The John Adams Society

February 2010

Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem.

- Woody Allen

MARTHA COAKLEY HAS JOHN KERRY'S CHARM AND LOOKS, but she still assumed that having the Democratic nomination guaranteed her election to the Senate. Scott Brown won on good looks and an energetic campaign; it is overreaching to assume that he single-handedly defeated ObamaCare. Even if some of the Obama agenda is in trouble, Republicans won’t attract voters to a platform of “we voted no on everything.”

The people may be reluctant to embrace all of Obama’s hope and change, but that doesn’t mean they have decided to abandon hope and revert back to the failed Bush policies. The Republican Party has yet to offer a vision for fixing our economic problems. It’s ten months until the election, the Democrats control Congress and the national agenda, and Republicans have a long history of missing golden opportunities. Counting on a Republican win this November isn’t counting chickens before they hatch; it is counting the chickens before the hens have started laying eggs.

ON THE OTHER HAND, the people telling us the voters still love Obama are the same ones who told us a year ago that a new, permanent, Democrat ascendancy had taken over, led by our new charming post-racial, post-partisan president, oh, and by the way, the era of Reagan is over, and the only chance Republicans have of winning future elections is with cross-the-aisle moderates like John McCain. They haven’t been right in quite a while; why should we believe them now? As for attracting voters, we just need a few more candidates who remember how to say things like: “Cut taxes, cut spending!” and “Drill here, drill now!”

THE CHAIRMAN, less sure of his ability to predict winners and losers since the NFC Championship game, has called a debate to settle the question:

Resolved: Massachusetts Was A Fluke.

The Debate will be held on Wednesday February 17, 2010 at the University Club, 420 Summit Avenue, in Saint Paul. The Chancellor will preside over drinks beginning at seven o'clock p.m. The debate will begin at half past seven. While there is no dress code for attendance, gentlemen who wish to speak must wear a tie; ladies should adhere to a similar sartorial standard. For those gentlemen who arrive tieless yet wish to speak, fret not: the Purveyor of Ties will keep on hand at least one of his quite remarkable ties for just such an eventuality. Questions about debate caucus procedures or about the John Adams Society itself may be directed to the Chairman at (612) 384-6776 or the Secretary at (952) 887-2553.

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