BCT Editorial – 11/7/04

This page was last updated on November 9, 2004.

No mandate; Editorial; Beaver County Times; November 7, 2004.

Before I read the editorial, I thought the title foretold an editorial claiming President Bush didn’t have a “mandate.” I was wrong, but I expect one sooner or later even though a previous editorial stated, “neither Bush nor Kerry will emerge with a mandate from the voters.”

The unstated – and incorrect – assumption made by this editorial is that all Republicans are conservatives.

“Four years is an eternity in politics.

“Four years ago, Pennsylvania was one of the most Republican states in the nation. The governor and lieutenant governor were members of the GOP, which also controlled the Legislature. The Republican Party was clobbering the Democrats in judicial races for the state’s three appellate courts.”

[RWC] Pennsylvania may have been “one of the most Republican states in the nation,” but elected PA Republicans as a group differ little from Democrats. Most Republicans elected in Pennsylvania are not your father’s Republicans.

“The only Democrat to hold a statewide office going into the 2000 election was Auditor General Robert P. Casey Jr. - and his success had more to do with his family name and political heritage than it did his party affiliation.

“Four years later, the commonwealth has a Democratic governor and lieutenant governor and Democrats will serve as auditor general and treasurer. The only Republican holding a statewide elective office will be Tom Corbett, who will become attorney general.

“This reversal of political fortune for the Democratic Party comes on top of the success their candidates had in statewide judicial races in 2002, where a majority of the party’s candidates were elected to the bench.

“And underfunded and undersupported U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel gave Republican incumbent Arlen Specter a run for his money in their U.S. Senate race on Tuesday.”

[RWC] I believe Joe Hoeffel was “under supported” because many who would have supported him recognized Hoeffel differed little from Arlen Specter but didn’t have Specter’s 24 years of Senate seniority.

“Sure, Republicans control the Legislature and hold a majority of the congressional seats and will for the rest of the decade, but that’s as much a factor of gerrymandering, which is really an incumbency protection racket for both parties, than anything else.

“And the immense popularity of Casey, who won the treasurer’s race by an almost 2-1 margin, has to please Democrats because it gives their party a strong gubernatorial candidate for 2010, whether Gov. Ed. Rendell wins or loses in 2006.”

[RWC] Did you notice Casey went from being elected in 2000 because of family name recognition to being immensely popular in 2004 by increasing his take of the vote by less than 5%? Where’s the proof Casey won in 2004 because of popularity vs. name recognition?

“Republicans and Democrats no doubt have taken notice of this trend, and we hope that they will react in a positive way.

“Pennsylvania is a rarity in American politics because it is a two-party state where conservative Democrats and moderate Republicans can find a home in their respective parties and a voice in governance.”

[RWC] Did you notice that moving to the “right” is being conservative, but moving to the “left” is being moderate? When the editorial said “moderate Republicans,” it meant liberal Republicans (RINOs).

“The people of Pennsylvania have spoken. They like Democrats and they like Republicans. They are willing to elect liberals, conservatives and moderates. What they are not willing to do is give either party a long-term mandate to impose its politics and ideology on the state.”

[RWC] Other than “They like Democrats and they like Republicans,” I don’t believe we can draw a conclusion from this data. After all, most of today’s Pennsylvania Republicans differ little from Democrats. We can’t draw any conclusions along this line until we elect enough true conservatives so that state government is run using conservative principles.

“It’s time for the power brokers in Harrisburg, especially in the Legislature, to put aside their political infighting and wake up to the fact that Pennsylvania needs pragmatists who get results, not gridlock politics as usual.”

[RWC] The infighting in Harrisburg is not about conservative vs. liberal. The fighting is merely about who wields more influence, liberal Democrats or so-called conservative Democrats and RINOs.