Are the Dems bankrupt?

Six months ago I made speculation on what I though where possible problems with the way the Dems were looking at getting back into the White House. They mainly dealt with their reaction to the War on Terror, knee-jerk anti-Bushism and taking a tact that they could only win if America loses, but I was first to say that with the election 18 month off anything was possible. Now 12 months away from the election still anything it possible but the Dems are looking worse off.

Jonah has a very clear piece on how the Dems have lost all respectability when it comes to the War on Terror and the Fight in Iraq;

Every single good thing about liberalism in foreign policy would have the Democrats seeking more money for Iraq. Liberals should be the ones demanding that we send more teachers, more doctors, more librarians, and more troops to protect them. They should be standing on the tarmac helping to load another shipment of soft-ice-cream machines and ping-pong tables bound for Fallujah, Tikrit, and Basra.

The Dems needs the people of Iraq to rise up against US "occupation" and photos of US soldiers committing atrocities in order to turn the opinion of the people against rebuilding Iraq. They need this because the media is failing in it's months long attempt at Vietnamizing the Fight in Iraq. They need this because while they mostly all supported going into Iraq they are now against rebuilding it. The last thing they want is for Bush to successfully setup a liberal secular government in Iraq and mark me words even if we do set one up the Dems will never admit it's a success. No matter how good a job we do Iraq, Islamic culture simply lacks the ideas of liberty, personal freedom and others that Western culture developed during the Enlightenment, will never aproach the peacefulness of say, Iceland and since the Dems can simply set the goal posts wherever they like Iraq will never be a success in their judgment.

On the home front where Bush himself is weak are the Dems trying to counter their broken old failed ideas with new ones thereby stealing to domestic show from Bush as it seem he simply has none? No. More of the same.

Henry Payne points out great weaknesses within the Democratic party on domestic issues;

Tuesday's good news on consumer confidence and durable goods orders is surely bad news for the nine Democrats trying to convince America that George Bush should be fired as America's CEO. But, as this week's Detroit Democratic debate and Senate fuel-economy vote highlight, the Democratic party may have deeper political problems in the blue-collar, urban industrial heartland they have long taken for granted

Henry points out several areas where Democratic policy has failed and is in need of reform. Reform that the Dems fight tooth and nail against. Bush is weak because he has no ideas on the table and the media makes tale of that over and over but what is not mentioned is that the Dems are also weak. They are weak not because they lack ideas, but because they ideas they have are the same one they've had for the last 40 years and the same ones that have been failing for the last 20.

Education is a great example of the failure of Democratic ideas. 40 years ago the Dems said even though the US had some of the best schools in the indutrialised world what we needed was a top down approach with the Federal Gov. in the drivers seat and thus Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act creating the US Deptarment of Education. By the early 80's people where already tripping the alarms to the fact that our schools where falling apart. What was the Democratic answer? More money. More money for buildings, teachers, daycare, more money for everything. Now another twenty years has pasted and we are now burdened with the worst schools in all the indutialised world and what is the Democrats answer? It is still more money. If someone tries to suggest an alternate idea such as charter schools the Dems will attack and vilify the people trying to shake up the obviously failing status-quo. And NPR says the Bush is the one with a weak domestic policy?

The real bad news for the Dems is that it looks like the economy is going to improve despite their best efforts;

Third-quarter gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced in the U.S., rose at a sizzling 7.2% annual rate, more than double the 3.3% rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Just this week on NPR I heard John Kerry say that America needs an administration with a "plan" to "try" and rebuild our shattered economy. What? Shattered Economy?!? Since when did 24 months of growth equal a "shattered economy"? Did NPR press him on it? No, they went right along with the lie like the pandering leftist lapdogs they are.

So as it is right now the Dems needs a massive and quick failure in Iraq (without any new 9/11's to galvenise the populace) and for the economy to go back into the tank in order to defeat Bush. The worst for them would be an improving Iraq with continued improvement in the economy coupled by either Bush, the Republican Party or just a Conserative group showing America how bankrupt the ideas of the Dems our and how they fight reforms.

If that happens the Dems might be on the outside looking in for a long time.