July 13, 2007
Signs Point To Rough '08 For GOP
Facts On The Ground Show Little Cause For Republican Optimism
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McCain's Campaign Stumbles
Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign has stumbled again, with the resignation of his campaign manager and top political strategist. Senior political correspondent Jeff Greenfield reports.
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Candidate Romney
Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has gone from being a long shot to a top candidate. Romney speaks with Hannah Storm about the controversy surrounding his faith and his stands on abortion and Iraq.
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Politico On Fred Thompson
Julie Chen speaks with Jim VandeHei, executive editor of Politico.com, about the growing support for senator-turned-actor Fred Thompson's possible run for president in 2008.
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(CBS/AP)
Is the Republican Party standing on the edge of a cliff? It’s possible. Let's consider the bad news.
1) Fundraising. Republicans are still portrayed as the little Monopoly-man capitalists by the media, but the truth is that Democrats are now (alas) the party of the rich. As Peter Schweizer reported on National Review Online last year,
In 2004, Democrats made up 15 of the 25 individuals who gave more than $2 million to 527 groups. Of the Senate and House candidates who received "bundled" contributions that year, 9 out of the top 10 in the Senate and 8 out of 10 in the House were Democrats.Fundraising for 2008 has so far vastly favored the Democrats. Over the past three months, the top three Democratic candidates have raised $68.5 million compared with $48.7 million for the top three Republicans.
. . . In 2002, those who gave $1 million or more gave $36 million to the Democrats and only $3 million to Republicans, a 12:1 ratio.
There may be many reasons for this Democratic advantage, including a certain reticence among those who wish to support former senator Fred Thompson (and we don't yet know how much he has raised). But Democratic House and Senate candidates, too, are outstripping their rivals.
2) Party Identification. Five years ago, the country was equally divided between the two parties, with 43 percent calling themselves Democrats and the same number identifying as Republicans. Today, according to the Pew Research Center, 50 percent identify themselves as Democrats compared with only 35 percent who say they prefer the GOP. Among young people, the trend is even more dramatic: 18- to 24-year-olds are more secular, more culturally liberal and better disposed toward the Democratic party than their elders. They are also voting in larger numbers than they once did. Additionally, party identification tends to remain stable throughout life. A voter is more likely to stay married to his party than to his spouse.
3) Hispanic voters. Hispanic voters are about 12 percent of the electorate. In 2004, President Bush received 44 percent of the Hispanic vote. In 2006, only 29 percent of Hispanics told exit pollsters that they supported Republicans. Following the immigration battles of the past year, Republicans may have cause to look back upon that 29 percent with nostalgia. Justifiably or not (and often it isn't justified), Republicans are now associated with anti-immigrant feelings.
4) The War. Losing wars — or not winning them decisively — is political poison. The Iraq War started to go south with voters when we failed to find caches of WMDs. Support eroded further when Iraq lurched drunkenly into internecine violence and disorder to the soundtrack of liberal Democrats at home blaming the president for (in Ted Kennedy's words) "lies, lies, lies." It slipped even more when the president displayed unimaginative stubbornness about tactics.
Surely fair-minded people can agree that the president was not to blame for the intelligence failure. Nor is he wrong now that failure in Iraq would be a disaster for American security. But the situation calls (and has for some time called for) a more articulate explanation than the president has proved capable of providing. We are in a position of seeking to create order in Iraq, while al Qaeda seeks to create disorder. It is orders of magnitude easier to create chaos than it is to create order. That doesn't mean it is impossible. But it will require patience and above all, will.
The president has the will all right, but he so often makes the mistake of assuming that his will is all that counts. He repeatedly assures the world "so long as I'm the president we will not withdraw." But he will not be the president much longer. It is far more important to bring the country along than just to stick to your guns. At his July 12 press conference, asked about congressional support, he said, "The job of the Congress is to provide funding." He might as well have added, "So shut up." That is failed leadership, and the Republican party may well pay a heavy price for it.
There are countervailing indicators. The economy is strong. The deficit is way down. There may be a certain weariness among voters with the Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton pattern. Democrats continue to present an image of soft-headedness on defense and security issues (viz. John Edwards' assertion that the war on terror is just a slogan). On the other hand, consider this fact from the Pew Research study: In 2002, 62 percent agreed with the statement "The best way to ensure peace is through military strength." Today, only 49 percent do.
Worried? I am.
By Mona Charen
Reprinted with permission from National Review Online.
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Republicans have lost their construct.
Vote for Democrats and bring intelligence and reason back into our government.
I like capitalism too and I like parts of socialism. I hate the extremism of this Unites States that causes this crazy see saw ride. Currently I've had it with the lying right wing fascists and have been sucked into a state of extremism.
At the end of the day I would like to see a return to the regulation of capitalism that Reagan's deceitful mouth started to disassemble with the foolishness of the american worker going along with the trickery of his rhetoric funded by an illusive elite class.
A society without laws for commerce is as brutal as a society without traffic laws. A few sociopathic punks prevail over the considerate and the less lucky or savvy sociopaths.
Mona.... what a ridiculous statement...
Our intelligence agencies had all the info the president needed to show how Iraq was NOT a threat.
1. DOE said, "The aluminum tubes could not be use for a centrifuge."
2. The CIA said, "no Iraq Africa uranium connection".
3. The pentagon said, "Invading Iraq will be a long and hard fought guerrilla warfare exercise".
So Mona, the fair-minded people YOU are referring to MUST be REPUBLICANS.
Hey Mona, what about this comment:
"Nor is he wrong now that failure in Iraq would be a disaster for American security."
You assume so much. How do you know you and the President are right?
Did Vietnamese come invade the US after we pulled out of there?
Hey Mona, you do realize that most of the violence in Iraq is civil in nature, and NOT all the workings of "terrorists".
So obtuse and boring.
It is time for Democrats to take power back in this country.
Bull. Hans Blix and the UN weapons inspectors told the world there were no WMDS in Iraq, but a twice convicted Iraqi drug dealer, who the pentagon knew was a liar, and also a known fraud named Chalabi said there were weapons there. Bush went with the liars even though memos to the white house warned Bush about the suspect nature of the info he chose to present to the US public.
Such insults to the intelligence of those of us whose memories are longer than a few days, along with attempts to continue to justify an illegal war by any means, contribute to the growing mistrust of Republicans, not to mention the growing number of financial and erotic scandals that reveal deep seated hypocrisy.
Worried? I am. --By Mona Charen
I'm not Mona, I'm glad the baby boomer hypocritic, paranoid sell-outs are heading for the door. They'll surely close it behind them like they have every other door they've entered but this time I hope it's the door no one behind would wish to enter. The boomers can let the last door they enter slam on their fat backsides.
More bull, maybe you should start a ranch, or live in Pamploma.
Maybe in your country, but the US has the biggest deficit in history, from near zero during Clinton's run. Granted, Clinton fudged the numbers by including social security funds that were supposed to be untouchable, but even factoring in the difference, Bush is bankrupting the country, giving billions to his friends while cutting taxes for the rich, and social assistance programs for the poor.
ronpaul2008.com
I really like what Ron Paul has to say.
He seems to be the only Republibican out there that remembers what a Republican is supposed to be.
Which is also why he won't get the GOP nomination.
Nice post!
I was wondering where this writer was coming from. Now I get it.
She represents the fearful and fatalistic side of America.
ronpaul2008.com
Posted by GunOwnerDa
Ron Paul, I went to his website and it's alot of the same Reagan message that caused this mess in the first place. His message is the seductive seeds that led to the big fruit we're harvesting now and will be for decades to come.
Little government means less representation for the individual and no oversight for organized corporate crime and special interest privately funded groups headed by mini-dictators like the preacher man based christian fundamentalist lobby among others.
He's against net neutrality which would limit big corporations from privatizing and controlling access to the internet for individuals legally stealing it from the commons, you and me, the individual tax payer who funded its development yet calls it government intrusion if limits are set on capitalistic pornographers who would with their wealth completely dominate the web if they could get by with it. Of course they'd be duking it out with the other special interest Ron Paul would give the web to.
Ron Paul would love to see private corporations control the net because they'd pay him well for being their little b*itch. Don't be deceived. I smell a rat in Ron Paul and see a weasel as well.
Those against net neutrality want to take a powerful communication tool of the masses out of the hands of the masses who worked and payed taxes to fund in its development.
The internet can be the worst enemy of those wishing to rule autocratically.
Reagan made so many statements that blatantly displayed disregard for future peoples. His selfish narcissistic arrogance that was so admired. "You've seen one tree you've seen them all" mentality. Disregard for the posterity of this nation falls on the boomers who are in public office feeding like hoes at the troughs of the boomer pimp lobbyists who work for the multinational illusive boomer corporate autocrats.
So many boomers lost their way by only thinking of their short term selfish desires. Some have lost the game and others have grown terribly fat climbing to the top of the roof on a infrastructure they now wish to deny to those who follow because they wanted to keep it all to themselves. Talk of posterity never has been in the heart of most boomers. It was a "me" generation 30 plus years ago and it remained as such.
It would give the liberals the opportunity to really taste the meaning of the word "intolerance in the hands of radical islam". It would give these liberals a front row seat lesson on living in true fear of being blown because some cleric in middle east declare that liberalism is a perversion NOT ALLOWED by allah.
Vote DNC and see how hillary..bow down to the wishes of allah
Many Americans today have been enlightened by the two wars we find ourselves involved. One war, the "war on terrorism", finds its main battleground in Afghanistan, and it is a war that costs lives and money but the majority of Americans support. Liberals, Democrats, Republicans, Conservatives, most don't have a problem with us kicking down the doors of members of the Taliban.
When talking about the war in Iraq the parties have much difference. Democrats say that the public and congress was mislead to justify the war in Iraq and that the Bush Administration no longer deserves autonomy in situations where US service men and women's lives are on the line. Based on the results of the last Congressional elections, most Americans see a problem with GOP/Republicans; at least in the way they make decisions about the use of our military.
So why is it that in the GOP/Republican party there are no dissenters, no independent thinkers, no moderates? Where are the real conservatives who would laugh at how conservatively the current Republican party has been spending taxes, and creating big government? Has the Republican Party lost its identity? Can the ideology of the GOP be so easily summed up in Karl Rove talking points like %u201Csupport this and support that%u201D, and angry rhetoric like %u201Cliberals are traitors%u201D?
Hello centrist Republicans! Anybody out there?
Either way, this country needs to move toward the middle and it doesn't appear to be doing so.
Posted by xzavierbrown
The american people will defend a country governed in a manner that represents them. The divisiveness and fear mongering of your right wing fascism will not win wars against true enemies.
Where did all the millions and billions of our dollars go on the fumbled privatized reconstruction projects of Iraq? How is it the infrastructure of this country has been allowed to deteriorate over the past 25 years? Who got richer? Where did the money go? Follow the money, it tells the story.
We must choose our battles wisely and borrow our funds wisely as well. The right wing neo con deceit has done neither.
Hitler bankrupted Germany and so did King Ludwig before him.
Posted by eskieville1 at 02:57 PM : Jul 13, 2007
So true, eskieville1, Ben-Gay and Preparation-H, it did'nt get any better! Just don't get them mixed up!
The dems went moderate which was really republican and the extreme fascist neo con right trampled them. I thought Clinton was so Republican I couldn't figure out what they hated about him. Multinational corporate empires are forming and this pro-business, business can do no wrong, free market is from God deceipt is going to destroy democracies on a global scale.
How alarming is it that this mouthpiece phrases it, "Democrats are now (ALAS) the party of the rich?" Republican Fascists scare me. But Ms. Charen inadvertently provides hope.
People say the media never report good news. This is evidence that's not true.
What's ms. Mona to do? How much can anyone of these distort. They gotta think about their futures too.
Mona doesn't get a promo from me. I can read her values.
Points well taken. Some would say the boomers taught their unsupervised brats well.
They ask to be hated.
*********! There was no failure. The "intelligence" was fixed around the desired result, as the head of British intelligence put it.
Bushit wanted this war, bent all the rules to get it, and now it is his.
But don't worry, you're going to see the Republiscums squirming like worms on a fishhook over the next 1.5 years.
And the worthless Democraps don't showing any signs of acquiring a backbone anytime soon, with the notable exception of Dennis Kucinich, who has never been afraid of speaking "truth to power" as the cliche goes.
Posted by brianbwb
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More twisting to get your way in a doshonest fashion. Yes, dollar wise we do have the largest defecit. Inflation weighted and as a factor of the GDP, this defecit is far from the largest. Do not try and spin your terror to fit your needs, you just look like a scab-picker trying to scare someone to think like you do.
Posted by guysdigdirt at 05:39 PM : Jul 13, 2007
guysdigdirt - Keep diggin' - It's your hole!
Everybody knows Fox News is just a blatant right wing front propaganda machine.
The wheels have come off. If it hadnt of been for blatant(illegal) redistricting in the last few years, this last congressional election would have been a clean sweep of Democrats.
The country has had enough ! The politicians can play all the games they want but the general public has had it with all the BS !
The National Review is a joke. Fair-minded people know that the intellignce on Iraq was clearly manipulated by the Fascist's in the White House. It is well documented that the Fascist Pigs were ready to attack Iraq even before they won the White House. What a crock of *** this National Review is in the eyes of all fair minded people.
Many voters who cast their 2004 votes in precincts with electric voting machines with no paper backup may have thought they were NOT voting for Bush but they will never know for sure.
The problem now is that too many people have allowed themselves to be lured into a false sense of security because of the democratic wins in 2006, hence no demand for legislation mandating all votes have verifiable paper backups.
Controlling/changing votes in favor of ONE particular candidate, in a close presidential election, can be accomplished utilizing machines in only a few key state precincts and is far less complicated than doing so in congressional election where candidates are running for 645 separate seats.
Dollar wise is the bottom line. Adjusting for this, or adjusting for that, is twisting, son...
Dollar wise is the bottom line. Adjusting for this, or adjusting for that, is twisting, son...
Posted by brianbwb at 01:29 AM : Jul 14, 2007,,,
There was a time when Presidents associated the Federal Governments financial books and health with how well America was doing. But now, in a very subtle switch, the Federal Government can have record deficits and live on credit, paid for with high interest rates as long as the Stock Market and private corporations and companies are doing well. But as Haliburton with close ties to D1ck Cheney has just demonstrated, you can give a corporation like Haliburton all the no bid contracts and special treatment you want, they can still just up and leave the U.S. and move to Dubai , which avoids paying taxes and future prosecution! Did Haliburton even leave a thank you very much card? Haliburton is Cheney's boys and they took U.S. billions and ran, will D1ck Cheney meet up with them later to split the loot? That kind of thinking is out there whether *** Cheney likes it or not! Hmmm.
It wasn't so subtle, I distinctly remember Gingrich and his neocon sycophants apoplectically declaring that the "moral majority" absolutely condemned "evil" deficit spending, in no uncertain terms, the repetition of his drivel, coupled with the labeling any Democrat candidates for office as "tax and spend liberals" created a deafening silence when Bush Sr. took office, then proceeded to create the largest deficits known at that time.
Then, the same mouths declared that story changed to "deficits can be good for America, they spur growth, and the economy can "grow out of them".
When Clinton announced a zero deficit, they were lightning quick to note how social security was being used to fudge the numbers, and technically there was still an "evil" deficit, courtesy of the "tax and spend" Democrats.
Of course now with Bush Jr.'s largest deficits in history, the line is some variant of, "Yes, dollar wise we do have the largest defecit. Inflation weighted and as a factor of the GDP, this defecit is far from the largest." Posted by guysdigdirt.
(note the spelling of "defecit", perhaps Freudian...)
I must add a request not to make the assumption that I might be anti conservative, there are certain principles I believe are just plain common sense, don't spend more than you have, government has no right to legislate behavior, etc, that are part of the true conservative mindset.
However, I see the current cohort of "conservatives" as the opposite of what they say, when it comes to corporate welfare, military spending corruption, and intrusions into your private life, their "liberalism" makes even Ted Kennedy and Jerry Brown seem conservative by comparison.
Posted by tbweb
Wouldn't it be delicious if, after leaving the WH, Cheney goes to Halliburton for his cut, and they say "you aren't the VP anymore, you got no juice, and we're not in America, so pisofff, SSSSUCKA!
'Dollar wise is the bottom line.' By that logic, we also have the highest Federal Revenue that we have ever had, and most Americans are much better off than they were 8 years ago, since their salaries are higher than they were then.
It's not that simple. In economics, one must adjust for inflation to be able to compare apples to apples. And if one does adjust for inflation, our current deficit, while high, is no where near the highest.
Mark Twain said 'There are three types of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.'
Even the inflation adjusted figures show the earnings of the average workers has been in decline for the past twenty years, this generation earns roughly $5,000 less than their parents did, wages did not keep pace with inflation, and this is using the "adjusted" figures.
The average you quote of being better off than 8 years ago is a result of the "Bill Gates effect"
that is, if Bill walks into a bar, on average, everyone becomes a multimillionaire. The reality is, bottom line, they are not multimillionaires, no matter how it is spun, most Americans are worse off rather by adjusted, or real terms.
A few got much richer through Bush's largesse to corporations, and their own corruption, but the skewing for averages is not accurately representative of the real US economy. The deficit is still the largest in history, and if our country lasts long enough, our grandchildren will suffer the consequences...
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by sjc_1
July 16, 2007 1:54 PM PDT
- Ya think.?..duhhh!
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See all 48 CommentsSigns point to a bad century for the GOP. After dufus and company have unleashed their incompetence, ignorance and evil the last 6 years, they will be lucky to get ANY elected office.