Why the Republican Party is, most likely, screwed in 2008:
Republicans held all the levers of power in Washington for six years. They turned budget surpluses into huge deficits, which put pressure on the dollar. The financial industry’s house of cards got blown down and the Federal Reserve cut rates to head off a recession. That put even more pressure on the dollar. Its value sank against other currencies, and investors have taken refuge in commodities, driving those prices up. Republicans’ aggressive, swaggering foreign policy has shot uncertainty through the market, driving (dollar denominated) oil to record highs. Simply put, their policies have put us in a position where we can’t deficit spend, can’t lower prices, can’t cut rates and can’t do much to restore value to our currency. Even simpler, every time you fill up your tank or buy a loaf of bread you pay the Bush Tax.
That about sums it up, and it’s something that, in an unstated way, the public knows.
And it’s the reason why the 111th Congress will be much redder than the 110th.
On the Presidential side there is some hope, but that’s only because the Republican nominee is the one Senator who is least associated with the GOP Establishment in the Republican mind. If the GOP had nominated someone like Romney or Huckabee this year, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
H/T: Andrew Sullivan
