The mid–term elections must be considered a resounding victory for President Bush and the Republican Party. For the first time since 1934, the party occupying the White House did not lose seats in Congress. The Republicans gained seats in the House, gained control of the Senate and retained a majority of governorships.

The reasons given by the Democrats for their defeat range from the war on terrorism and a popular president to “we didn’t have a message.” I have a different opinion. In the last decade or so, the national Democratic Party has drifted away from its core values into a stream of political contradictions.

The liberal Democrats support killing of innocent babies with abortion but oppose capital punishment for hardened criminals. They support the institution of marriage but oppose efforts to eliminate the marriage-tax and to deny benefits to homosexual couples. They claim to be for working people but oppose efforts to reduce their tax burden. They support the principle of private enterprise but oppose allowing younger workers to privatize a small portion of their Social Security contributions on a voluntary basis. They talk about balanced budgets and fiscal restraint but vote for bigger government and social programs. They support the thesis of law and order but oppose conservative jurists.

The Democrats lost this election because the party of Roosevelt has become the party of contradictions.

David Edmunds

Pinehurst