It will be a long time before Americans trust the GOP to run the Government again...

[scheming daemons]

For 40 years, from 1954 to 1994, the Democratic party controlled the House of Representatives... and for most of that time, the Senate as well. During those years, the United States:

- Won the Cold War.
- Made incredible advances in Civil Rights with the "Great Society" programs of the 60s.
- Created the interstate highway system.
- Sent men to the moon.
- Developed the Internet
- Saw unprecedented improvements in the standard of living for the middle class
- Cured Polio and other diseases
- Saw advancements in reproductive rights

There were lots of problems too... big ones. Vietnam, Watergate, Stagflation, Iran-Contra, Race riots, etc.

But on the whole, it was an amazing 40 years of American progress.



But Americans forgot what it was like when Republicans were in charge... and Newt and Company fooled them into believing that they could do a better job.

So Americans gave the reins of power to the GOP.

It took 12 years for America to figure out what a bad move this was. In those 12 years:

- 9/11 occurred
- A kangaroo-court "impeachment" trial occurred
- The seeds of a collosal economic collapse were planted. The 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagle Act, the dotcom bubble, the housing bubble, the emergence of "derivatives trading", the growth in income disparity between the rich and poor.
- A stunning rise in anti-Americanism abroad.
- A loss of U.S. leadership standing in civil rights, science, and just about every other endeavor.


The reason why 2010 won't be anything like 1994 boils down to this:

- In 1994, most voters had no real memory of how bad Republicans are at governing.... so they were willing to "try something new".

- In 2010, the completely incompetent performance of Republican governance will still be fresh in the minds of every voter.


It will be a couple decades before the American public's collective "memory" will be purged enough to make them willing to give the GOP another chance.


The bottom line is that Democrats are simply better at governing the nation than Republicans are. Democrats have a stake in government operating properly and fairly, so they try to make things work. Republicans, by their very philosophy, distrust all things related to the government (except the Military) and therefore don't even try to make things work.

[Orsino]

1. If Democrats don't step up in a big hurry, and stay on the job...

...Americans may return to putting Republicans in charge, anyway. The game is to look the least untrustworthy.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

2. NEVER AGAIN

[ZombieHorde]

3. I hope your right, but I am not as optimistic as you on this subject. nt

[DrToast]

4. James Carville's new book

I agree with him. Providing the Dems don't screw things up, they will run the next generation.

[Arugula Latte]

7. Oh, he's got a lot of nerve putting Obama on the cover of his book.

He was a huge Hillaryite, now he's hitching his wagon to President Popular.

[DrToast]

9. He backed Obama after Hillary was out.*

[Gman]

5. The collective memory includes the children of those that are now 18 - 20 years old

and voted for Obama in the last election. That will make for a VERY long collective memory.

[NC_Nurse]

6. That is not the way conservatives spin it. I'm not sure most people see our

progress as belonging to either party. I agree that the GOP is out of favor now because of the last 8 years of epic fail, but sadly
people's memories are short. I don't think they look at the big picture enough, it's more about whether they're getting what they want now.

I have been impressed that the electorate has so far not fallen for Repub spin about the Obama admin, but I'm not optimistic that they won't eventually
move back to the right if they don't get what they want soon. I hope I'm wrong.

[cloudbase]

8. Human nature being what it is,

I've no doubt that somewhere along the line, the Dems will become a bit too full of themselves and ruin a good thing, and the political pendulum will swing again.

[zbdent]

10. you forget four little words ...

"so called liberal media" ...

if we manage to make the "media" honest, then the GOP is GON ...

[SemiCharmedQuark]

11. Yeah, that's what I thought in 2004.

[LynneSin]

12. It only takes a major screw-up for another "Contract 'ON' America" like 1994

I agree with what you're saying, but it only takes something unusually 'perceived' unpopular that could create another 'Republican Revolution'.

Oddly enough I truly believe that the Clinton Tax Plans probably turned our economy around and created a surplus. But the republicans were able to dupe the public into thinking it was 'bad'

[scheming daemons]

13. It only worked because American voters had no GOP recent history to evaluate

In 1994, I was 27 years old... I had no memory of what it was like when Republicans ran things. All I knew was Democratic control of congress.

Therefore, it was hard to imagine how bad they were at governing... and I can see how Americans would say "let's give the other guys a chance and see what they can do".


That was a powerful thing in the 1994 election.



That will be absent in 2010. Voters WILL have recent GOP history in which to evaluate.