Every once in a while you’ll be reading an article, and you’ll come across something that just makes your jaw drop. This article is about the conversion of my home county of Bucks from a Republican stronghold to a Democrat stronghold. It’s happening all over the Philadelphia area, thanks to George W. Bush destroying the Republican coalition. Thanks George! People like this woman are typical:
This week was the first moment in more than a generation when the number of registered Democrats surpassed Republicans in Bucks county. “This has been a Republican stronghold for as long as I can remember,†says Marilyn Larsen, a former Republican member of the local school board in Newtown, Bucks Country, who recently registered as a Democrat. Mrs Larsen, a retired teacher, says that it was the Bush administration’s “hostility to science†and the spread of evangelical politics that helped push her across.
I can identify with this too, but it’s not enough to make me head over to ally with the socialists. But maybe the Republicans should be happy to lose people like this woman, and here’s why:
“Let’s be honest about it, Barack Obama is culturally white – that’s why a lot of people round here are prepared to vote for him,†says Mrs Larsen, who has yet to make up her mind whether to vote for Mr Obama or Hillary Clinton, who retains a lead in the opinion polls. “But when they hear Michelle Obama speak they start wavering. She seems more African-American. People haven’t changed as much as they like to think.â€
Congratulations Marilyn Larsen, you’re the bonehead of the week for that statement. So she’ll vote for Obama because he’s white enough for her?  I could care less that Obama is white, black, green or Barney purple; his policies are the stuff nightmares are made of for advocates of smaller, limited government.
This has happened in my home county of Montgomery, too. Of course there is a certain percentage of sheep who will register with whatever is the predominant party and then there are those that think that by voting for Hillary they create an advantage for McCain, still others are registering Democrat now because it’s the only race that really matters right now in PA–however it’s not enough to justify the numbers we are seeing here: Democrats outnumber Republicans by over 10,000.
I think Montco has been trending leftward for awhile. We get a lot of transplants from the city who want to come out and give their failed Democratic policies a fresh start in a new county. The county’s party leadership has been divisive and ineffective, and we just had a very controversial county commissioners’ election in which Castor and Matthews won for the Republicans and the vile Joe Hoeffel won for the Dems. Matthews quickly cut a power deal with Hoeffel to keep him(Matthews) in the chairman’s seat, leaving Castor, who was the winner of the popular vote, out in the cold.
What’s hurt the party the most, IMHO, is the rampant spending and corruption of the Republican party at the Federal level once they finally got into power. It was a betrayal of people (such as myself) who have been slogging it out in the trenches for years working to put the Dems out. With Republicans like these, who need Democrats? The Republican brand is damaged and we in Motco are already working at the grassroots level to build it back up.
I don’t think you can lay the downward trend of the Republican party solely at the door of George Bush.
No, I don’t think you can, but suburban Philadelphia Republicans are fiscal republicans, and there’s a lot of things they won’t want to associate with that Bush has pushed heavily, while doing nothing for their interests.
I do agree that it was the fiscal overspending and corruption with the Republicans in power. It was obvious that in the 2006 election that is why the Republicans sat it out. They were disgusted. It was not the war, since Bush was not running in that election.
In PA I think that the big change is Republicans switching so they can vote in the Democratic primary to help get the better candidate or to cause more chaos. In the general they will vote for McCain.
The real problem is for the US Rep seats and Senatorial seats may not get enough votes to correct the Democratic shift at the federal level.
In PA Democrats are often more conservative and side with the pro gun side so no damge to Democrats on guns. That is how in 2006 the Democrats got so many seats. Raoul Emmanuel in the house arranged for a lot of conservative Democarsts to run and that was very sucessful.
Voters chose not on party but more on what positions are aligned with their own. No reason not to vote for a Democrat if they have your positions.
If you want the republican party to be more sucessful then get in and help or run yourself.
Clayton Cramer is doing that in Idaho.
The only color associated with Obama that matters is the color of his politics: pure Marxist Red.
“But maybe the Republicans should be happy to lose people like this woman…”
She was never a CONSERVATIVE, just a RINO…
good riddance, Marilyn…DLTDHYOTWO