Get Up, Stand Up: Cojones & Democrats

A bunch of us were hanging out after lunch, shooting the bull (what else can you do when discussing the BA?), and one of the conservatives of the bunch, confirmed what another had told me: what really pisses off conservatives is the obvious lack of balls the Democrats tend to demonstrate in public. That's one of their fascinations (it's almost a conservative fetish) with Hillary: she's tough. They hated Clinton, the perceived weaseliness, the appearance of changing his mind on issues.

Gore was too anal retentive to show any balls. There was the time he physically charged W at their first debate, but he just looked like he was trying too hard.

Kerry, in spite of his Vietnam record, never pissed off, just remained aloof when they attacked his record. He showed promise when he stuck to his guns when caught off the record calling the BA a bunch of liars.

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The End GOP Dominance?

Michael Fauntroy predicts at Tom Paine that the GOP has reached its tipping point, that it is rife with incompetence and corruption, not to mention criminality. The chimeras the Righties chased in the Clinton Administration have come home to roost.

Good.


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Taking Stock of the Bush Administration

Just wanted to follow-up on Mark's thought on the Bush administration. Let's take stock of where they are at. Other than the despicable bankruptcy bill that they managed to get through the Congress shortly after the election, they have not been able to accomplish a single significant legislative priority or make strong headway in the realm of partisan symbolism. The outcome of Iraq is just as tenuous as ever. Sure, confirming Chief Justice Roberts, is a victory, but one, in my estimation, for the whole country and not just this administration. No social security reform of any kind. Harriet Miers is going to be a real battle at the very least (let's hope so anyway). No tax reform of any sort. No foreign policy of any type really. And, of course, you have the utter failure in the face of Katrina. Sounds like a classic second term to me. This isn't entirely bad thing for the country though given that most of the President's priorities are not something those of us on the liberal side of things want to see happen. Stay tuned.

If the President does prove to be a political phoenix, it will be a comeback of epic proportions. My sense is that this is pretty unlikely. Utter incompetence eventually catches up with you.

With Bated Breath

I don't know if it's just me or the whole country who is waiting for the axe...er... indictments to fall on the BA. And at the risk of looking like a Roman soldier dicing over the future bones of the Anti-Christ himself, I'm letting my imagination and glee run away from me.

Is this scenario too much to hope for? Rove, Libby, and Cheney all indicted for mishandling classified information and obstruction of justice. Cheney resigns, Libby scoots off into the sunset, and Turd Blossom will go no more a-roving with the President. The public, disgusted with the Republicans, hands the Senate and House back to the Democrats. Frist goes to jail and later appears on Martha Stewart's new show. DeLay...well, this is a family blog.

Wishin' and hopin',
Hopin' and prayin',

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Anything Going Right for the BA?

What else could go wrong?
Bill O'Reilly saying that a Rove indictment would bring down the BA? The cannibal! Can Fox resist eating a politician when they're served up nice and juicy? Bush was King Rupert's boy, but can he resist eating him?

How about this (bad) dream scenario?
Bush, implicated in the Plame Game, must resign along with his vice president leaving who to be president? The ethically-challenged no-name who replaced DeLay?

Condi Rice?

Finally some craziness on the Right!

I shouted out,
"Who killed Vince Foster?"
When after all, it was you and me.

TalkLeft: Dem. Report Advises Centrism Over Liberalism

Is there any chance that the Democratic Center says the only way the Democrats can win is to move to the center because it makes the Center relevant to their own party? At least unconsciously?

The move to the middle doesn't make sense for a couple of reasons all apparent in the last election: 1) it keeps the Democrats in the Republican frame 2) it forsakes too many important principles 3) it won't work.

Why won't it work?
Well, it didn't work in the last election. It didn't even really work well for Gore, however you interpret the election results. Democratic centrism really is, as has been stated over and over and over, Republican Lite. If Democrats argue to invade Iraq, how does that differentiate them from Republicans? Centrists argue they would do it better, but in the MSM's mirror of reality, there's no real significant difference between them. On social issues, well, the Centrists seem to care more than the Republicans, their plans are less extreme, but accomplish the same goals. There are few, if any, Centrist issues that the Republicans don't hold in a clearer, simpler fashion. Aside from the relative mellowness of the Centrists (as opposed to the Republicans), I think you'll find that they just think they're smarter than everyone else. It was true of the Clinton Administration. There's a palpable comfort with elitism, a coolness to ideology and real passion, a confidence in their technocratic abilities.
The Democratic Party has let the Republicans call the shots and (as much as I think George Lakoff is a hoser) frame the debate. In England the PM faces the parliment every week to answer questions. Democrats refuse to even pose the questions to the press. The American people deserved to hear the case against invading Iraq; they didn't even get to hear the questions posed. A high school debater could have prepared the case, it wasn't rocket science. Democrats might have stood up and said, "Democracy isn't about falling into line behind the president because we might run against him in a year. It's about hearing all sides and making the best decision. Regardless of how we eventually vote, here's the case for the status quo." But instead the Centrists got in line behind the President. Kerry, a Centrist, could have run on a platform saying Iraq was a disaster waiting to happen. He might have quoted Colin Powell on the subject. Instead he was unable to differentiate himself from the President and opened himself up to the old flip-flop flim-flam. That's Centrism at work.

2) The Democratic base has its eyes on the prize. People care about and agree with the issues in the platform from health care to education. See the TalkLeft archives on this.

3) Based on my experience with people in the middle, the independents, the reasonable Republicans, what they hate about the Democrats is the wishy-washiness. The Centrism. They vote less on what a candidate beliefs and more on how he stands on what he believes. Reality doesn't count either; it's the press's depiction that counts. People want candidates with strong beliefs. John McCain is such a candidate, though he'll probably never get past the Republican primary, he will garner a lot of cross-over votes because his perceived integrity. Millions will overlook his deep conservatism because of his "character."

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