It pains me to have to say it, but if grassroots Republicans fail to turn out to vote for the McCain-Palin ticket, then that will only prove that many Republican voters really are stupid. However rhetorically squishy-center and functionally liberal a McCain administration might be, the Obama Nation will be much worse. Yes, this is the most liberal Republican to head a ticket, arguments about Nixon and “W” aside, but this is also about the most leftist Democratic ticket ever, without doubt. It seems odd to talk about leftists in the twenty-first century, decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, but Bill Ayres from the Weather Underground supports Obama.

Don’t remember the Weather Underground? Both Mr. Ayres and the national news media prefer it that way. The transfer of power from the liberals to the radicals in the Democratic Party began in 1968, with riots and assassination (leading eventually to the anti-anti-communist McGovern of 1972). The pro-communist Weathermen aided the cause with several bombings, the last of which was accidental. Mr. Ayres conveniently forgets the extent of his involvement, because there is no statute of limitations on murder.

Populist ‘fairness’ is not leftist ‘revolution,’ but class-warfare rhetoric satisfied both groups, and provided Red-blooded operatives an old-fashioned respectability.  Republicans know that the Democrats collectively lost control of their party and possibly their minds in 1968, and their candidates have been sliding toward the edge of sanity ever since. Traditional Democratic voters see the trend, and worry that the Republicans may be right. The problem is that anti-anti-communism seemed plausible because good old class-warfare stem-winding has been around since before the publication of the Wizard of Oz. Unionizing hadn’t destroyed America, and warnings that the leftists were plotting against us just seemed paranoid. Today’s media and Democratic talking heads minimize the threat of the Weathermen by talking about their incompetence and ignoring their successful bombings. Voters in 1968 did not, and gave the presidency to anti-communist Richard Nixon.

It is often said by politicians that, “This is the most important election in a generation.”  This year, that is actually true: this is the most profound choice of direction since Ford (R) vs. Carter (D). Remember, people knew what a Carter administration was like when they chose not to re-elect Carter in 1980; they didn’t have a clue back in 1976, but they did know the moderate Ford. Squishy-center vs. leftist; sound familiar? Remember that nobody in this new generation remembers JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, or even George Bush. Bill Clinton and “W” are the only presidents these voters know; viscerally, they represent the Democratic and Republican parties. Voters with longer memories have a duty to use their longer historical perspective, and communicate these lessons as best they can.

Republicans should not draw the wrong historical lessons: Populism (à la Maverick McCain) will not convey popularity, nor will disastrous Democratic leadership necessarily lead to miraculous rescue, as in Reagan’s victorious 1980. The best lesson may be from 1972.  Watergate did not win Nixon re-election; the fact that the voters knew that George McGovern was a leftist did. McCain should realize that he will be accused of dirty tricks no matter how clean his campaign is, and give the public ‘straight talk’ about Obama.

Democrats draw the wrong lesson from 1972, and seem to believe that dirty tricks are the way to win elections, not avoiding the slide to the left. Voter fraud has always been a concern in elective government, with Chicago long an American cliché of such. Now, a Chicago politician runs for president, and ACORN fills the news. Republican voters should understand how fiercely Democrats believe that the 2000 election was stolen, and how fiercely they intend to show that, “turnabout is fair play.” The only cure is a high turnout, overwhelming corruption by sheer numbers. This may sound Pollyannaish, but local voter registration authorities are catching much blatant voter fraud; the subtle fraud left must be small, necessarily.