How defeat can fuel a GOP resurgence

Republicans may have lost the health-care fight in Congress, but the opponents of Obamacare won a decisive victory in the battle for public opinion, argues Karl Rove, former president George W. Bush's longtime strategist, in The Wall Street Journal. The issue can help speed the resurgence of the Republican Party by giving conservatives a "rallying cry" in this fall's elections: "Repeal, replace, and reform." Democrats have alienated independents and the political center, Rove says, making it easier for the GOP to win their votes by offering a sensible alternative. Here's an excerpt:

"Democrats are celebrating victory. The public outcry against what they've done doesn't seem to bother them. They take it as validation that they are succeeding at transforming America.

But we've seen this movie before and it won't end happily for Democrats. Their morale rose when the stimulus passed in February 2009. The press hailed it as a popular answer to joblessness and a sluggish economy. At the time, Democrats thought it brightened their chances in the 2009 gubernatorial elections.

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But a flawed bill, bumbling implementation, and unfulfilled expectations turned the stimulus into a big drag on Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey. A CBS News/New York Times poll recently reported that only 6% of Americans believe the stimulus package created jobs.

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