Two serious conditions exist that keep me from feeling too smug about Hillary Clinton's visit to Louisville last night. Fortunately, a third even more serious one will ensure that Hurricane Hillary does most of her damage on the Democrat side of the street.
First the bad news: too many Americans have joined in this hatred of oil companies to take immediate advantage of the fact that Hillary covets the "amazing profits" of American oil companies. She would mandate taking an extra cut of those private funds to establish a government research and development bureaucracy to magically do with speed and without pain what the best scientific minds in the world have not managed to do in decades: replace fossil fuels with something cleaner and just as efficient. This would be a great jumping off point for showing that HillaryCare has been expanded to include Hillary Oil, but too many of the same people who used to understand free markets, supply and demand, and capitalism now concede the premises of the Left. Until so many forgetful Republicans stop taking their economic analysis from the politicians who have actually spun the current string of solid economic growth (not seen since the roaring 1980's, mind you) into the image of a soup kitchen catastrophe, do we have a chance to expose the folly of putting the government in charge of such an important function of our still-free economy.
Also, Democrats persist in railing against the cost of health care when their best answer continues to be to put that cost on the backs of the American taxpayer. A Republican bill currently before Congress would allow people to go across state lines to purchase private coverage. States that haven't fattened health policies with lard-like mandated coverages found in Kentucky, would be a safe haven for many Kentucky health insurance consumers. A private solution to a government-created problem. Again, until GOP "leaders" can put government-run health care for all into a proper perspective, the allure of the single-payer system will persist.
The good news, finally (and, I think, decisively) is about the war. Too many Americans understand (as the flower children don't) that we are in a battle for our survival. No amount of nuanced verbiage will get the Democrats out of the hole they dug for themselves by seeking naked political advantage over the struggle against terrorists. Hillary can be for the war but against torturing terrorists all day long. She won't be trusted when push comes to shove that she can make the tough war-time calls that President Bush has made. Yes, the polls show unhappiness with the war. But I think these negative numbers are lumping in peacenicks with those who would prefer large-scale bombing until everyone we want to capture is turned over by their host countries. The anti-war folks will keep the heat on Democrats and their own tortured positions will just continue to vacillate day by day. This politicking, along with economic Chicken Little-ism (we have ample soundbites of Dems giving the GOP policies all the credit for their imaginary horrible economic conditions) will betray them in 2006.
On a local note, it was interesting that Jonathan Miller showed at the HillaryFest. Could this mean that he is taking himself off the stage in 2007? Or could it mean that he hopes to run as LG to non-attending Crit Luallen in an attempt to broaden a base for that ticket (we are both for and against Hillary!!!)?
