Republicans meet their Waterloo in 08

The Republican Party was once a force to be reckoned with, for years the Democrats ruled both houses with a substantial majority. Then came an ex-Hollywood actor turned politician from California, named Ronald Reagan. During his tenure, he led his “Reagan Revolution” and changed the political landscape for years to come. He followed the basic Republican beliefs of tax cuts for all, having a strong military and opposing abortion. He was considered one of the greatest Republican presidents of all time. Though after Reagan’s departure, the party still endured the presidency with George Bush Sr. and when they lost to Bill Clinton in 92. The Republicans came back with Newt Gingrich’s, “Contract with America” and took back the house with a large majority over the Democrats.
Jump to today and the Republican Party seemed to have lost its will and strength. With an unpopular war raging on in the Middle East and an unpopular president, the once great party is now a minority in both houses. It was during the 06 election that the Democrats took over the political landscape in Washington with there anti-war votes and anti- Bush supporters. Though, most of the blame should be put on the Republican Party as a whole. For one thing they weren’t really doing anything positive when they took over both houses in 04. Most of time, they were involved in the typical partisan bickering with the Democrats, which led to nothing getting done. Plus, another thorn sticking in the side of the party was the countless scandals. There was scandal after scandal plaguing the party, whether it was Jack Abramoff bribes, Mark Foley’s sexual messages towards young intern boys or more recently, Larry Graig’s toe tapping in the airport bathrooms. These and many other scandals have lost the trust of many voters across America.
Today, the Republicans are in dire straits, more than 28 members in the house are retiring and another 6 in the Senate are not running for reelection, leaving the Democrats able to pick up a larger majority in both houses. Now with John McCain being the likely choice for the Presidential Republican nominee, the Conservative wing of the party is planning on staying home with their votes this November. They see McCain as an R.I.N.O or Republican in Name Only, the Conservatives would rather see their party go down the drain than vote for a moderate with in their party.
Now with primaries in full swing, the only hope the Republicans have is that Hillary Clinton wins the Democrat nominee. The Clintons are still public enemy number one with the Republican Party and a Hillary victory would certainly bring a fiery reemergence within the right. Though a wrench has been thrown into the machine, with the profound surge in popularity of Barrack Obama, both the Clintons and the Republicans are sweating it out, hoping a change in their direction will bring back the good old days, when both the Republicans and the Clintons ruled.