republican agenda

With a little over four months to go, things are going to really heat up for the mid-term elections:

White House political strategist Karl Rove emerges from the CIA leak case with his reputation scuffed, his power slightly diminished, and Republicans counting on him, once again, to help rescue their House and Senate majorities.

Described by friends as relieved and recharged after getting the news this week that he will not be indicted in the leak probe, Rove now faces another verdict this fall over his abilities as a political strategist and his ambition to build an enduring GOP majority.

Rove's reputation as a campaign operative is unparalleled -- he is hailed by President Bush as the architect of his 2004 reelection -- but his judgment in melding politics and policy into an effective governing strategy has been called into question in the president's second term. Bush endured the worst stretch of his presidency when Rove's powers inside the White House were at their peak.

I hope Rove gets out there and takes the spotlight on the elections. Give the Democrats something to really point to. This is a guy who lied to the American people. He said (through Scott McClellan) that he never discussed Valerie Plame with any reporters, when in fact we now know he did. That is a great talking point for Democrats.

Well we finally got some good news for Democrats. In the latest AP-IPSOS poll
it seems more and more are favoring a change in leadership in Congress. As
matter of fact 49% want Democrats to control Congress as opposed to only 36%
wanting Republicans in control. That's a 13 point margin so you can throw the
MOE right out the window there.

As far as Bush goes, his approval rating remains stagnant at 40%. Considering
the violence in Iraq yesterday (which also has the same approval rating as
Bush), the number will most likely decline when we get to the next round of
polling.

This is good news to start the New Year and we got to hope and push our
Democratic leaders to seize this moment. Focus needs to be shifted in this
country to such things as Abramoff, warantless tapping and the Downing Street
Memos.

Another big bonus for Democrats might come from seniors this year. In the
2004 election, seniors account for approximately 25% of the voter turn out. In
mid-term election that number generally surges to about 35%. Something not being
picked up by the news but I know exists out there is enormous problems with the
new Medicare drug program. People are unable to get prescriptions and those that
can are faced with higher bills at the pharmacy because of flaws in the system.
If you don't believe me then try to call the AARP insurance hotline. My mother
just spent three days getting through to them and she does this stuff for a
living. I am sure many more seniors out there are finding the same type of
frustrations and they follow politics close enough to know this is because of a
Republican agenda.