In 1965, the Democrats had a 68-32 advantage in the Senate and LBJ as president. Within four years, Nixon was president.

In 1977, the Democrats had a 61-39 advantage in the Senate and Carter as president. Within four years, Reagan was president.

Question: Is today like 1965 and 1977, and conditions exist for another GOP comeback? Or are things different? (And if so, how and why? Luck? Bad governing? Dynamic candidate?)

My thoughts on this question: Barack Obama seems like a more dynamic candidate than either LBJ or JC.  But I don’t think that will be enough to save him and the democrats if his policies aren’t perceived as successful.  There is a fundamental ideological divide in this country that the stimulus bill has exacerbated.  If, three years from now, history shows that the stimulus was full of airports to nowhere, he might lose some key support.  To this end, Obama’s “stimulus cop,” Vice President Joe Biden, was quoted on the phone with a stimulus recipient on Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes as saying, “But don’t come back and tell me you built a swimming pool because it doesn’t pass the smell test.”  Hopefully Joe’s tough talk works.  And hopefully the Biden “smell test” isn’t the only weapon in the administration’s arsenal.

But what’s clear is that Republicans have gone back to their small government roots in an effort to distinguish themselves from the administration’s policies.  This new/old platform could strike a chord with voters depending on how things work out.  Obama’s fate is thus intertwined with the perception of the stimulus, the state of the economy, and any other spontaneous and intervening variable that this world has so often proved capable of producing.

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) have introduced truly groundbreaking legislation that deals precisely with this issue.  The Fair Elections Now Act would replace a special-interest funded campaign system with one that is funded by both public funding and small-dollar donations.  By stripping candidates of the incentive to fall into the pockets of powerful special interests through the pursuit of large campaign donations, members of Congress would be free to pursue the interests of their constituents and focus on making sound policy judgments without the taint of a corruption-friendly system.  This is precisely what representative democracy is all about.

Lawrence Lessig has launched a Change Congress campaign that backs this legislation.  It seems to be gaining some ground and this bill, or some version of it, just might make it through Congress if enough people join the cause by pressuring their representatives to vote for it.

I usually have trouble taking a side on a particular issue since there are very few that are simply black or white.  But this is one of those things that is just so basic in its necessity that I can’t help but strongly support it.