In 2004, the Republican Party sealed what had appeared to be a new and enduring party era, narrowly won in 2000. With a Republican Congress dating from 1994, and only one Democratic president (and a very moderate one at that) since 1980, it was truly a Republican age. The attacks on September 11, 2001, showcased the GOP’s greatest strengths: foreign policy initiative and decisive leadership of Reaganistic qualities. George W. Bush had the terrorists running in Afghanistan and Iraq, the deficit was falling, the unemployment rate was greatly improving, and the standard of living had increased for every American.

But as Bush’s second term began, the decade of power for Congressional Republicans began to echo his sentiment, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The party began to abandon the core principles that made it great in the first place. As terrorism ebbed in the minds of the electorate, Bush began focusing on the very issues that made him unpopular. In 2005, Congress passed a $2.9 trillion budget, the biggest ever. He nominated the universally unpopular Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court. The small government principles that helped the party get elected seemed completely abandoned. And as the war in Iraq began to darken, the Democrats had a perfect springboard to a majority in the 2006 midterm elections.

The Democratic platform for victory was unique in 2006 in that there was not one. The Democrats simply pointed out Republican inefficacy, which was very clear in the previous two years. The “culture of corruption,” the war in Iraq and domestic surveillance were minor selling points, but overall, it was about unhappiness with the government, and the sentiment that it was time for fresh air. This election was not about ideology; the American electorate is conservative in the majority. Since Reagan defined how a government should be run in the 1980s, America has followed and supported that lead. This was visible as many Democrats around the country still lost in 2006, and when virtually all the changeover seats went to “Blue Dog Democrats”: moderate to conservative Dems supporting tax cuts, the Second Amendment and abortion regulations.

Being elected without a platform works . until it is time to govern. In about 200 days, they have proven my point and have passed no significant legislation in their ideological sphere. The minimum wage hike was only passed after a corporate tax cut was added. Not one Iraq funding bill has been defeated (not even a significant opposition has formed), and the House anti-war resolution was passed only after nearly $3 billion in bribes (via legislation) came out of Nancy Pelosi’s office. Nothing came out of Harry Reid’s senate slumber party, and in the latest blow, Democrats have passed a bill expanding Bush’s domestic surveillance program.

The media and liberal Democratic leaders like to say that their 2006 victory was about Iraq. But it wasn’t, and they know it. If it was, funding cuts would have been passed immediately to force Bush’s hand. The newly elected Democrats, however, know that a vote down that road will lead to a loss in their next local election. With positive results coming out of Bush and Petraeus’ new war strategy, a full report (expected also to be positive) due in September, the Democrats are running for the hills. Even a recent New York Times commentary by two very anti-war liberals proclaimed this war as “A War We Just Might Win.” The tides are rapidly turning on the war, and on this short-lived high of the Democratic Party.

But what does this mean for 2008 and beyond? The most moderate of candidates, one who favors the Iraq war, is gaining speed. Hillary Clinton is the guaranteed presidential pick of the Democratic Party. The 2008 presidential election will not be about Bush; the only prominent candidate in national government is John McCain, and his campaign is going up in flames. Each Republican candidate is safely isolated from Bush’s unpopularity.

While polls show a blue White House for now, you can expect that to change. As the Iraq War is vindicated in the coming months and it comes to crunch time, what happened in 2004 will be repeated. America will know it was GOP policy that has kept terrorists at bay for seven years, has halved the deficit while putting more money in our pockets, has lowered unemployment, has sent the stock market through the roof and has fended off unpopular immigration reform.

While the GOP definitely has a long and tiring road ahead, it is one that can, and I believe will, lead to victory.

Brett Kostrzewski is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.