Originally Posted By ecdc <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/21/obamas-new-electorate-pol_n_206249.html" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...249.html</a> Color me shocked. Dick Cheney made another speech today and although my initial reaction is to tell him to shut his pie hole, every time he opens his mouth and sounds like a crazy person, it gives Obama and the Democrats a boost. Another poll showed a majority of Americans think Obama's policies and proposals are putting us on the right track, compared to some 35% of people who think Republicans can put us on the right track.
Originally Posted By piperlynne Is it just me or has Cheney said more publicly in the last 5 months than in the entire 8 years of the administration? Maybe he didn't go into that bunker voluntarily. . .(IDEA!!) HEY! Someone call the valet at the Naval Observatory and tell them we found the Biden Mouth solution. If they can just accidently jam that door closed.
Originally Posted By DAR <<It's kinda fun to watch them implode, isn't it?>> Not unless you believe in the one party system.
Originally Posted By ecdc I agree with DAR. While it's fun to watch these particular people implode after screwing everything up so badly for the last eight years, it's not good for our country in the long run. I'm certainly hoping for some sanity to grip the Republican party. Of course, that sanity may need to include the jettisoning of divisive social issues as your road to victory. Get off the anti-gay marriage bandwagon; quit whoring yourselves out to the religious right. Get back to fiscal conservatism and more isolationist policies. Those are contributions that can contribute to real debate about real topics, instead of fretting about two men liking each other.
Originally Posted By Sara Tonin There are plenty of other parties...the Libertarians, the Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party and that's just off the top of my head. Maybe this is the time in history for the Bull Moose party to reappear. I like the idea of one of these smaller parties to absorb all the people who are discontented with the present situation.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***It's kinda fun to watch them implode, isn't it?*** There was a theory somewhere that claimed they are doing ALL of this on purpose, so that when they come roaring back the media will be all agog about the "rise" of the formerly dead Republican party. Scary thought, eh?
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "Get off the anti-gay marriage bandwagon; quit whoring yourselves out to the religious right. Get back to fiscal conservatism and more isolationist policies. Those are contributions that can contribute to real debate about real topics, instead of fretting about two men liking each other." *wild applause*
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Yeah, I don't want them to implode either, but I do want them to take another direction away from the hard right. We need another large party to counter the Democrats. Also, that conspiracy theory about the Republicans sounds a little crazy. Because if they really are doing it on purpose, how do they plan to come back if they drove all the moderates away because of their plan? They can't just call them all up and say "just kidding, please come back!". I'm saying that it would require the entire party to be "in" on the plan...
Originally Posted By hopemax I have wondered if there are some moderate Republicans working together to find some kind of answer to what's wrong with their party. The ones that have been cast out as RINOs. That they might be using the crazies as cover, so the eye is not on them. They can't all become Dems like Specter. So Collins, Snowe, even to some extent McCain/Graham, etc have to know they have to do something if they want to remain politically relevant and to fend off the primary challenges. But right now, they probably aren't strong enough to fight back...need to make the back room dealings, find financial backers, etc.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Yahoo News: Cheney's speech contained omissions, misstatements: <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090521/pl_mcclatchy/3237981" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclat.../3237981</a>
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I don't have the link, but Tom Ridge came out and disagreed with Cheney over this too. He also had a problem with some things Obama said, but overall, he does not agree America is less safe.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <Yahoo News: Cheney's speech contained omissions, misstatements:> Gee. There's a shock. From the link: "He (Cheney) quoted the Director of National Intelligence, Adm. Dennis Blair , as saying that the information gave U.S. officials a "deeper understanding of the al Qaida organization that was attacking this country." In a statement April 21 , however, Blair said the information "was valuable in some instances" but that "there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means. The bottom line is that these techniques hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security." So Cheney quotes a guy selectively (cherry-picking, to say the least) to make it sound like torture was effective and necessary. And many Cheney fans will both accept that without digging deeper and say to those who disagree "See? We had to do it." And all the while, this very guy Cheney so selectively quotes said we could have gotten the information in other ways, and torture was a terrible policy that HURT us, and that the damage it caused far outweighed any benefit. The link is full of examples like this. Cheney is not only the most cynical pol I can remember in long time, but one of the most dishonest (and since we're talking about pols, that's saying something).
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "I have wondered if there are some moderate Republicans working together to find some kind of answer to what's wrong with their party. The ones that have been cast out as RINOs. That they might be using the crazies as cover, so the eye is not on them." But then that would be a more centrist Republican party, which would be good, in my opinion. Get away from the neocons.
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Originally Posted By gadzuux Interesting article I happened across today about the schism in the GOP. It's growing wider, and the responsibility can be laid directly at the feet of the conservative 'hard-liners'. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/26/MNLV17PO1R.DTL&type=politics" target="_blank">http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...politics</a> Republicans argue over who they are Richard S. Dunham, Houston Chronicle Tuesday, May 26, 2009 [excerpt] >> There's not much debate about the GOP's current state, while there's plenty of debate about its best path back to power. Two distinct models are emerging: The Texas model and the Florida model. The Texas model, embodied by Gov. Rick Perry and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, stresses conservative ideology and strives to present clear philosophical contrasts to Democrats they consider ultra-liberals or even socialists. The Florida model, embodied by former Gov. Jeb Bush, current Gov. Charlie Crist and retiring Sen. Mel Martinez, believes in outreach to moderates, independents and minorities, and moderation in tone if not always in substance. The state party platforms reflect the divergent priorities. The 2008 Texas GOP platform sought to abolish the IRS, repeal the minimum wage, privatize Social Security, end the corporate income tax, mandate "American English" as the nation's official language, evict the United Nations from U.S. soil and "dispel the myth" of a constitutional separation of church and state. In contrast, the Florida GOP platform opened with a pledge "always (to) be receptive to new ideas with an outlook broad enough to accommodate thoughtful change and varying points of view." << Obviously, as an avowed opponent of all things GOP, I favor them following the TX approach - and good luck to them with ridiculous positions on eliminating corporate income tax, eliminating the IRS, eliminating minimum wage laws, eliminating the UN, privatizing SSI, enacting english only laws, and "dispelling the myth" of church/state separation. Not to mention the idea that Texas would secede from the union. This agenda should effectively alienate them from almost every single voting american - excepting Texans, of course. What I marvel at is the chutzbah necessary to stand up in public and proudly proclaim these values to the world. If this is what the republican party stands for, they deserve their impending extinction. If it's not, why are they not standing up and telling these "spokespeople" to pipe down? Maybe it's because they secretly harbor these same odious beliefs, but have the necessary common sense (not to mention shame) to not say it out loud.
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