Geniuses George W. Bush and Karl Rove had the attitude that their Republican and conservative base (aka "the suckers") had no choice but to vote GOP. Such arrogance resulted in Bush and Rove having a rude, 1994-style awakening.
Immediately after the 2004 election, many Republicans smugly predicted that the GOP would rule -– as in, both houses of Congress and the White House -– for fifty years. Well, this must be the year 2054, because it’s over. Republicans were crushed in House races, losing at least 23 seats, and even in the Senate, where although the dust has not yet settled, it looks as though the Democrats may also win the Senate.
Everything worked for the Democrats: gay baiting, in the case of Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), and race baiting in the case of Sen. George Allen (R-VA), the Jewish junior senator from Virginia. (Don’t accuse me of Jew-baiting – he’s one of my people!)
When Democrat congressmen sleep with under aged pages, they respond by showing contempt to Congress, running for re-election, and winning, but when a Republican congressman sends “salacious correspondence†to pages, he not only must resign, but be the target of a criminal investigation.
If only Foley had been a socialist, he’d have been celebrated by the media and the Democrats, or at least given a pass. (After all, when a Democrat accuses you of lusting after young boys, he's complimenting you, the way tenured gay academics speak fondly of the late Aaron Copland's lecherous ways.) As for racism, were Democrats held to the same standards, there wouldn’t be a Congressional Black Caucus. (I’m sorry, but there is just no clean way to talk about such garbage.)
The wrong conclusions are almost guaranteed to be drawn from this election. The media are not yet talking about the President’s base, which stayed home. I’ve been saying for months that George W. Bush holds his Christian Evangelical base in contempt. (May 28: “And to sweeten the pot for his social and religious conservative base (or as Karl Rove would call it, ‘the suckers’), he will propose a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.â€
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - JustOneMan
Nick...first time Ive read your work...
Its seems your post is a stream of "ramblings and disconnected ideas and thoughts"...very similar to Adam Ash...whats the take away or "whats the point?"
JustOneMan
2 - Nicholas Stix
"'ramblings and disconnected ideas and thoughts'...very similar to Adam Ash...whats the take away or 'whats the point?'"
According to you, nothing.
BTW, who are you quoting, or were the quotation marks merely designed to make your words appear more significant?
3 - JustOneMan
They appear "significant" because they are!
JustOneMan
4 - JustOneMan
You see I too write under many alias'...why I event write for the... the... Wall Street Journal... thats it ...I write under a different name everyday in the Wall Streey Journal..but I cannot tell people my real name...
Ya see e both have a lot in common!
JustOneMan
5 - handyguy
Conservative and/or Republican commentators seem obsessed with this line of reasoning: we lost, they didn't win. It is impossible for them to imagine that candidates to the left of, say, George Allen could ever win a national election, so it has to be because 'we' stayed home. But many disgruntled independent voters did not stay home, and they sent a 'throw the bums out' message. It's insulting to them to pretend their message is meaningless.
6 - Arch Conservative
Yeah the GOP are really sore losers all right Handyguy.
I guess we should be more like the Dems who invent an election fraud conspiracy every time they lose huh?
7 - Nancy
Nobody has said that so far, Arch. In fact, the general hope is that the Dems have the good sense NOT to cut the GOPs dead, like the GOP did to the Dems 6 years ago, but to invite them in to participate. As I've mentioned elsewhere, there are too many good people w/good experience on the Other Side of the Aisle to let them go to waste like that. We all need to quit this extreme partisanship that is actually the product of Karl Rove's deranged, criminal, evil mind. While it is in the natural order of things for liberals & conservatives of all labels to oppose each other, American politics was never this bitter or vile until that lowlife scum came slithering along in the wake of Cheney. It doesn't need to be perpetuated. Dems have good ideals but no drive or cohesion; GOPs have no ideals, but lots of drive & cohesion. They complement each other. Together they should be able to do lots of good stuff, if they can get past Rove's legacy of hate & resentment.
8 - handyguy
Arch, if you ever replied to anything with a thoughtful comment rather than a pointless [and usually quite false] wisecrack, you might actually surprise us.
9 - ClubStyle_DJ
Rumsfeld's GONE...who's next...
10 - Nancy
WHAT?! What do you mean, "Rumsfield's gone"??? Gone where? Somebody killed him, or what? When?
11 - ClubStyle_DJ
He resigned
12 - ClubStyle_DJ
and good riddance. I remember when war mongering was a "BAD" thing. Wasn't one of these presidential elections centered around being a war monger...or was that a nightmare I had. No, that can't be it cuz this nightmare has 2 more years to go. But we're waking up. So do the impeachment procedings start right away...or what?
13 - Nancy
As you say, good riddance to bad rubbish. Another of the neocon chickhawks ousted, far past time. Bush's penchant for never admitting he's wrong has cost thousands of US lives thru keeping on that elderly incompetent maniac. Perhaps incipient impeachment will get Bush to deep-six Cheney trying to save himself, before he himself (Bush) resigns a la Nixon. If we're even luckier, perhaps Cheney will also read the writing on the wall & bow out gracefully, citing health problems or advanced age.
By dingies-! Rummy gone! Good. I'll bet Bush gives him the congressional medal of honor for fucking up the Iraq war & killing US soldiers, just like Bush did with the other three previous. Bets?
14 - ClubStyle_DJ
If Cheney goes that would put Pelosi in the shot gun seat...no? Hmmmm a Clinton Pelosi ticket....things that make you go Hmmmmmmmm...
CSDJ
15 - ClubStyle_DJ
uhhhhh...no pun intended
16 - Nancy
Clinton/Pelosi-! *gasp!* Good Gawd! NO! I'd as soon see two women, indeed ... just not those two.
17 - Jet in Columbus
Are you Kidding Nancy? The country would have a panic attack every 28 days... Nope Clinton/Obama
18 - steve
this will be a great opportunity for both parties to work together rather than against eachother. I think a little balance of power could be a healthy thing for the US. If the democRATS raise taxes...at that point I will put my foot in my mouth.
19 - Nicholas Stix
#5 â€" November 8, 2006 @ 12:40PM â€" handyguy [URL]
"Conservative and/or Republican commentators seem obsessed with this line of reasoning: we lost, they didn't win. It is impossible for them to imagine that candidates to the left of, say, George Allen could ever win a national election, so it has to be because 'we' stayed home. But many disgruntled independent voters did not stay home, and they sent a 'throw the bums out' message. It's insulting to them to pretend their message is meaningless."
This is a matter of arithmetic. If it can be determined that the proportion of GOP voters was lower than in 2004, then I'm right. If the proportion was the same or higher, then I'm wrong.
20 - Nancy
Panic every 28 days for whom, Jet? You? It couldn't be them, 'cause both are way past that age. Once past 60 ... well, you've seen the cartoon with the knife in the massacred pumpkin...?
21 - Martin Lav
I think the Dems are far more likely to reach across the aisle than the Reps. I mean the personality trait that allows people to preach one thing and do another, never change course, see black and white only, does not allow them to compromise nor work together. Seems pretty apparent to me that the populace believes that as well and voted Dems in to break the log jam.
Even the posters show this personality trait by indicating it's not a Dem victory, but a Rep. loss. I mean they can not stand defeat or compromise or are apparently incapable of self critical anaylsis.....
22 - handyguy
The truth about turnout:
Great article [well ok, maybe a little statistical-geeky] about Congressional election turnout over the last couple of decades, and what constitutes a 'big wave' election. [Either one party turns out huge, or one sits home, or both turn out but one number is just much larger.] There have been several examples of each in the past...it will be interesting to see what the real turnout numbers reveal about this election.
Pew Research Article
23 - The Fifth Dentist
Nicholas--
This is smart and entertaining. I envy your ability. Don't be discouraged by the schmucks who can't tell the difference between the real thing and the drivel typically on this site.
24 - Arch Conservative
"Even the posters show this personality trait by indicating it's not a Dem victory, but a Rep. loss. I mean they can not stand defeat or compromise"
The GOP cannot stand defeat?
Which party has cried voter fraud despite a lack of proof when they have lost elections in the last ten years?
Which party's supporters tossed eggs at the president of the other party while being inaugurated in 2000 and 2004?
You think the GOP is full of sore losers but don't see anything wrong with the way Dems/liberals behave when they lose?
25 - Martin Lav
"tossed eggs at the president"
Is that what's on his face?