Conservatism Weakens America

George W. Bush and the corrupt Republican leadership on Capitol Hill have done wonders to tarnish their party's image among Americans, with the GOP registering a paltry 39 percent favorability rating in the latest Opinion Dynamics poll commissioned by Fox News (.pdf), and even worse a 49 percent unfavorability rating. These numbers are particularly bad when considering that the Democratic Party's favorability ratings are near their 3-year high, with 51 percent viewing it positively and just 35 percent viewing it negatively.

But this might not be a low point for the Republican Party. While 2006 was a terrible year for the GOP, particularly in comparison with other cycles -- even dating back three decades -- two more years of poor decisions by the Bush administration could cement negative feelings towards both the Republican Party and conservatism as a whole in ways that might not be turned back for some time to come.

And it's not just about Iraq or corrupt Republicans. It's a whole slew of bad choices that are draining our collective resources and weakening our national security. Take, for instance, the revelation today that the Bush administration apparently turned Iran away nearly four years ago when the country's leadership came to us willing to give in to many of our demands. The Associated Press has the story.

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