fact, I think it’s good. Every state we go to, we end up registering more and more Democrats, and getting more and more people to the polls to vote. Not only that, but both candidates are signing up new, small-dollar donors that they can go back to in the general election. National self-identification as Democrats is at a high, and is growing, while Republican self-identification is slipping precipitously.
Republicans have 12 Senate seats to defend this year with no real pick-up targets. They’ve got 23 Congressmen retiring outright and three running for higher office (including Columbia’s Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Mo.) against three Democratic retirements and four running for higher office. Simply put, it’s a bad time to be a Republican.
And we haven’t even talked about John McSame yet.
Yes my friends, I’m talking about Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. No matter what the media will have you believe, the man is not a maverick. He’s been staunchly with President George Bush on Iraq, tax cuts for the wealthy and anti-middle class economic policies that have contributed and exacerbated this recession. Sen. John McCain is not popular with Democrats, which isn’t unexpected. But it’s becoming more and more apparent that his own party hates him: In March, McSame managed to raise a paltry $15 million, which was his best month in a long while. Compare that to Barack’s $40 million month (and $130 million for the quarter) or Hillary’s $20 million during a month that saw numerous calls for her to drop out of the campaign.
The American people are sick and tired of eight years of this Republican regime. They cannot take any more tax cuts for the super-rich while middle-class families struggle to pay the heating bill or put food on the table. The American people are sick of this Republican culture of corruption. My friends, these values are at the core of the modern Republican Party, and these values are inherently un-American. I believe in my heart that this fall, we will awake from our long national nightmare to a new dawn of peace and prosperity.
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