Reconciliation A Myth, Not A Strategy

[hatrack]

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I understand why reconciliation is so tempting. Reconciliation is the Democratic way, the party's reflexive, knee-jerk reaction. "Can't we all just get along?" is the liberals' perpetual, passive password. They haven't figured out that reconciliation, in the pursuit of power, isn't the solution. Reconciliation is the problem.

Had Ohio gone south -- er, northeast or northwest -- and helped unseat the incumbent, the Republicans wouldn't be second-guessing themselves or moaning about healing. The Republicans would be at Defcon-5. The red states would be preparing for the anti-Christ. GOP apologists would have taken to the airwaves, whipping the faithful into a frenzy, leading the saints to war.

Such imminent political hostilities were averted by Bush's comfortable victory, just as imminent unity was denied. Does anyone truly believe, based on the president's record, that his interests are served by uniting this country? If the man was emboldened by losing the popular vote in 2000, imagine how empowered he will be by winning it in 2004. His moderate term is history. His true colors will soon be unfurled.

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If the reeling, bloodied Democrats need an emotional anchor, that'll do. And if they need a liberal oasis in which to lick their wounds and plot their counterattack, they might consider wintering in Oregon. On a day in which the Republicans took total control of power inside the Beltway, the liberal landslide in Oregon was stunning. The state's four Democratic incumbents in Congress won re-election by averaging 60 percent of the vote. Democrats took firm control of the Oregon Senate and won all three statewide races. While Measure 36 passed, Portland voters put mayor-elect Tom Potter and Sam Adams, two vocal supporters of gay rights, on the City Council, and Multnomah County retained its controversial income tax. Why is Oregon an exception to the Republican rule? Is it possible that liberals in this state take an unapologetic approach to defending the environment, protecting schools, advancing civil rights, autonomy in those end-of-life decisions, and -- contrary to Bush's management of the war in Iraq -- the doctrine of shared sacrifice? Does that explain their reward on Election Day?"

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http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf?/base/news/1099572958286170.xml