I almost always agree with the CAPTAIN, but today he is wrong. Ed wrote - (about Bush):
After all, Bush merely suffered an average 6th year drubbing. And he still has the veto and the bully pulpit. With these two cudgels he can put the Leftist Dems on the defensive and in a corner. He can force them to bottle up good judges, and force them to try to override his vetos.
And remember: the THUMPIN' the GOP got was not just due to WH errors, but also because of blunders by Hastert and Frist and the Gang of 14. With the filibuster and the veto the GOP can wage a powerful battle against the Leftists. I hope they do. After all, the people did not give the Dems a mandate for Leftism. Basically people were prematurely fed up with the war. And also, a few key Senate races were decided by 3rd Party candidates and/or clever liberal ballot initiatives. To be more successful the next election, the GOP must get back to its core principles of small government, low taxes, conservative judges and a strong national defense.
He's a minority president beset by a wave of disapproval, and he has few options outside of outright political warfare -- and in this case, the Democrats have all the big guns now.BS. Clinton was neutered by Newt in 1994 and went on for six years and even survived impeachment. Some in the DNC think these Clinton years were A-OK. And reagan did pretty dang well with a Dem controlled Congress, too. As did Nixon. It might even turn out easier for Bush to take on the Lefties in the Democrat Party than the libs in the GOP. I think Bush will do just fine.
After all, Bush merely suffered an average 6th year drubbing. And he still has the veto and the bully pulpit. With these two cudgels he can put the Leftist Dems on the defensive and in a corner. He can force them to bottle up good judges, and force them to try to override his vetos.
And remember: the THUMPIN' the GOP got was not just due to WH errors, but also because of blunders by Hastert and Frist and the Gang of 14. With the filibuster and the veto the GOP can wage a powerful battle against the Leftists. I hope they do. After all, the people did not give the Dems a mandate for Leftism. Basically people were prematurely fed up with the war. And also, a few key Senate races were decided by 3rd Party candidates and/or clever liberal ballot initiatives. To be more successful the next election, the GOP must get back to its core principles of small government, low taxes, conservative judges and a strong national defense.
Let's hope that those of us who understand the situation can find a voice to override the shrill crybabying coming from the neo-right.
ReplyDeleteI attribute the loss to two things. One, the incessant trashing of all things Republican by the media. And two, the disgraceful way some with influence on the right acted toward their own party. Harriet Miers, Dubai, immigration -- in each of these, a segment well represented in national publications and on top ranked blogs took a very childish "my way or the highway" position. AJ Strata summed it up in one sentence: "They won their fence and lost the House."
These new voices of the Right, very bright people who are excellent writers, are political neophytes who have yet to learn that being unwilling to compromise means losing your seat at the negotiating table. They need to go back and learn the Reagan Doctrine. And they need to learn the Reagan 11th commandment.
Not getting enough of a kick in the head with the election loss, they are out already today casting aspersions on the President for nominating a brilliant man like Dr. Gates. They jump over to Wikipedia, read a few lines about somebody and they think they know it all. It isn't lefty blogs that are trumpeting the idea that Bush is so dumb he needs Daddy and his friends to come to the rescue. This is insulting and denigrates not only the President, but some exceptional minds who have given decades to this country and just might have some experience that would help us all. It smacks of envy and jealousy on the part of the writers in that their opinions weren't called for. It's childish and short-sighted and we all pay for it while the Extremists and Terrorists celebrate and plan.
I read just today on Powerline that "Iran-Contra was a constitutional crisis of epic proportion, and the sins committed by the Republican administration at that time can never be forgotten." What? I was working in the Administration at the time of Iran-Contra and once Ollie North testified, it was a joke. But, if you read Wiki, do you get that? Why not ask someone who knows. And with leaks damaging our foreign policy and our ability to fight terror the way they have, what better man at defense than the man who knows where all the "leaker" bodies are buried? It is no accident that the VIPers are the loudest voice against him. See American Thinker. The President has as his advisers a current and former Secretary of State, two former Directors of the CIA, decades of experience on the National Security Council, a father who was both Vice President under Reagan and President in his own right and a former Ambassador to China. Yet, somehow the President drawing on this well of knowledge and experience is a sign of weakness to the neophyte Right. They are busy predicting what Gates will do when he has yet to open his mouth other than the initial press conference announcing the appointment. They totally ignore the fact of his brilliant analytical mind and his stellar bona fides for the task at hand. They are far more damaging than any criticism from the left.
Those who have counted Bush out before did so at their peril. He has the most important attribute of all, one of a winner.
Bush also has the advantage of being 'unpopular' so he does not have to pander to the polls. He might as well give the liberals a real reason to despise. him.
ReplyDeletesquiggs: thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeletei think that w has been too dovey on the GWOT: he let assad, and sadr and hizballah off the hook. we have not cornered iran or noko.
i think the right has been too hard on him for his domestic polices: as the anchoress wrote some months ago, w ran as a compassionate conservatiove and he has governed this way.
but despite these perceived weaknesses (by some) the major factor is still the MSM. they have convinced most of america that the economy suicks and the iraq war was a mistakje that has gone badly and worsened things.
neither is true.
w's wh did a lousy job of countering the msm.
clinton's wh did a better job; the clinton w controlled the news cycle. sure: they hasd allies in the msm.
but clinton was also on the ropes, too.
tony snow is helping. but between ari f. and tony s it was terrible.
also HASTERT has been a disaster: the jefferson matte really hurt.
the gop needs another newt and then another reagan.
i think steel and romney are GREAT.
the gop needs a few like them to take over the GOP sop that the GOP has GREAT talking heads very week for the next two years. new faces for the GOP. boehner and hastert must join frist.
rudy and steele and pawlenty could be the news spokesmen if mitt declines so that he can make the run.
id like to see flake and spence run the house.
and bush must be willing to pick up that veto pen.
he needs to be mnore reaganesque and less ghwb-like.
reagan pulled it off because of his charm and great optimism.
mitt has these qualities.
then again, rudy has proven he can take the heat - even during a major crisis.
anyhow it's late.... - thanks for commenting and blogging. u r great.
AND FRED: u r great too. stay in touch!