An Incalculable Electoral Error

[Sean Osborne]

An Incalculable Electoral Error

*By Sean Osborne, Associate Director, Senior Analyst, Military Affairs
sosborne@homelandsecurityus.com

10 November 2006: The 2006 mid-term elections are over. The results are in and the post-election analysis by continues. In my assessment of the results I have come to the conclusion that by the slimmest of margins the Democrat Party did not win, America lost. The Islamofascists, their state sponsors and the rest of America’s enemies won the election and they did not have to get us running like Spaniards by detonating a single bomb. They won because a fairly solid core of American conservatives vented their anger at a Republican Administration and Congress which had pinned its hopes of national electoral success on tax cuts and economic growth while declaring and fighting a war against the wrong enemy.

America, you were not and are not now in a global war with “terrorism”. We are and have been at war with Islamofascism and its state sponsors. Iraq was one of those sponsors as was the Taliban of Afghanistan and as is the Islamic Republic of Iran. These are enemies long in pursuit of and probably now in possession of nuclear weapons and all manner of WMD. Even the New York Times recently admitted that Saddam Hussein was within a year of acquiring a nuclear capability. No WMD? What were you thinking last Tuesday?


How slim was the margin?

The two Senate races in Virginia and Montana which placed control of that institution in Democrat hands were caused by conservative Republican voters venting their anger at the Bush Administration by voting for third party candidates. In Virginia, Republicans cast enough angry votes for conservative Gail Parker to ensure the defeat of incumbent Senator George Allen. And in Montana the same thing happened with Republican votes for Libertarian Stan Jones causing the defeat of incumbent Senator Conrad Burns. In the House there were 20 incumbent Republicans tossed aside out of 28 Democrat gains. Except for resounding defeats for Republicans in Pennsylvania, most other races were decided by very slim margins.

Don’t think for a moment that these voters forgot the recent caustic remarks in the UN General Assembly of Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad or Venezuelan communist dictator Hugo Chavez. Nor did they ignore the venom from the radical leftists like “Nan Francisco” Pelosi, bag-lady Cindy Sheehan or the biased, sock-puppet mainstream media. In my opinion these voters along with enfranchised but mute or non-participatory others acted rashly by either staying home or voting for alternative candidates in order to send a message to President George Bush, his closest advisors and his Cabinet. It is my belief that message, which had absolutely nothing to do with the Democrat agenda, was for ‘Dubya’ to get serious about the war. Again, we are not really winning this war because we are not fighting the real enemy. Thus, as I see it, these election results are an incalculable electoral error in judgment which America as a whole must now pay for. This mid-term election result could not have been delivered at a worse possible time in our nation’s history.

Timing is Everything

It is a near political certainty that the radical leftist-led Democrat Party will now seek vengeance on the Republicans. Impeachment proceedings, against the President are a distinct possibility, the requisite bill remains alive despite Pelosi’s claim to the contrary. Make no mistake about this issue, to the Democrats a presidential impeachment is not a legal proceeding but a purely partisan political process. They will engage this process when it is politically expedient to do so. The radical driven agenda will also consist of meaningless and baseless congressional investigations on top of investigations, massive tax increases. Yet, all of this coming nonsense is insignificant when compared to the larger issues before us. We’re in for some real trouble in the next two years.

First the Good News

I believe President Bush will continue to execute his policies, with some modifications, as best he can over the next two years with the help of his friends in Congress.

Now The Bad News

President Bush’s ability to robustly execute his policies will end with fiscal year 2007 which arrives next October, possibly even sooner. This means that, at best, the president has just 11 months (or less) to complete the victory in Iraq, and stymie Iranian and North Korean nuclear weapons programs. Venezuela, Cuba and the now rampant Islamofascism in Latin America will not get the attention they deserve.

America, do you understand that with both the House and Senate in Democrat hands the currently misnamed war effort will very likely be de-funded; the deployed troops will be forced to return home before becoming mission complete, our broken and HOLLOW MILITARY will not be repaired, and probably become even more broken, hollow and ill-equipped? Is this what you stayed away from the polls for or voted to achieve? These were Democrat campaign promises they are certain to keep.

Our enemies will make an acute note of this. (On a related note I also doubt the European ability to complete the mission in Afghanistan. The 1990s war in the Balkan’s being what I recall most about of their military prowess.)

Even worse, our coming retreat from the heart of Islamofascism will come at the worst possible time because a major war involving Iran, Syria and Hezbollah against Israel is imminent, and it has every chance of going nuclear at some point because Israel will have to fend for itself. When was the last time radical world-socialist American Democrat’s sided with Israel in any meaningful way?

Other military or defense issues which were not part of the mix or in the calculations of this electorate include the planned missile defense system. Think about it, will this Congress fund its completion? Think again. And what about the complete lack of a robust deterrent against nuclear terrorism? Will this Congress debate and then create the establishment of such a policy? The range of issues is quite staggering which the results of this election will affect. The most significant of which to my mind is the distinct possibility of a potentially lame duck Republican Administration and a radical leftist-led Democrat Congress engaged in massive political gridlock. The inherent danger in this begs this question: Knowing the extremist Democrat political agenda, and whom they truly favor, and the expectation that the political process will be further encumbered with "war crimes", “impeachment” and all manner of political witch-hunting and "Sword of Damocles" issues to further their agenda, how does this nation concurrently and effectively fight an existential war for its survival in a political gridlock environment?

Then The Really Bad News

I hope you will recall the $94.5 billion "emergency" supplemental bill that was hung up this past summer with a Republican majority in Congress? It nearly screwed the war effort as well as the rear echelon warfighter support base just four months before this election. It is my understanding that money will be exhausted in about 4 or 5 months. And there are a whole slew of very expensive Rumsfeld Pentagon BRAC moves which still require full funding to execute as required by law. From what I have learned, because of the war most of those moves were not fully funded. With the coming congressional de-funding of the US military where will those dollars come from? Hiding your wallet or your bank account is not the answer. In fact, you haven’t even turned in a timesheet or worked the hours required to earn those dollars yet, but the radical leftist Democrats have already laid claim to them as their own property.

Here comes the literal financial bottom line: The national debt was raised this year by $3.67 trillion dollars to $9.62 trillion dollars so that we could afford the misnamed war effort along with everything else that must be funded and maintained. As of the morning after the election the national debt was just about $8.7 trillion dollars and climbing at a rate of $2.14 billion per day. This means that the national debt ‘headroom’ is now less than $1 trillion dollars. A major financial crisis exists dead ahead and radical leftist controlled Congress has the purse strings. America, when you voted were you at all aware of this factual financial tidbit? What were you thinking?

In Conclusion

Not being one known to cite significant and problematic issues without also citing possible solutions to them, this time I am somewhat at a loss on how to move forward. Short of invoking our First Amendment rights to hold this Congress feet to the fire with a nationwide petition, we’ll just have to beg the Lord’s mercy and do what we can to survive until November 2008. The die is cast, and those who voted or abstained have spoken as is the American tradition.

May God Bless America and help us.

Addendum

In just a couple of hours the Email flood has been quite intense. Therefore I add the following just to be perfectly clear about where the blame lies, and its not just with POTUS or those who didn't vote or cast their ballots for other candidates.

What a lot of folks seem to be forgetting is that America is still a Constitutional Republic.

While it is very true that the Republican's did bring this election defeat upon themselves, equally important is the fact that we all share some of the responsibility for what has just occured.

Significant numbers of John and Jane Q. Public allowed them to get away with all manner of ill-advised nonsense. The Ports Deal, Border Security, the conduct of the war -- whole bunches of you-name-it issues were allowed to pass unfettered. Public do nothing but whining. We were all far, far too complacent and therefore also very much to blame for the disaster now confronting us.

We either temporarily forgot about or ceased to believe in WE THE PEOPLE and the power we can wield. Instead we were sheeple.

We were not mindful that the American government only has the power we allow it. Our Judeo-Christian stewardship of this nation was virtually non-existent or wholly abrogated in directing the actions of our elected representatives - from POTUS down to the smallest Congressional representative district.

Republicans will now be forced to regroup and get back to the basics and the heart of Christian Conservatism. In my humble opinion, there is no other option than for a revolution within the GOP.

Until then and 2008, and IF something resembling the America that existed prior to the radical Democrats exerting their new found political power is still here to be rescued - we God-fearing Republican's will have to have found real courage and conviction as well as new-blood political leadership. We will need surgery to install a functioning political backbone.

As a Christian I seek Gods Will. At this time and for as much time as we have left, this Christian soldier will not give up to evil without a very significant fight. All of our fallen brothers in arms will have shed their blood in vain if we all do not resist the evil confronting us

This is where I stand, and fight.

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