Wishin' and Hopin': Dionne Discerns 'End of The Right'

'Wishin' and hopin' and
'Thinkin' and prayin',
'Plannin' and dreamin'
'Each night of his charms,
'That won't get you into his arms.' - Dusty Springfield, 'Wishing & Hoping'

If E.J. Dionne's wishes were horses, Democrats would ride them to the White House. In his WaPo column of today, The End Of the Right?, the liberal pundit foresees the fall of conservatism. The immediate springboard for his prediction was yesterday's failed vote for an increase in the minimum wage. According to Dionne:

"The most obvious, outrageous and unprincipled [conservative] spasm occurred last night when the Senate voted on a bill that would have simultaneously raised the minimum wage and slashed taxes on inherited wealth.

"Rarely has our system produced a more naked exercise in opportunism than this measure. Most conservatives oppose the minimum wage on principle as a form of government meddling in the marketplace. But moderate Republicans in jeopardy this fall desperately wanted an increase in the minimum wage.

"So the seemingly ingenious Republican leadership, which dearly wants deep cuts in the estate tax, proposed offering nickels and dimes to the working class to secure billions for the rich.

"The episode was significant because it meant Republicans were acknowledging that they would not hold congressional power without the help of moderates. That is because there is nothing close to a conservative majority in the United States."

Dionne also points to internal GOP dissent over spending and the war in Iraq as signs of a pending conservative apocalypse.

E.J. has a penchant for dire predictions when it comes to conservatives. The subtitle of his 1997 epic, 'They Only Look Dead,' was 'Why Progressives Will Dominate the Next Political Era.' Of course, since then liberals have lost both presidential elections and failed four consecutive times to take back Congress.

But a guy can always dream!