FOR MAYBE the first time since the Gingrich revolution rocked their world in 1994, Democrats smell electoral blood in the water.
The conservative crackup over Harriet E. Miers, followed by the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- both directly on the heels of the bungled federal response to Hurricane Katrina -- have unleashed a long-suppressed crisis of conscience and faith within the Republican church.
After more than a decade of controlling the House of Representatives, and after five years of a White House spending binge that would make even Lyndon Johnson blush, Republicans are coming to the awkward realization that they have become the party of Big Government as we know it.
Instead of balancing budgets, eliminating government agencies and paring back entitlements, Republicans have run up the largest debt in history, birthed the biggest new federal bureaucracy in 50 years and created the most expensive entitlement since Medicare. Instead of "restoring dignity to the White House," as they promised, Republican leaders are being charged with criminal corruption and obstruction of justice. President Bush's popularity is getting lower by the week, and a housing bubble is looming precariously over an already fragile economy.
So how should Democrats take advantage? That's the $500,000 question. New Republic Editor Peter Beinart, for instance, has signed a contract (for which he reportedly received at least that sum) to write a book encouraging the Democrats to out-tough the Republicans in the war on terror. Paul Waldman, of the activist group Media Matters and author of the forthcoming "Being Right Is Not Enough," thinks liberals should embrace their inner "progressive" and demonize conservatives the way Rush Limbaugh has baited liberals lo these many years. Party Chairman Howard Dean wants to revive the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," whatever that means.
But as an independent, this all looks dreary and self-defeating to me. How are Democrats going to out-hawk John "we always need more troops" McCain? And if I wanted a party as boringly pugilistic and partisan as Republicans, I'd vote for ... Republicans.
There's another road so obvious that the Democrats have barely considered it. If voters are fed up with irresponsible Big Government cronyism, why not offer a responsible alternative that keeps government out of people's lives except when necessary? After all, libertarian-leaning Republicans and independents are in play like they haven't been since at least 1996, and there's no saying they can't be won over by the Democrats.
