Republicans, now slap your head
...you lost in Colorado.
Now a little commentary from the other side. Not that I'm not sick of East Coast Dems wondering how the heck we do it out here, but its interesting to read John Andrews, Republican state senator in the Weekly Standard and see that he's been wondering. Not how the Dems won it, but how the Republicans lost it.
The somber weeks since the November election have seen a lot of soul-searching among Colorado's GOP leadership. We've huddled together and tuned in, figuratively, to radio WTHH: What The Hell Happened in this 2004 election? Why did a state so reliably red for so long--a state that's gone Republican in seven of eight presidential races since I came here from the Nixon White House in 1974--vote deep blue all down the ticket below Bush-Cheney?
Yeah, no kidding: Somber Weeks. Here's the heart of it:
It was motivation, above all, that powered this Democrat victory. Democrats were driven and hungry from decades in the political wilderness. Republicans were complacent and soft from too long in power. Their motive for winning was to get in there and do things. Ours, it often seemed, was merely to stay in there. These attitudes translated into discipline and unity for Democrats, indulgence and disunity for Republicans. GOP factionalism was endemic and fatal....Democrats talked about making Colorado a better state, about not letting Republicans cut cherished programs, and about the GOP's supposed obsession with "gays, guns, and God." Republicans talked about . . . what? Other than denying their charges and hurling some back, we pretty much punted. Republican candidates picked their own issues locally. Churchill would have called it a pudding with no theme.
Essentially, he says that the Colorado GOP was franctured going into the 2004 elections. Therefore, it was too difficult for them to raise any money and, more importantly, speak with one voice.
What strikes me most about this piece is his use of the phrase "Democrats talked about making Colorado a better state..." What were the Republicans talking about?
Either way, that reiterates “positive messages are everything” and that Western Democrats have it.
Emmett O'Connell | December 7, 2004 | Comment on This Post (1 so far) |
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That's the smartest thing I've ever heard John Andrews say. Yes, making Colorado a better state was indeed our theme. During the campaign all he was talking about was the plight of persecuted conservative college students - and hunting feverishly trying to find one.
Posted by: Paul Thompson | Dec 7, 2004 4:50:37 PM
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
