And it turns out that the winning formula is to run as a conservative - something many Republicans seem to have given up on in recent years.

Democrats have now won two special elections for Congressional seats in the South this year (three total nationwide).  In both Louisiana and Mississippi the winning Democrats proudly proclaim to be pro-life, pro-gun, and anti illegal immigrant.  Not exactly in keeping with the national party’s core principles.

Have the Democrats become the new Republicans - the party with the big tent?  They took control of Congress in 2006 in part by fielding conservative candidates like Heath Shuler whose values are strikingly at odds with the party’s leadership.  So far in 2008 they’ve expanded their majority using the same tactic.

I suspect that power starved Democrats will continue to eagerly applaud their newly minted conservative brethern.  But how long will it take the vindictive, shrill Democrat base to turn on these politicians when they dare to stand in the way of progressive socialist legislation?  Travis Childers, the winner in the Mississippi special election, said, “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”  The angry left has made attacking Republicans who utter such beliefs a hobby.  When will the honeymoon be over?

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This entry was posted by Brian on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 8:41 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.