The Times Union Offers A Solution To Republicans As They Struggle For Votes And Relevancy In This Year's Election: Become A Democrat

Ever concerned with the future of the GOP, the Times Union editors have written a sort of "how to" opinion piece to get the off base, out of touch Republicans back in good with the middle class (Apparently the GOP has given up on appealing to the lower class.)

As we all know, America isn't so enamored these days by the current president, and in case there was any doubt or questions, the TU leads off its manifesto with a master of the obvious statement: "It's no secret: President Bush is unpopular." (Okay, maybe it is still a secret in the White House.)

So what can the Republicans do to salvage its plummeting popularity in this country? To answer this question, the TU turns to GOP apologist and former party propagandist David Frum. The TU also turns to Newt Gingrich, who has the audacity to suggest another Contract On America (since the first one was such a hit that it helped kill the GOP revolution in just 12 short years).

So what do these intellectual amoebas know now that they haven't bothered to share with the administration?

First, trim back the federal bureaucracy. Not a bad idea. How about trimming it back to the level it was before GW created the Department of Homeland Security, a move that saw the biggest jump in federal expansion since World War II and bloated the federal government to record size.

Second, military spending should be assessed for waste. Wow, this shouldn't even be its own pointed topic. But with the corruption of the Halliburtons and the disappearing of billions of contract dollars in Iraq, yeah, maybe someone in the GOP should start paying attention to wasteful spending.

Third, corporate welfare . . . should be reined in. Again, really? You mean, in order to draw favors from the middle class, the Republicans are going to have to stop giving away money in the form of tax free and other bogus incentives, or maybe even start making the oil gas companies pay the billions in royalties it owes the government instead of letting these companies skate on improper exemptions?

Other suggestions the TU makes in an attempt to make the GOP appear human to the rest of the world include embracing cleaner energy sources, promoting competition in the health industry, and controlling outlandish earmarks.

Taking in all of these suggestions, doesn't it sound like the cure for the Republican failures is to have them embrace Democratic ideals? Sounds that way to me.

Want to be popular? Save the environment.

Want credibility with 99% of Americans? Stop giving away money to the defense contractors and oil companies.

Want to appear compassionate to the tens of millions without health insurance? Start addressing the problems in the insurance and health care industry.

Thanks, TU. I hope all your faithful readers will embrace the Democratic philosophies you have espoused in your editorial and will vote this year (and forever) for the one party that truly resonates and makes social, environmental and economic sense to the rest of the country.