Wayne Allyn Root, Las Vegas oddsmaker, Republican libertarian activist, and the author of the Amazon best-selling book "Millionaire Republican" has been predicting a massive GOP election nightmare for over a year — since the Terri Schiavo debacle orchestrated by Tom DeLay.
Again and again, Root blamed the coming GOP loss of Congress on the GOP strategy of pandering to religious extremists orchestrated by Karl Rove. "We are the party of personal responsibility. Let's put the blame squarely where it belongs: on the shoulders of President Bush and Karl Rove. Their strategy of pandering to the religious right has turned off tens of millions of mainstream Americans, blue dog Democrats, and independents.
"History always repeats — only politicians or political parties that move to the center prevail in this country. Look at Gov. Schwarzenegger in California, Mayor Bloomberg in New York, Senator Lieberman in Connecticut, popular national presidential contenders like Guliani and McCain. These political leaders prove moderation sells!"
Root believes that the Rove strategy of appealing only to the base but ignoring or alienating mainstream voters has proven one of the greatest political blunders in modern history. "The GOP has squandered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to control all levels of government for decades.
"The migration of GOP voters to low tax red (Republican) states had the potential to put the GOP in the driver's seat for many years to come. But President Bush made two primary mistakes: First, he allowed government growth and spending to spiral out of control. He spent like a combination of a Democrat and a drunken sailor!
"Republicans can never win by outspending Democrats. Second, 'W' turned off libertarian Republicans, like me, and mainstream moderate voters on issues such as stem cell research, Terri Schiavo, global warming and the ban on online gaming, which polls showed was opposed by 90 percent of the electorate."
Root believes that the online gaming ban was the smoking gun of election 2006 — with millions of angry online gaming fans voting Democrat in mass protest to this egregious violation of their freedom.
Root says, "This election was not won by Democrats. It was lost by Republican arrogance. Voters didn't choose Democrats for their views, because they offered none. Voters certainly didn't vote Democrat in support of higher taxes. They chose moderate to conservative Democrat candidates over the perceived religious and right-wing extremist GOP image created by Bush and Rove.
"Many libertarian Republicans voted against the 'nanny state' favored by Bush, Frist, and other religious conservatives. This was not a vote in favor of liberal views — it was simply a repudiation of the ultra-right wing views of Bush and Rove. Voters want smaller government and lower taxes. Bush moved away from the legacy of Ronald Reagan by expanding government and supporting the nanny state and he paid the price.
"Republicans have lost their way. The results of election 2006 should inspire much soul-searching. The GOP must go back to its Reagan roots of smaller government, reduced spending, lower taxes, and individual freedoms."
Root had predicted that Sen.John McCain was the favorite for president in 2006. "The post election results back up my earlier prediction. America wants a moderate Republican in the White House; McCain is the ideal choice.
"He is strong on defense with a military background, yet gets along with Democrats and often crosses party lines. McCain campaigned for over 100 GOP candidates across the country and now will collect on that goodwill as the GOP picks up the pieces and looks for a mainstream, electable candidate in 2008. McCain is that man."
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