The Anchoress

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Jim Geraghty has a great response to Mark Tapscott’s unappealing idea that conservatives should desire a loss in ‘06 in order to “win” in ‘08.

Mr. Tapscott is a brilliant man, but honestly, when I read his piece, I thought: Lala land. He’s not taking into account the fact that the press will credit all of Bush’s successes to the Democrats and spend two years throwing confetti to tell the American public how great everything is. And in those two years I wonder what sort of legislation we’ll get? Higher taxes? Fairness Doctrine? Regulation of blogs and free speech? How much backtracking will there be, undoing the good work of the last 6 years? And how greatly will our civil rights erode?

Geraghty says it better than I:

Maybe the public will strongly oppose the Democratic agenda after two years. But then again, maybe they’ll like it, or find parts of it they do like, or maybe they’ll just get used to them. The “let’s lose this year” strategy hands a bunch of Democrats the handy tool of incumbency to keep those seats. And in the Senate races, the candidates get to keep their seats until 2012.

I can’t think that embracing the negative, “let’s lose this year” is the way to go. It didn’t exactly work out for us in ‘92, did it?

Good heavens, I was a Democrat in ‘92, and no, it didn’t work out well, for me…

UPDATE: Professor Bainbridge writes: I’m with Tapscott, subject a qualification.

Suppose 2006 is as bad as 1974, when the Senate went from a Democrat majority of 56-42 (with 2 independents) to 61-37 (ditto) and the House went from a Democrat majority of 242-192 to 291-144. Six years later we got Ronald Reagan in a landslide. Granted, I don’t see another Reagan on the horizon, more’s the pity, but the larger point is that the country managed to muddle along. Maybe partisan politics just doesn’t matter as much as those of us in the blogosphere like to think it does.

(!) “the country managed to muddle along…” Egad! I’ll tell you what, I’m getting a little scared, now, if anyone seriously thinks that we can risk a “muddle along” these days. This is NOT 1974! I cannot forget that in that time Jimmy Carter was elected, interest rates went sky high, we had endless gas lines (remember, back then we were going to end our dependance on foreign oil!) we had dim, short-sighted policies, the same spineless gasbags we have now in both houses, but now they’re older and more spineless, more afraid of the tiniest raised eyebrow from the press. We had hostages, etc, etc…communications are different and instantaneous. Weapons are different. Democrats are talking regulation of free speech! I’m not willing to take that chance and “lose to win.” The press that exists today is not the same press it was 30 years ago; they are now a wholly-owned subsidiary of the left, with taste for mendacity and a demonstrated willingness to remain patently uncurious about any Democrat misdoings, and a further willingness to carry their chosen one on their shoulders with many puffball questions and nary a doubt, which will invite nothing less than tyranny.

With all due respect, folks…no way I will ever submit to a “lose to win” mentality. I don’t think the right understands what a good hand they have been dealt in the past few years. They are so wound up about the 30% that dissatisfies that they are willing to toss the 70% that does not. This is…silly and dangerous. You’ll never convince me that a loss in ‘06 is better than a win, and please don’t tell me it will “teach” people. How can that be, when clearly this thinking indicates we learned NOTHING from 1992.

RELATED: Sister Toljah has a good piece up and thinks the GOP should really try to understand that they’ll get more done with a GOP congress. I can’t believe it had to even be said, but there it is.

Alexandra has a thoughtful piece up. Fiesty, but thoughtful and as ever, intelligent!

Rick Moran has sensible stuff up.

The Senate has voted in the fence. For some, of course, it will never be enough unless every illegal is “shipped out” as well…but they are increasingly sounding to me like the folks Jesus talked about: “we played a jig and you would not dance; we played a dirge and you would not mourn…” Some folks are simply not going to be pleased unless they get things 100% their way. You know what? That’s not leadership. And it’s not the way the world works, either.

Related: Lose to win, Part II