The Bush Effect?

You've heard about the "Bush Doctrine"...could the "Bush Effect" be the next phrase to enter our vocabulary?

James Taranto, of OpinionJournal.com, coined the term the "Roe Effect" to describe the long-term effect of the legalization of abortion. Essentially the argument boils down to the thesis that liberals are more likely to have abortions than conservatives; therefore, the long-term effect is for conservatives to have greater population growth and the additional political clout that implies.

A description and quantification of the "Roe Effect" can be found here.

The 2004 election cycle may see the "Bush effect" which could further accelerate that trend. Namely: a number of Leftists/liberals are saying they will leave the country if Bush is re-elected. I posted about this on Friday, and today brings an article about the bleak future for the Kerry campaign in the Boston Globe which ends with this:

At a sold-out Milwaukee performance Saturday night by comedian Bill Maher, famous for ripping into Bush, fired-up patrons who left the show at the Pabst Theater loudly fretting about their prospects in November.

''Oh my God, if Bush wins, people are going to move to another country," said Gretchen Wick, 43, a Milwaukee teacher who went to the Maher show.

A die-hard Democrat, she said she has never felt as worried about politics as she does now.

Now would probably be an appropriate time to repeat my offer from Friday to buy some plane tickets to help the "Bush Effect" refugees...