Seems like wherever I turn, there's another book, article, or column by a Republican aghast at how things have turned out. A few weeks ago William F. Buckley joined the chorus of conservative voices declaring the U.S. invasion of Iraq a failure. On Tuesday I read an interview with Francis Fukuyama, a neo-Con defector who essentially says that regardless whether the priniciples behind a neo-Con approach to foreign policy are sound, this administration has been clueless in applying those principles. Today Kevin Phillips, one of the architects of the GOP's rise to power, expresses alarm with the party's reliance on oil, debt, and most of all, religion. His concern rests not just with the GOP, but where he believes the party is taking the country, i.e., irreversible decline. He also believes that the religious wing of the party has no worries about such matters, as they're gearing for Armageddon.
And yet, I wonder whether these dissenting voices will do a lick of good. Will the Democrats narrow the gap in the mid-term elections, or possibly gain control of either the House or Senate? What does it say when the Dems have become the party of fiscal responsibility, and still the odds are against them retaking Congress? Fukuyama states that he voted for Kerry in the last election. Will 2008 bring a different type of Republican presidential candidate to the fore, and if not, what will it take to convince Bush supporters to follow a new path?
Verily, we live in scary times.
