Let me see if I get this straight. The Democratic Party, with its regional and ideological differences, fresh off a difficult primary season featuring the largest field of candidates in U.S. history, is rallying together in unity. The Republican Party, with its demands for obedience and its total control over every branch of the government, is divided and frustrated.
It may not make sense, but it seems to be true.
Last night, the Dems showed more cohesive unity than I even thought possible. All of Kerry’s major primary foes were there for the fundraising gala, as were Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Jimmy Carter.
The evening began with all of them walking onstage and grasping hands for the cameras, to cheers from 1,800 attendees munching on barbecue.
Former Texas Gov. Ann Richards, the evening’s emcee, offered a tongue-in-cheek thank you to Republicans “who have worked so hard to bring us together again.”
“We are so united that when we leave here tonight, they’re going to have to use the ‘jaws of life’ to pry us apart,” she said. “[Republicans] drove us into each other’s arms.”
[…]
DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe said the $11 million raised Thursday night set an all-time party record for raising federally regulated “hard money” contributions.
The event was also the culmination of a 10-day fund-raising blitz by the Kerry campaign that succeeded in its goal of raising $10 million, according to a Kerry campaign adviser.
And then there’s the Republican Party.
In recent weeks, two of Kerry’s high-profile defenders on defense issues have been Sens. John McCain and Chuck Hagel. Not only are both Republicans, they’re both chairmen of their home state’s Bush campaign committee. Richard Clarke, another Republican who has worked for three GOP presidential administrations, has turned DC upside down with his charges that the Bush White House has been negligent and incompetent in waging the war on terror. Even House Speaker Dennis Hastert is publicly complaining that the White House is failing to highlight the economy as a key campaign issue.
Better yet, Salon had an encouraging report today explaining that many GOP moderates — what’s left of them, anyway — are anxiously hoping that Bush loses this year to help break the right-wing grip on the party.
[T]here’s little doubt that behind the scenes, some moderate Republicans are rooting for the other side. If Bush wins, one aide to a moderate Republican says privately, “that would be the worst possible situation.”
That’s because some Republicans say that a Bush loss may be their last chance to take their party back. “If Bush were defeated by Kerry, it would certainly call into question the Republican leadership, people like Tom DeLay and Dennis Hastert,” says Fasciani. “That axis of the party may lose its weight and its power. The Powell and Giuliani wing of the party would certainly gain some prominence and may, during the next four years of a Kerry administration, perhaps even gain control of the party and increase the tent.” Such hopes have even led some Republicans to found a grass-roots group called Republicans for Kerry.
Unified Dems, splintered Republicans. Will wonders never cease.