Lessons from the American Election.

[SirJosephPorter]

Americans had their election yesterday. Republicans won the Governorships of Virginia and New Jersey. No doubt Republicans will paint it as a huge victory, claim that they re on their way to winning the Senate and House in 2010 and presidency (with Joan of Arc, of course) in 2012. Democrats will try to minimize the significance of the election. That is politics as usual.

However, it is a fact that since 1989, the party which had the presidency has lost both the governorships. Thus when Bush was the president, Republicans lost both the governorships, twice. So I don’t think anything significant can be read into these results, these results are according to tradition, nothing more. These results in no way indicate how the election will turn out in 2010; traditionally it hasn’t predicted the mid term results the following year.

However, what is much more significant is the result in New York, 23rd Congressional district. That seat had been held by the Republicans since civil war, for the first time they lost the seat, a Democrat won. This was a huge black eye for the Republicans.

That tells me that the internecine struggle between moderates and conservatives in the Republican Party could be fatally damaging to them. This scene may well be played out all over the country in 2010. If Republican candidate is a moderate, we can expect a third party challenge from a conservative candidate, and that will split Republican vote right down the middle (as it did in New York, and the impossible happened, a Democrat won). New York used to have 13 Republican House members, I think now it is down to 2.


What this tells me is that the civil war inside the Republican Party may well play a significant role in 2010.

 

[ironsides]

What it is telling you is that the people of the U.S. are waking up. "
Nassau Republicans take back legislature

November 4, 2009 By CHAU LAM chau.lam@newsday.com

In a stunning upset, Nassau Republicans regained control of the county legislature for the first time in a decade.
"We have lost, in my judgment, the majority in the Nassau County Legislature," said Jay Jacobs, chairman of the Nassau Democratic Party.
The defeat came for Democrats when Republican Howard Kopel beat five-term Democrat Jeff Toback in last night's elections, giving the GOP... population 2000 1,334,544 Major population and very affluent county just outside NYC.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

How Republicans Can Win On Health Reform


"Republicans suck." I had heard that Jon Caldara began his July talk to the Denver Metro Young Republicans (DMYR) with that line, so I figured I'd repeat it when I addressed the group on August 25 about health policy.

I really like the DMYRs. It is a vibrant and passionate group on the whole truly committed to liberty. If the Republican Party of Colorado is to have a future, it needs to start with people like this.

I explained that Republicans have advocated bad policies in areas of insurance controls and health welfare.

It was Republican Mitt Romney, for example, who passed insurance mandates in Massachusetts, which the Democrats have now worked into their "reform" bill. I drew on the article by Dr. Paul Hsieh for The Objective Standard on the matter.

Michael Cannon has also written about the failures of the Romney model.

I explained that mandated insurance is inherently tied to tighter insurance controls and expanded subsidies. Moreover, Romney's plan didn't address the underlying problems, particularly the high costs of employer-paid insurance (driven by tax distortions) and capricious insurance controls.

The result of this GOP scheme? Skyrocketing tax costs and premiums, a damaged insurance industry, more political meddling, and doctor shortages.

Next I criticized Bob Beauprez's endorsement of mandated insurance and Mike Coffman's endorsement of insurance controls.

With respect to health welfare, I discussed Bush's costly Medicare prescription drug program, Jim DeMint's plan to expand welfare, and Michael Steele's endorsment of health welfare as a "right."

Then I turned to the positive portion of my talk. How can Republicans win on health reform?

First and foremost, Republicans must make liberty in medicine a moral issue. People have the right to control their own lives and resources, free from political interference. Republicans must answer the Democrats' challenge to address the moral argument. Republicans who try to make the debate all about budgets and cost are destined to lose.

Republicans must articulate the harms of decades of political controls in medicine. They must explain how tax distortions created the expensive, non-portable, employer-paid system. They must talk about how insurance controls drive up premiums and undermine a competitive, consumer-responsive insurance industry. And they must talk about all the ways that forced wealth transfers, via taxation and politically-controlled insurance premiums, drive up costs and reduce responsibility.

Finally, Republicans must advocate true free-market reforms. Expanded Health Savings Accounts would help offset the tax distortions driving employer-paid insurance. Rolling back insurance controls will restore competitiveness and bring down insurance rates. Tort reform will weed out frivolous law suits. And welfare reform will rein in expansions of various programs, control costs, and ultimately begin to move back in the direction of voluntary charity.

Many Republicans are trying to "me too" the Democrats on health reform by advocating more insurance controls and more health welfare. But is it not now abundantly obvious that Republicans cannot win on a Democrat-lite platform?

If Republicans wish to win on health policy and other issues -- and if they want to deserve to win -- they should start with DMYR's five principles:

* "The best government is a small, Constitutionally-constrained one."

* "A strong national defense is... vital to the preservation of our liberty."

* "Capitalism is the only moral philosophical system."

* Individual rights and personal responsibility.

* The Rule of law.

This is a major loss for the Democratic party, but one of many to come. SJP, what this should be telling you that if you really want to try and understand the American people their system, now would be a good time to live in a major metropolitan area like NY for the next 3 years and learn.

 

[EagleSmack]

Who would have guessed...Joey the first one to run to the defense of another countries President.

It was a victory for the GOP and they are all talking about it...left and right. It was all over CNN last night.

But fear not... Boston Massachusetts reelected Democrat Liberal Mayor Tom "Mumbles" Menino for his 5th term. Albeit his opponent was a Liberal Democrat as well. The Dems got this state locked.

But for a good laugh... Please visit this website and see (no, listen) what the best our Liberal State Capital can bring forth. It has a list of soundbites of the reason why we call him Mumbles Menino.

Welcome to the Official Mumbles Menino Website

 

[SirJosephPorter]

And just where is this fabled Nassau county, ironsides? If you want to extrapolate the results of one county to the whole nation, go for it. Then why not extrapolate the results of the 23rd district to the whole nation? It was clearly a stunning upset, a Democrat won for the firs time since civil war. So why is that result insignificant, but the result from the Nassau county (wherever that is) significant?

I stand by my original assessment. New Jersey and Virginia results are keeping in line with the tradition (party who has the president loses both the governorships), not a whole lot can be read into it. New York race on the other hand, points to a potential headache for Republicans. If this internecine fighting continues into 2010 election, forget about winning control of the House, Republicans may be lucky to hold their own. If an ultra safe Republican seat like the 23rd district is vulnerable to vote splitting by a moderate and a conservative Republican, then which seat is safe?

 

[EagleSmack]

Smiling ^^

Panicking already?