> Would it be right to say that the Democrats have actually done better out > of these elections than they might have expected before the Lewinsky story > broke? Could be. Though they had some things to look forward to sans Lewinsky. The R's had overreached in policy areas and had been internally divided (witness the tax cut debacle). It's possible the Dems could beat up the R's on issues. > If so, does it mean that all those loud fundamentalist bible-belters are > more concerned with (apparently) thriving economic numbers than with > adultery and lying? Evidently they didn't turn out as much, or there aren't enough of them. > Or did more Democrat voters turn out than usual? Yes, particularly minorities and trade unionists. > And, given the GOP still has the numbers, will it go ahead with the > impeachment process now? Strikes me the ghastly Gingrich is > stuffed either way now. They will shut it down as fast as they can. Newt is cold potatoes, though he may offer up Armey as the notional sacrifice. The tasty part is that a section of the right is so rabid they will propel the 'impeachment process' forward to some extent, and they will also disproportionately influence the Republican presidential primaries, abetting the party's stagnating political fortunes. > > My bet: the GOP comes over all 'moderate', the 'Contract with > America' goes > the way of all turds, 'Bushism' tries hard to become a buzz-word, and the > last vestiges of distinction between Dems and Reps dissolve as two PR > companies launch their respective wooden plutocratic commodities at us, > hoping brand differentation can survive the clearly identical contents. There will be a huge fight before the GOP goes moderate. The right was p.o.'ed as it was and believes they lost because they weren't right enough. The Texas Son o' Bush is an obvious unifying factor, but it's not clear that unification will be possible. I agree that if the moderates win it will be harder than presently to see a difference between the parties. On the other hand, if the right frontier of debate moves to the center, the left might move in the opposite direction. The dominant theme in the Dem victories seemed to be a purported absence of malice towards minorities and women. Class was invisible. Neo-liberal economics are an obvious potential outcome. Funny thing is, class seemed to play more in some of the Southern Dem victories, and in some so-called 'right-wing' democratic campaigns. The model is the outgoing Georgia governor Zell Miller, who was 'tough on crime' but used lottery proceeds to subsidize higher education for lower-income students. MBS
