Dems Offer a New Direction - Reverse

Howard the Donkey writes an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal regurgitating the standard Dem lines about all the ills of the evil Bush Administration, and proclaiming that Dems will take us in a new direction. I don't doubt that, but sadly for Howard, the direction is reverse. Here's the first couple of paragraphs. See how many golden oldie Dem themes you can find:

We need a Democratic Congress to fight the war on terror -- and to end the war on America's families. Republican policies of the last five years have damaged our economy and failed Americans. Democrats believe strengthening the middle class is essential for a thriving economy that rewards work, provides economic opportunity to all and makes it easier for parents to devote time to their families. An economy that favors the top 1% at the expense of everyone else might be good for President Bush's politics, but a shrinking middle class is bad for capitalism, democracy and America. We need a new direction.

The Republican record on managing the federal budget is dismal. Republicans have turned surplus into debt, hope into lost opportunity; they have become the party of borrow-and-spend. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the total cost this year of the president's tax cuts is $258 billion. This means that even with spending for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the response to Hurricane Katrina, the federal budget would essentially be in balance if the tax cuts had not been enacted, or if they had been offset as required under the pay-as-you-go rules that Republicans allowed to expire. These economic policies amount to a war on American families...

Howard is right about one thing - we do need the Democrats in Congress to fight the war on terror, but so far they've been AWOL. However, making them the majority would guarantee defeat. That we don't need.

Other themes include the standard class warfare rhetoric (the evil rich), higher taxes, claiming a terrible economy despite ample evidence to the contrary (isn't the unemployment rate something like 4.7%?). Some old drivel.

I find the timing of this piece curious. Why make the case for the Dems on Sept. 22? Why not sometime later in October when we're all closer to election day? Simple. The Dems are in full panic mode right now as they watch the polls turning against them, and this is basically a holding action in the hopes that he can divert the voter's attention from the security issues that are driving up Bush's approval numbers. I think he's also responding to the damage done to the president's critics by Hugo Chavez' infantile remarks in New York this week. The blowback has been significant, and since Chavez basically sounds like many Democrats, they need to do something quickly to change the subject. Won't work, but nice try.

Meanwhile, Ken Mehlman, the Republican chairman, has a competing op-ed in the WSJ, and his vision seems to be a little different than Howards:

Here at home, we are also working to reform government. We live in a global economy, one in which it is just as easy to create jobs in India as it is in Indiana. Republicans understand this, which is why we are committed to lower taxes, less regulation and fewer lawsuits. Republicans have cut taxes every year since George W. Bush was elected president. We have streamlined regulations, reformed bankruptcy laws, offered choice to Medicare recipients, and limited class-action lawsuits. The Democrats opposed every single one of those reforms -- and they are pledging to stand in our way as we move forward.

Republicans want to eliminate the death tax once and for all. Democrats want to bring it back. Republicans want to explore new sources of energy to bring gas and heating prices down. Democrats want to block domestic exploration. Republicans want small businesses to be able to band together to provide health care to their employees at a reasonable price. Democrats don't believe entrepreneurs should have that freedom. Republicans want all parents to have the choice of where they send their kids to school. Democrats would limit that choice to the rich and powerful. The list goes on and on.

Compare and contrast. Mehlman also predicts that the GOP will defy historical trends and will retain control of both houses of Congress. A few weeks ago I would have had my doubts, but now I tend to believe that he's going to be correct. We won't gain seats as we did in 2002 and 2004 (again, against the historical trends), but I don't think we're going to lose enough to switch control.