The Democrat's optimism is built upon a foundation of demonstrably false assumptions, of which Democratic party officials and Democratic voters might be readily disabused, if they bothered to soberly reflect upon the most recent presidential elections and upon evidence that is plainly before them.
"The man that once did sell the lion’s skin while the beast lived, was killed with hunting him."
Shakespeare: Henry V
Feb. 12, 2008 (crisispapers.org) – Happy days are here again!
The GOP is in disarray. The factions of this improbable alliance of religious fundamentalists, neo-con war hawks, and market absolutists have discovered, with the emergence of their presumptive nominee, John McCain, that they have little in common. James Dobson, leader of the fundamentalist “Focus on the Family,” has announced that rather than vote for McCain, he will not vote at all. Ann Coulter says that she might even support Hillary Clinton. Meanwhile, the Democratic base remains solid as party loyalists tell pollsters that they would be quite happy with either Clinton or Obama. And in the primaries so far, seventy percent more Democrats have voted than Republicans. Moreover, the Democratic party is enjoying a substantial funding advantage over the Republicans. Among liberal pundits and talk show hosts, there is a sense of inevitable Democratic triumph in the coming election.
All this optimism is built upon a foundation of demonstrably false assumptions, revealed in the rhetoric of the campaign – assumptions of which Democratic party officials and Democratic voters might be readily disabused if they bothered to soberly reflect upon the most recent presidential elections and upon evidence that is plainly before them.
However, because these Democrats and progressives apparently prefer their blissful ignorance, they will likely be smiling all the way to a crushing disappointment in November.
These are the fatal assumptions:
- Those who wish to vote for the Democratic candidate will be able to do so.
- The votes cast for the Democratic candidate will all be counted, and counted correctly.
- Media coverage of the campaigns will be transparent and unbiased.
- When informed of the issues, the people will vote according to their convictions and interests.
- The Republicans will play by the rules and will gracefully accept the people’s decision.
These assumptions were false in 2000 and 2004, and demonstrably so. And they are false today. Yet the Democrats and their supporters by and large conduct their campaigns in the unsupported belief that this time the contest will be open and fair.
Even though the falsehood of these assumptions has been obvious and unequivocal, the failure to face and deal with them cost the Democrats the past two presidential elections. Unless the party wakes up and acts decisively, it might well cost the Democrats the next election For, as Dr. Phil correctly instructs us, “you can not change what you do not acknowledge.”