As Losses Mount, GOP Begins Looking in the Mirror

[Hissyspit]

Source: Washington Post

As Losses Mount, GOP Begins Looking in the Mirror

By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 11, 2008; Page A13

Since losing 30 seats and their 12-year stranglehold on power in 2006, House Republicans have kept asking themselves the same question: Can it get any worse? On Tuesday, they may get another answer they won't like.

With lots of help from Washington -- including more than $1.3 million in campaign cash and a last-minute visit by Vice President Cheney -- Mississippi Republicans are desperately trying to retain a congressional seat in one of the most reliably conservative districts in the nation.

- snip -

Rank-and-file Republicans say that would force a day of reckoning for their leadership. "When you connect three dots in anything, that's a bad thing. This connects the dots. At that point, everybody's got to come together and have a come-to-Jesus meeting," said Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), a retiring centrist who will help form a new advisory panel at the National Republican Congressional Committee. "It's a time of sober reflection and, to some extent, resolve. I hope these special elections are a wake-up call," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.), the leader of the conservative Republican Study Committee.

Democratic leaders have stopped tamping down expectations and instead have set a new goal for the November elections of establishing a long-lasting majority that could dominate the chamber.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/10/AR2008051002441.html?nav=rss_print/asection

---

Heh. Have fun with that headline.

[Vincardog]

1. It would be nice it the DEmocratic "leadership" would get on board with us Progressive Populists and

get behind WORKING FOR THE PEOPLE.

[iamthebandfanman]

18. wouldnt it tho ... *sigh* ... n/t

[Jade Fox]

27. First we're gonna have to elect the Dems.....

then the real butt-kicking will have to begin!

[DrDan]

30. exactly - just like in 2004 . . . . .

oh yeah . . . I remember now . . . didn't work out exactly as planned, did it?

[SpiralHawk]

2. "Eeeeeek - OMG - Eeeeeeeek!" - Republicon Homelanders facing the mirror

And realizing the ugly truth of what clear-thinking Americans see in them every day.

[tanyev]

14. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, Who's the ugliest of them all?

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. won't work

vampires cast no reflection.

[calimary]

4. Dang! Beat me to it!

But you're correct. They're not gonna see a thing.

It could easily be vampirism. Or it could be an old truism having an impact: "there are none so blind as those who will not see."

They're NOT gonna change. They're NOT gonna reform. They're NOT going to find their way to the realization that they fucked up, and were WRONG. They're NOT gonna see the light - or anything else. And they're CERTAINLY NOT going to see the error of their ways.

Instead, they're going to be spending all their time in those "come to Jesus" meetings trying to figure out how to spin the "but... but... but... we were still right, ANYWAY!!!!!" They'll just focus on ways to blame their failures on somebody else - anybody else - probably us and the rest of the Dems.

When I see them start to disavow the attitudes, policies, and strategies of the rovians, the newts, the bushes, the go-cheney-yourselves, the "I don't have to comply with your subpoenas," the bullying, piratizing, greedy, arrogant, with-us-or-ag'in-us crap, admit their fault and their guilt, take FULL responsibility for everything they've done, and begin to take active and concrete steps to RECTIFY some of that damage - INCLUDING holding the bushies fully accountable AND IMPEACHABLE, ONLY THEN will I believe they have indeed actually "come to Jesus."

Anything else is bullshit, more of the same, piled higher and deeper. I'm in no mood to be forgiving - OR patient - at the moment.

[sudopod]

40. ZING nt

[blue sky at night]

5. guess that voting against your own....

best interests gets old...especially when you are out of job, out on the street and hungry, oh...and your kid comes home in a coffin from defending our "rights" over in Iraq.

[BlueManDude]

6. 14 years after the Gingrich Revolution even people in the southern Red States

are wondering "what's in it for me?" All this anti-gov rhetoric is empty blather and folks are starting to get it.

[KansDem]

44. From Newt's "We'll cooperate, but we won't compromise" to Bush's "Who cares what you think?"

...to Cheney's "So?," what did this f**ks expect? I mean, did they really believe they could "govern" or "lead" with these pissant attitudes?

[pattmarty]

7. What the hell are they gonna do? Become Socialists? They are fucked come November.

[Yupster]

49. You're right

I think they know exactly what's going to happen to them. But what are they supposed to do?

They'll keep working and hope for a miracle and not be surprised when they get their clock cleaned.

I managed a Little League team a few years ago and we had an eight team city championship. We had to win our last game against a team better than us to claim the eighth place in the tournament.

We won the game but I used my two best pitchers to do it and because of pitch count rules they were ineligible to pitch the next game.

Our eighth position also earned us a first round game against the number one seed.

So I knew we were going to get positively killed. So what was I supposed to do? Tell the kids "forget it. It's hopeless?"

We tried our best, actually did well until our fourth string pitcher came in. Then we lost handily.

I think the Republicans will go through the motions, try their best, and lose handily. What else can they do?

[Hidey]

8. Jesus meetings.. As if.

"When you connect three dots in anything, that's a bad thing. This connects the dots. At that point, everybody's got to come together and have a come-to-Jesus meeting,"

Too little, too late.

The pubbies spend nearly half a century locked away from control in Washington.

Then, with the help of their moonie and talk radio pals, they had their "revolution" and eventually ended up with control of the House, the Senate and the Executive.

It only took them a few years to piss it away on wars of choice, gangster capitalism, serious ethical lapses, constitutional defilement and rampant cronyism.

And now, in the eleventh hour (Hell, it's probably closer to 12:30 for them) they're going to fix this with a meeting and some spin?

LOL! LOL!

Reap it, rethugs! You pushed for this. You worked half a century for it! And you FINALLY GOT IT. You got what you wanted.

Now it's time for you to sleep in it.

[stubtoe]

20. Good rant!

I like a good rant :)

[navarth]

36. That is really well-spoken. Thank you.

'gangster capitalism' yeah.

[MetaTrope]

38. Jesus got nothing to do with it

Nyarlathotep has already collected their souls.

[harun]

47. Excellent summary. They used their tired meme of "small government"

to give the corporations nearly complete control and they used their propaganda machines to reveal their true ideology: greed and hypocrisy.

The people saw what they bought, and rightfully asked for a refund.

[formercia]

9. Seeing what 4 more years of GOP rule will bring:

[Courtesy Flush]

42. GOP delivers on biofuel promises n/t

[formercia]

43. Each vehicle comes with an on board manure digester.

and a shovel for cleaning up the road.

[Mz Pip]

10. The fact that

they are calling in Cheney shows just how tone deaf they really are. Calling for the support of someone whose poll numbers are in the teens is a reflection of how out of touch they are with the voters.

Want to win? Have the most divisive politician alive come to rally your support.

They deserve to lose.

[lovuian]

11. Oh I believe the Republican Party has been totally destroyed

and if the Democrats don't give the Americans what they want then a nother party shall rise up

Americans are pretty ticked off

[MNBrewer]

17. Indeed

What's the point of having Democrats in power if they don't oppose Republican policies? Telecom immunity. Impeachment. Torture. Guantanamo Bay. Habeas corpus.

[Useful Idiot]

45. Dems were voted in to end the war-They chose to bank roll it instead.

Dems were voted in to end the war-They chose to bank roll it instead.

In 6 years time the talk will be about the need to throw the Dems out of office for their cronyism and corruption. More politcal parties are needed to infuse this system with some new blood. Something akin to the progressive movement Teddy Roosevelt backed in his 3rd presidential bid and a Green party (a real green party not the current won that cant win shit) would be good starts.

[yowzayowzayowza]

12. Music to mine ears. n/t

[oxbow]

13. I love what Tom Davis says about Bush in this:

Tom Davis, who chaired the NRCC for four years, said he doubts the effectiveness of the anti-Obama strategy because of the contrast between the consistently unpopular Bush and the likely Democratic nominee.

"When Bush tries to articulate a vision," Davis said, pausing to choose his words carefully, "he will butcher the Gettysburg Address. Obama, he will make an A&P grocery list sing."




Yea, there's the former GOP golden boy, Tom. You must be so proud. Especially of your votes in support of his great ideas!

[last_texas_dem]

24. Good stuff

Sad thing is, most Repugs with any intelligence (and there have to be at least a handful of those!) have known this about * all along, but were willing to pretend, for several years, that the emperor had some clothes on, back when 9-11 and the "terra"-ists were inflating *'s approval ratings far higher than they should have been.

[NewJeffCT]

32. what a lot of them do

is hold their noses & vote Republican. A lot of the Rovian tactics aren't just for the "swing" voters - it's to scare the Republican base that the Democrat is an even worse choice.

[intheflow]

46. Yes, that part jumped out at me, too.

Davis sounds like he works for the Obama campaign here--and that's him choosing his word carefully to support the Republicans? :rofl:

[oxbow]

48. I believe he is retiring from the House...

And so feels no obligation to support a failed presidency any longer. He's getting out at the right time too. He knows what's coming and does NOT want to be around when its reaped.

[Plucketeer]

15. I hope

it's another 50 years (or more!) before the party of selfish idiots gets a hand on the throttle again. :grr:

[The River]

16. They Are Going To See Themselves

clothed in wacko fundamentalist sack cloth suits
with a fancy corporate collar and leash.
They'll be wearing ear muffs to help exclude the voters voices
and side blinders to keep them from seeing the bigger picture.
On their heads, a dunce cap for renouncing science.
They don't wear shoes as their feet are firmly planted
in the 17th century and never budge an inch.
They'll look well tanned tho they never see the sun; it's just a stain
from spending the last 8 years up *bushs ass.

They can look at their twisted reflection as long as they want
but one thing they will never see is a human heart.

[Chipper Chat]

29. Very poetic.

Let's see..........what republican epitomizes your description?
I know! PHYLLIS SCHLAFLEY!
There must be others - pile on.

[fascisthunter]

19. In Other Words: They Regret Losing Power

not because they did wrong, behaved immorally and helped destroy our Democratic Republic. I really hope the Republican Party can rebuild itself, because they make themselves look treasonous... that statement is not just for being in political opposition to them.

[Baby Snooks]

21. Reality

Even Republicans are fed up with Republicans at this point but the Democrats who replace them might remember that the Democrats, and the Republicans, who vote for them in November can always replace them as well. But some of the Democrats need to go as well. Starting with Nancy Pelosi. Both Republicans and Democrats are tired of the Republicrats who campaign as something else and then go back to the "by the corporation, for the corporation" manifesto of this new party called the Republicrat Party. Most of which is comprised of corrupt Republicans. But is fast attracting some corrupt Democrats as well.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

22. An added article...

McCain faces doubts among Republican conservatives
by Charlotte Raab
Sun May 11, 12:54 PM ET
While John McCain is practically assured the Republican presidential nomination, many party members are having a hard time accepting him -- and showing it with symbolic votes against him in primary contests.

The Republican nomination battle has been all but decided for over two months. Still, some Republicans used the April 22 Pennsylvania primary and last week's votes in Indiana and North Carolina to register their unhappiness with the de facto victor.

Some vote for libertarian Texan Ron Paul, who has refused to quit the race and has racked up more than one million votes, according to his campaign.

Other Republicans keep voting for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, and former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas -- both markedly more conservative than McCain -- although both have long since dropped out of the race and endorsed him.

As many as 25 percent of Republican voters want a different candidate to represent their party in the November 4 presidential election. In Pennsylvania, 27 percent opted for Huckabee or Paul; in North Carolina and Indiana on May 6, McCain opponents earned 23 percent of the vote.

The Washington Times, a conservative newspaper, calculated that McCain had garnered no more than 45 percent of the Republican vote since January.

McCain's reputation as a party maverick and a compromising moderate has left the party's most conservative and ideological members disgruntled.

He focused this week on winning their backing, delivering a major speech on legal issues and promising to nominate conservative justices to any possible new Supreme Court vacancies, as President George W. Bush has done.

"I have my own standards of judicial ability, experience, philosophy, and temperament," McCain said.

"And Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito meet those standards in every respect. They would serve as the model for my own nominees if that responsibility falls to me," he said, pointing to Bush appointees.

Even so, McCain carefully avoided mentioning thorny subjects like abortion and homosexual unions, on which he has staked out much more moderate positions than members of the party's religious right.

On Thursday, McCain vigorously denied voting in the 2000 presidential elections against Bush, his main rival during the Republican primaries that year.

Popular liberal pundit and Internet blogger Ariana Huffington had published a report that shortly after the election, McCain revealed during a dinner that he did not vote for his party's nominee.

"I voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004," the Republican candidate insisted on Fox News. "And not only that, far more important than a vote, I campaigned everywhere in America for him."

While such defenses might help the Arizona senator woo the most conservative Republicans, it carries great risks.

A Wall Street Journal opinion poll last week showed only 27 percent of Americans approved of Bush's performance. And 43 percent said they worried that McCain "will be too closely aligned with the Bush agenda" -- a worry Democrats are already moving to exploit.

That spells trouble for McCain with the potential swing centrist voters McCain needs to defeat his Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama or Senator Hillary Clinton.

[Baby Snooks]

23. The real concern of the real conservatives

The real concern is the economy. And McCain's record is not real convincing in this area in terms of his being perceived as a conservative. Particularly with regard to illegal immigration.

The average American voter is experiencing shell shock at this point with it all. Conservatives who aren't conservative. Liberals who aren't liberals. And the bottom line for all is the bottom line.

A lot of those mom and pop stores that Wal-Mart put out of business were Republican mom and pops. It left a bad taste.

I still say there is only one party in this country. And it wanted John McCain becuase it knew Hillary Clinton could beat him.

And then along came Barack Obama.....

[bjobotts]

25. They still refuse to accept the disaster they've caused. Still play games obstructing legislation.

[bjobotts]

26. They don't get it. They try to use gov. to profiteer while making sure it won't work.

[WoodyM]

28. I eagerly await

just how they are going to blame it all on Bill Clinton. Everyone in the religious right knows it is his entire fault.:eyes:

[NewJeffCT]

31. he'll still get blamed by Republics in 2030 and beyond

I saw a bunch of letters to the editor last year that blamed North Korea on Jimmy Carter... and, they're still trying to reinvent the past by blaming FDR for the cold war and not destroying the soviets at the end of WW2

[Wizard777]

33. ROTFLMAO!

"The Republicans would be ignoring reality if they try to explain away this race," said Nathan Gonzales,


But ignoring reality is what they do best.

:rofl:

[muntrv]

34. DELETE

[muntrv]

35. ...And the mirror cracks.

:evilgrin:

[whistle]

37. Republicans looking in the mirror will see only the face of Dorean Grey

[mcollier]

39. I expect to see a lot of Lieberman style democrates

magically appear in the democratic race... Be on guard... Know your candidates...

[cosmicone]

41. Democratic "leadership" still needs

to grow a pair and a spine.