Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Wouldn't wanna be ya!

If anything demonstrates how desperate the Republican Party's situation is, it is this: election day is three weeks away, and Bush and the GOP are still trying lock up the base.

President Bush took a day off from the politics of national security Wednesday and went on a Southern charm offensive that included time with children, NASCAR drivers, devoted Republicans and sweet tea.

Bush's return to his "compassionate conservative" roots came during a base-building trip to North Carolina, a state he won easily in both his presidential races. But even in the conservative South, many voters have grown unhappy with Bush's leadership with Iraq under continuing violence.

Bush did not mention those troubles while visiting with voters three weeks before Election Day, instead focusing on his education agenda and old-fashioned politicking with plenty of local flavor. He visited an elementary school and a camp for sick children and dropped in on diners at a barbecue restaurant.
By this point in the election cycle, the Republicans should have no worries about their most reliable base of support turning out for them on the big day, but that is clearly not the case.

All they have left is the base of the base - the 30 percent of authoritarian followers who wouldn't abandon the Republicans for, literally, any reason. These are the folks who would still pull the lever for GOP candidates who were caught on videotape committing murder, or who looked the other way while a sexual predator of children stalked the halls of congress. I'm sure it is nice for the Republicans to be able to count on those poor, lost souls, but that's not going to cut it in a year when just saying the word "Republican" leaves a rancid film on the tongue.

'Bye, bye, Repubs. It's been real.

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