by James Glaser
July 1, 2004

Like many people. At one time I believed that the businessmen and the rich were Republicans and everyone else was the Democrats. Later on all the Christians signed up with the GOP and they started winning elections.

That wasn't true, but that is the drift we got growing up in Minnesota. There are still many people where I live that assume that all business owners and prolifers vote GOP and all the workers vote DFL (Democrat Farmer Labor).

I have come to realize that the Republican Party really does have a "Big Tent" and people from all walks of life have signed on. That is what I think will cost George Bush this election.

Remember Compassionate Conservatism? There were a lot of Republicans that thought George was serious about that.

Along with that, Bush campaigned on the fact that Texas had one of the nation's strongest "Bill of Rights" for patients of HMOs. Bush said that Patients could sue a HMO if it refused to pay for doctor-recommended treatment. Big insurance companies took that law to court and the Bush administration took their side and urged the Supreme Court to strike down the Texas law. They did.

Growing up we just knew that Republicans stood up for our Constitution's Bill of Rights. Many of our current Republicans wonder how some parts of the Patriot Act, fit into that belief in the Constitution.

My dad always told me that the GOP wanted to make government smaller and keep spending down. He said they were "fiscally conservative." George Bush cannot claim to be fiscally anything other than a Big Spender and the size of our government has grown by leaps and bounds during his first term.

The nation is said to be divided on who they want for the next President. The winner will be the man who was best at getting his base energized and that is where Bush is going to have a problem.

No. Republicans will not be switching parties and voting for John Kerry and yes, they are still pouring money into the RNC, but many of them are no longer excited about their candidate.

Oh they will get out and vote and most likely it will be for Bush, but he needs more than that. He needs people to feel good about that vote like they did in the last election. Feeling good about a candidate is infectious.

Last election people would smile and say that they were voting for George and so should you. This year they say that they are voting.

Even though it is early, you don't see staunch Republicans pushing for Bush. It is almost like they are embarrassed about this years vote. People talk about the thousands of illegal aliens sneaking into our country every night and wonder how many terrorists come with them. Republicans want President Bush to protect our borders and they know he hasn't.

George Bush does have his strong backers, but they are not enough to carry the election. He needs every Republican to get out there and talk him up and get people excited about him. The trouble is, George has disappointed too many people in his own party.

There are just too many people that are proud to claim the label of Republican, but not a Bush Republican.