Ruminations

The rhetoric is heating up as we get closer to the November elections. The Democrats are in full attack mode, desperately trying to highlight the "failures" of the Republicans in an attempt to stockpile potential votes. As usual, the Dems can tell me why I shouldn't vote for the Republicans, but they can never seem to articulate why I should vote for them, other than "we'll do better".

The thing that's always amused me is that, although I strongly identify with the conservative side of the aisle, I'm actually pretty moderate or left of center on some key issues. It's fair to say the left could probably get my vote more often if they would only try to convince me that they're right instead of always shrieking that everyone else is wrong.

As many issues as I have with the Republicans (and I do have a few), there's just something about the Democrats that repulses me. It's that whole "we have to regain power again or our heads will explode" vibe they give off. I accept that President Bush isn't their man, and I also accept they may have some legitimate disagreements with his policies. But the never ending mantra of "Bush is the greatest evil that has ever existed" does not persuade. Christ, the man must have done something right during the past six years, if only because of the law of averages.

I get that this is the Dems' big winning strategy - create an "anybody but Republicans" sentiment. At some point, however, substance has to trump strategy. That always seems to be where the left falls short.