The Republicans do not just dream of victory in 2012. The believe, after success mid-term, that they have a chance. The curious thing is that there have, up till now, been no candidates who inspire and know what they are talking about at the same time. Michelle Bachmann looks promising as well as glamorous and for her age very glamorous. She has that star quality of, dare one say it, Ronald Reagan. True there have been gaffes already, but these are likely due to nerves. Her story is very American dream and her credentials are close to the total package for both the Tea Party as well as the Republican main stream. If America is ready to elect a woman, as it was to elect an African American in Barak Obama, then like him, she has the story and looks the part.
The problem for the Republicans is that their message is somewhat like a listing ship. It is lop sided and if it ever put to sea, it would surely sink. They are right to want to cut government, they are right to want to take as much responsibility as possible back to the individual States, they are right to be fiscally conservative and right to want to reign in spending.
Where they are wrong is taxes. It was Reagan who began the programme of constantly increasing spending, while at the same time cutting taxes. The latter was supposed to boost the economy to pay for the former. This connection was never made. Thus spending always outstripped revenue through Reagan and two Bushes. Growth was an illusion built on credit. The deficit now accumulated and added to in the crash, is eye popping in size. Unless the United States of America wants to go bust, it has to be paid off, or at least reduced to a hill, rather than a mountain touching the stratosphere. To do that America must live within its means.
Because of the errors of the past, that can only be done if America not only cuts its expenditure by slashing programmes, but also commits a larger slice of personal income and corporate profits to the national endeavour. That means taxes must go up. Such an idea is anathema to Republicans of every stripe, but because of the national situation which they had a big hand in creating, there is no other way. If they can embrace that verity, not only may the Republicans win, but the Presidency following the victory will be a success. If they do not, they will not deserve to win, though may do so more easily, but the Presidency will be a disaster. The test of Michelle Bachmann is whether she has the bottle to tell Americans what they do not want to hear.