The main reason Republicans have been winning elections is not because they are paragons of governing virtue. It's because they've been running against Democrats.

Well sure. I rather enjoy that observation, in fact, because it's an admission of winning by default. I agree with Republicans, it really was humliating to lose in 2004 against George Bush. Wouldn't have happened with even a mediocre Democrat running; anything would've been better than that shambling zombie Kerry. I hope the DNC can keep him in his crypt in 2008.

"Disregard of the votes of the citizens?" I can see where this is heading. If 2006 comes out differently than the eager Left expects, look for another flood of vote conspiracy theories.

There will always be conspiracy theories dreamt up to explain losing. I kinda like the "vast Liberal media conspiracy", a true classic in that genre. It's durable because all you have to do is see the dog in the random spots and there you go, a pattern of bias.

I don't know as I'd describe myelf as "eager" for victory, so much as simply confident of it and possessed of faith in the essential strength of our system. The flip side of taking power with tiny margins of 1% or so is that it's easy for those margins to disappear. All this talk of a "permanent Republican majority"--based on a majority of 1%--has always been pure wishful thinking, or to put the best face on it, a conscious attempt to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But as I've said earlier, even though it's a pretty stupid dream with no real chance of success, people pursuing it nonetheless will really wrack the country before they're put down. I credit most of our current poisonous partisanship to the pursuit of the unholy dream. The upside is that only a percent or two of the electorate has to realize what's going on to put a stop to it. I don't need to go around trying to stampede people, it's enough to just explain the situation and have a little faith that a few people will take it from there. It's likely that all it takes is those disaffected Republicans, disgusted with their Party and determined to express themselves by not voting, to turn things around. And as I've said before, I admire that stand greatly, more than I'd respect people who switch parties. You don't have to be a turncoat to do the right thing.