The "R" Word?

After decades of trying to make "Liberal" (the "L" word) into a bad word, conservatives are getting a taste of their own bad medicine, and from their own party. With the presidents rapidly sinking approval ratings and general disgust at republicans in general, more republicans are shying away from affiliating themselves with Bush and the republican party. Most strikingly, Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee has been running ads that fail to mention his party,and has also put up a campaign Web site that doesn't mention his party, in fact any voter looking for a party affiliation would only find Democrat - mentioned in a blurb on the bottom of his site - "Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Reynolds running campaign ads here."


The republicans may no longer be able to respond by relying on diverting attention away from their failures with manipulative debates that attempt to exploit patriotism and religious values. According to a survey released by NPR today, people are no longer falling for the "moral values" demagoguery. Fifty-two percent say that the recent stem cell debate made them more inclined to vote for Democrats, and 49 percent said the same about flag burning, gay marriage and other "values issues." Only 29 percent -- essentially the conservative base -- said those debates would motivate them to vote for Republicans.