It is one thing to witness Congresswoman Nancy
Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid basking in their political victory. It is entirely another thing to listen to the leader of Al Qaeda
in Iraq commenting favorably on the election results and essentially
congratulating the Democrats.
President Bush on the campaign trail justifiably
had been saying that "a victory for the Democrats is a victory
for the terrorists." The American people should now be wondering
whether it was prudent to give our enemies what they wanted.
Republicans lost their congressional majority
because a perfect storm of unfavorable news items had formed
against them.
1. The war in Iraq -- Despite the
fact that we need a victory in Iraq and should continue to fight
for one, the American people have a right to demand progress. A majority of voters don't believe we're winning in Iraq, and
they vented their frustration in the voting booth. Now
the question will be whether the liberals in the Democratic
Party like John Murtha will affect a pull-out or whether the
moderates can adopt a plan that allows the elected Iraqi parliament
to provide enough security to prevent civil war.
2. Katrina --The worst natural disaster
in the history of the United States befell the city of New Orleans
and the surrounding areas of the Gulf Coast exposing the vulnerabilities
of thousands of poor people who simply couldn't afford or were
unwilling to get out of the storm's path. This reflected
negatively upon the Bush Administration. Perhaps people's
expectations were too high. Considering the devastation
caused by the storm, the Coast Guard, National Guard, and other
federal agencies performed admirably.
3. Jack Abramoff -- What amazes
me the most about Jack Abramoff is that he is the embodiment
of a crook. His 1940's style hats, double-breasted suits
clinging to an overweight frame, and nervous tics are the very
caricature of a gangster. Once an idealistic, conservative
college Republican, Abramoff seemingly left his principles at
the door of the
big-time Washington power schmoozing. The more successful he became as a lobbyist, the further he
strayed from the dictums of the Republican Party. He took
several prominent Republicans down with him in this election.
4. Osama Bin Laden -- If the U.S.
military had captured or killed the terrorist leader, the Republicans
might not have lost control of the Congress.
5. 15,000 earmarks -- The Republican
Party stands against spending largess, yet in 2004 alone more
than $52 billion dollars were spent by the federal government
on special state and local projects tacked on to congressional
legislation. This represents a 3-fold increase since 1994. Increased spending on the war on terror and on Homeland Security
is understandable, but the billions spent on earmarks contradicts
the precepts of our political philosophy.
6. Tom Delay -- He was a force within
the conservative movement since 1984, but the trappings of power
ultimately got to Tom Delay. He has been indicted for
personally enriching himself from the contributions of lobbyists,
including Jack Abramoff.
7. Immigration -- The House Republicans,
in an attempt to appeal to their base, ignored the president's
guest worker plan and adopted instead an immigration policy
that was too restrictive. As a result, only 25 percent
of Hispanics voted for Republicans on the mid-term election
rather than the 40 percent who voted for President Bush in 2004.
8. Duke Cunningham -- The resignation
and conviction of Congressman Duke Cunningham on bribery charges
in the summer of 2005 represents one of the most dramatic falls
from grace in congressional history. Cunningham, a highly
decorated Top Gun naval aviator and Vietnam veteran, was well-liked
in California's 50th Congressional District.
9. Terry Schiavo -- The congressional
intercession into the Terry Schiavo matter was unprecedented,
unpopular, and unwise. It contributed to the perception
that Congress was meddling into the affairs of private citizens
and obviating the decisions of the Florida judiciary.
10. Mark Foley -- The Republicans were
probably going to lose the Congress without the Mark Foley page
scandal, but it was the final nail in the coffin. However,
the double-standard of the Democrats is all too apparent: Foley
sends sexually explicit IMs to a former page and resigns. Back in 1973, Congressman Gerry Studds had sex with a 17-year
old male page and was re-elected 12 times.
11. Denny Hastert's son -- It didn't help
the Republican cause when Speaker Hastert's son become a Washington
lobbyist who was soon sealing sweetheart deals with federal
agencies.
12. Curt Weldon's daughter -- Pennsylvania
Congressman Curt Weldon already faced a tough re-election fight
against a former Navy admiral, but when his daughter's home
was raided by the FBI, the race became unwinnable.
13. Don Sherwood's mistress -- The Pennsylvania
congressman was in a safe seat until revelations in 2005 that
he had had an extra-marital affair with 30 year-old Cynthia
Ore and had agreed to pay her $500,000 to remain silent
about their relationship until after this year's congressional
election. Ore also alleged that Sherwood physically abused
her during their time together.
14. Bob Ney -- The Ohio Republican had
to resign his office just days before the election because he
was implicated in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal.
15. The Plame Affair -- Valerie Plame,
the 'covert' CIA agent outed by Richard Armitage to Robert Novak,
led the national news for more than a year.
16. NSA Surveillance -- The fact that
this story got so much press attention is indicative of liberal
bias in the media. And it didn't matter that West Virginia
Senator Jay Rockefeller leaked the top secret information on
the NSA program in a letter.
