I'm not one for wishful thinking, and I find it more than a little unnerving, even a little scary, every time I hear those considered as being ‘in the know’ tell me I’ve nothing to worry about come election time. Or that by simply talking about how the American people will suddenly choose to do what's right for the country, will somehow cause them to actually do it. All of this may very well be nothing more than putting the electoral cart before the horse. Which brings me to the point of my post. Recently best-selling author and veteran journalist Jonathan Alter said in a recent interview that 2014 will be a "big year for Republicans" as Americans go to the polls to vote in congressional elections.
Republicans "have a good chance of winning back the Senate," says Alter, author of the new book "The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies." He says, "They almost certainly will hold the House. It's very, very tough in a midterm election for the president to gain seats in the sixth year of his presidency. Bill Clinton, because of the backlash against impeachment, was the only one in the whole 20th century who managed to do that. Franklin Roosevelt didn’t do it. None of them did it." But let's not forget here, we do no live in the America of 'BJ' Clinton's time, and it most definitely it is not the America of FDR's time. We're now living in what is rapidly becoming Barry’s America.
But Alter went on to say, "Also, Republicans vote more in midterm elections than Democrats do. And the Democratic base that elected and re-elected Obama, a lot of them aren’t going to vote. So 2014, no matter how the economy is doing, will be a big year for Republicans. If it's a bad economy, it could be a very big year for Republicans." I wish I could share his confidence, I really do. But frankly this all sounds just way too familiar. I feel like I'm back listening to the Karl Rove and Dick Morris cheering section as we headed into last year's presidential election. These days I don't bother listening to either one of these guys, what credibility they may have once had, is gone.
Asked who in the GOP could defeat Hitlery Clinton in a White House race in 2016, Alter said, "Anybody who's nominated by a major party has a very good chance of being elected president. You immediately have 45 percent just by being nominated." He went on to say, "So there's a number of Republicans who would have a very good chance of beating Hillary Clinton. Anyone who says that she's a shoo-in hasn’t been covering American politics as long as I have." Again, that all sounds pretty good right now, but we happen to be three years out from the next presidential election. So, essentially, none of that don't mean squat at this point in time. Way too many things can happen.
As for who should get the Republican nomination, Alter observes: "I'd like to see Chris Christie run because he's a very interesting character. I like the more brainy, more untethered candidates. I'd like to see John Kasich run; Jeb Bush, a very smart guy." This was where he really lost me. While I admit that I was once a Christie fan, but that bloom has definitely fallen off the rose. And, personally, I'm just not that sure about Kasich. And haven't we really had enough of the Bush's? How about a conservative? Alter then went on to say, "Maybe it's the bias of somebody who writes books, but I like politicians who are also thinkers. You want some of that in the presidency."
Alter also brought up a personal favorite of mine, Ted Cruz. He said, "I'm very open to a lot of other people. Somebody who's very, very smart, off the charts smart, is Ted Cruz, but I wouldn’t favor him running because I don’t think he has enough experience yet." Like I said, I like Cruz, and I'd vote for him over any of the other characters that Alter mentions. But something that was brought to my attention, that I didn't know, is the fact that Cruz was born in Canada, which pretty much eliminates him. Even though we have yet to find out, with any degree of certainty, where it was that our current president was born.
So I guess the bottom line here is, let's not be in any big hurry to think we've already got things wrapped up as far as the next election goes. Because we most certainly do not. Our leadership in both houses of Congress is less than stellar and has demonstrated, on any number of occasions, the rather peculiar ability of being able to step on…themselves. And like I said, if the last election taught us anything, its that we should be none too quick to believe these supposed political experts especially when it comes to our chances of achieving electoral success. Because if we're just willing to pay attention and to work at staying informed, we shouldn't need to rely on anyone but ourselves.
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