Dawn of the Dead

November 03, 2004

There’s no good way to spin this disaster. The zombies marched to the polls. The thing is, what’s most annoying is that the elite GOP string-pullers don’t care at all about abortions, guns, prayer in schools, same-sex marriage etc. Their daughters get abortions, they don’t pray much, they sure don’t own guns (except the ones their bodyguards have) and they could care less about homosexuals. But to their followers, and there are many, these are make-or-break issues.

The recriminations will already be underway among Democrats. I’d expect that the trend will be: we can’t run these northeast liberals, we need to appeal to the rural voter, we need the south. Expect a sharp right turn from the Dems lasting a couple decades. It will be ironically stupid, because if they stay progressive and await the demographic tide, they can rise, sooner than they think.

Meanwhile: in Iraq, the long-postponed Fallujah attack seems ready to unfold. Prime Minister Allawi, the puppet in chief, wants it. But Iraq’s president, a tribal chieftain who is a lot more connected to the actual Iraqis than Allawi (a former exile), is vigorously opposed to attacking Fallujah. Guess who will win?

Expect the Fallujah offensive to be the first of many under Bush II. Richard Perle was already on television last night, resurfacing after months of quiescence. I expect the neocons to return with a vengeance in Bush II, not only demanding victory-at-any-cost in Iraq but pressing for a restoration of their original regional plan: Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and more, all in preparation for what they expect to be a twenty-first century conflict with China.