Red Sox, Republicans and Seabiscuit: All of them Victorious

Above on left, Seabiscuit at the finish line beating beating War Admiral in 1938

By Francis I. Broadhurst

I grew up watching the Red Sox lose starting in 1946 so I cannot suppress my glee at the string of victories posted by those Splendid "Idiots" who look more like a scruffy bunch of Dead End Kids than slick, professional baseball players.

They knocked the hated Yankees into the middle of next year then swept the Series against the Cardinals. After more than 50 years of hoping, I'd grown tired of saying: "Wait 'till next year!"

Being a Republican in a Blue State

Being a Red Sox fan prepared me to be a Republican in Massachusetts. Each year as Democrats return in dismally large numbers to Beacon Hill, Republicans say "Wait 'till next time!"

"Next time" comes and goes - and the Massachusetts Legislature remains in the grasp of Democrats who often forget government belongs to the people not the other way around. Republicans remain a permanent, obscure minority on Beacon Hill where they can caucus in a phone booth. The way Gov. Mitt Romney conducted the Republican effort was, to be charitable, ham handed, dumb and just this side of stupid! That is a subject for later review. Let's get back to the Red Sox!

My beloved Red Sox offered a wonderful diversion from an election campaign that turned so rancid and hateful I was turned off from politics, polls, media chatterboxes, analysts, pundits and the cursed spin doctors who lie through their teeth. And this from a lifelong political junkie.Enter the Red Sox. God bless 'em. They restored hope, fun and optimism to an otherwise grim world.

Like Seabiscuit, the racehorse that diverted millions from the pangs and pains of the Great Depression, the Boston Red Sox-- kind of ugly, rather ungainly, self-professed "Splendid Idiots"-- rescued millions from the ravages of a savage and indescribably dirty political campaign.

Litigious Liberals Losing of Late

But lo and behold! the election has come and gone and George W. Bush, targeted for extinction and humiliation by the intellectual elite, left wing Democrats, pollsters, punditry and most of the mainstream media not only won the Electoral Vote. Yet he won the popular vote by the largest majority in the history of the Republic.

The election celebration he was denied four years ago by litigious Gore factions was celebrated November 3rd at the Ronald Reagan center. It was glorious.

The Players in 1948:
Incumbent Democrat Harry Truman had become President upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt in 1945. His opponent was a popular former Governor of New York, Thomas Dewey, who had run unsuccessfully against Roosevelt in 1944. Dewey was widely predicted to win against Truman. Newspapers were so sure they headlined his victory over Truman on election day, see Harry holding the Chicago Tribune above. A former Roosevelt V.P., Henry Wallace, became a third party "left of center" candidate to challenge Truman and split the Democratic vote. I predicted President Bush would confound his critics just as Harry Truman (D - MO) did when he "gave 'em hell" in 1948 and took the election by storm over New York Governor Thomas Dewey (R - NY). The mainstream media back then loved the third party candidate Henry Wallace who, like Kerry today, was glib, deeply committed to left wing causes and totally in sync with the intellectual elite and academic pontificators.

The same vile things said about old Harry from Missouri were said about "Dubya" from Texas. Ordinary folk flocked to the Bush banner as they did to Truman in '48. The Majority of Americans ignored the nasty nonsense and proved once again that the people who like plain talk and strong action.

Winner take Awe

The biggest winner, of course, was President Bush whose stewardship of his office was vindicated by this election. Other winners include our courageous military forces, the working middle class, the moral majority who have been outrageously defamed by the immoral minority. Also among the winners were Blacks and Hispanics who refused to stay on the liberal plantation and refused to be taken in by the Democrat scaremongers.

Also winners were people who want a safe, strong America for their kids and grand-kids; add to the winners circle Bloggers, Fox News, Brit Hume, economist Tom Sowell and the increasingly important Internet alternative news outlets. They all won big.

F.I.B.'s Dubious Dastards List

Among big losers. Duplicitous Senate minority leader Tom Daschle who helped make sure President Bush could not succeed in bringing Democrats and Republicans together before 9-11 or after. He led the obstructionist party seeking power and partisan gain. Other big losers include all the angry politicians who wanted to be president because they know they are smarter than Mr. Bush. The list includes Ted Kennedy, Al Gore, Joe Biden, Bob Kerry, and the debris left over from the Democratic primary fight.

Messianic billionaire Bush basher George Soros was a big loser along with hate-peddler Michael Moore, the foul mouthed, amoral Hollywood establishment and mainstream news media, notably CBS and The New York Times which acted at times as advance men for Kerry.

The N-Double-A-C-P was a big loser as were union thugs and lying pollsters who misled everybody. Add Maureen Dowd, Molly Ivans, Bob Beckel and assorted local and national columnists to the list. The day after the election, John Edwards was a big loser as he continues trying to divide us into the "Two Americas" of his fantasy.

John Kerry, conceding to Mr. Bush the day after the election, gave the most gracious speech of his career. He was greater in defeat than when punditry had him winning.

President Bush ended the campaign as he began it expressing optimism for America. He struck the chords that have always resonated with ordinary Americans. "When we come together there is no limit to the greatness of America."

God bless George Bush, the Red Sox and America. They are all in a class with the legendary "Seabiscuit"

Francis I. Broadhurst is the senior political columnist on Cape Cod, having written for the Cape Cod Times off and on since 1964. For many years he authored "The Broadhurst Report" on WQRC, and he is a lifelong registered Republican who has served as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Barnstable. You may write him at 88 Stony Cliff Road, Centerville, MA 02632 or e-mail him at FIBcape@aol.com. Francis offered this column to a couple other media which demurred from running it, we assume for the worst "P.C." reasons. We don't often agree with Francis, but like Voltaire we will fight to defend his right to them. - The Editors