> What an encouraging comparison! That was the period when the
> Republicans
> did probably their greatest upsurge of organizing, building institutions
> like Young Americans for Freedom and other "New Right" groups that laid
> the
> groundwork for taking over the Republican Party completely and shifting
> national politics signficantly to the Right.
That's the problem. If the Democrats, after their probable defeat next year, really did some serious grassroots organizing and completely rethought their mission as a party, as the Republicans did after 1964, but from the left rather than the right, they might be a force to reckon with in, say, 12 or 16 years. But will they actually have the courage and organizing ability to get to their feet from their present supine position before the throne of the mighty George II and his neocon centurions? I fear they won't. It is theoretically possible that they could mobilize a hidden core of voters lying in wait out there to dethrone George, but I'm afraid the GOP is presently way ahead of them in money, ability to use the media effectively for propaganda purposes (won't George look grand in his flight suit with his helmet under his arm in all those commercials next year?), and computer-based organizational prowess.
> While I think there are big differences, the main point is that the
> mainstream has the tendency to completely dismiss a party that is short
> of a
> majority, ignoring how radically things can change with a shift of
> votes to
> kick them into the majority. The whole dismissal of the Democrats
> right now
> is equally misguided, especially given that recent elections have put
> them
> almost neck and neck with the GOP.
Yes, they might win next year if they can snatch a few electoral college votes from George's total in 2000. That has occurred to me as well. But which states, in particular, might they take over, given that George will probably grab a few of Gore's states?
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org _____________________________ Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. - Groucho Marx