>The Republicans lost the momentum they've enjoyed since Reagan, and
>they've lost all sense of party discipline. The latter, for a
>right-wing party, is particularly devasting.
>
>IMO, this was a pivotal election. I'm no fan of Clinton in an
>ideological sense. But I think his survival and Newt's departure marks
>one thing positive: The nation has been in a hole for many, many years;
>now, at least, it has stopped digging.
Uh, just a moment. The Reps still control Congress, an overwhelming majority of governorships, are gaining in state legislatures. According to the big table in today's NYT, Reps got 51% of the popular vote for the House, down from just 53% in 1994, but up from 50% in 1996, and way up from 46% in 1992. And despite the increase in black turnout, the Republican share of the black vote rose from 8% in 1994 to 11% in 1998. With Newt gone, the Reps could burnish their image with young-Bush-style "inclusiveness," and 2000 could be a whole different ballgame.
Doug