<p>pmr - they could’ve AT LEAST sayed in seesion long enough to vote on the offshore drilling proposal!! Those slimy democrats are just trying to save their hides by not having to actually take a stand on something which might hurt them come election time. It’s utterly disgusting!</p>
<p>They need to quit worrying about their own self-interest and actully get the work of our country done! That’s what we’re paying them to do - they ought to all be booted out of office, starting w/ Pelosi. (Sorry but the fact that they adjourned before voting on this issue is one of the biggest acts of political cowardice ever!).</p>
<p>P.S. cornfed - post #38: funny! Maybe b/c of my KS blood - it gave me a nice chuckle to start the day.</p>
<p>I agree Pelosi is a total joke. For all those who cheered her as the first female Speaker she has to be a huge disappointment to you. </p>
<p>I actually think the whole vote/non-vote thing was a political stunt by the Republicans to try to make the Dems look bad. It was stupid. They knew there wasn’t going to be a vote. As a staunch Republican I am disappointed in the game they tried to play. I would like to think that is something the other side would try but alas, there isn’t really a difference amongst politicians.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the new mantra holds true. Do what must be done to discredit or harm the other party no matter the consequences. I feel like I’m caught in the cross-fire of an inner-city gang war. It doesn’t matter how many innocent bystanders are shot as long as we take out members of the other gang.</p>
<p>Let me address this very good question, pmrlcomm, while at the same time meandering off-point as I so often do. … We Democrats do, indeed, have a zany Keystone Cops quality, especially during national campaigns when we cleverly seek out new and wonderful ways to shoot ourselves in the foot. As I see it, one problem has been that Republican PR guys have become masters at sliming our candidates and rendering them unelectable, and we Dems simply haven’t kept pace. (Witness: the flip-flopping, weak-kneed, anti-American, medal-throwing, swift-boated John Kerry–a genuine war hero forever turned into a national joke. How shameful was that?) </p>
<p>Karl Rove and friends have turned uber-negative campaigning into a high art form, so much so that I’m certain their playbook will one day be enshrined on a pedestal of dubious honor in the Smithsonian. … So far, the Dems haven’t had the stomach to fight back in kind and until they grow a collective spine, the Roves of the world will continue to do what they do best. The Keystone Cops don’t need this kind of “help.” We can implode on our own very nicely, thank you. </p>
<p>Anyway, that’s been one of the big knocks against Obama, at least from the Democratic side. (Excuse me, interesteddad, if you’re tuned in: I meant "THE ONE") I’ve heard people gripe that he’s ignored the McCain attack ads when he should have responded quickly and forcefully. … But either way, it’s a no-win situation for THE ONE. If he doesn’t respond in kind, he’s a wimp. If he does respond in kind, he’s no better than his rival when it comes to mud-slinging. …</p>
<p>As for the Democratic congress being a disappointment. I totally agree. But I don’t lay it entirely at their door. We have a two-party system in play, and the Republicans presently have enough votes to head the Dems off at the pass every which way they turn. No matter who’s in power, congress is more-or-less in a state of perpetual gridlock. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though not much gets done. In fact, it might actually be preferable to having one party in total control and ramming their own particular agenda down everyone’s throat. Checks and balances, my friend.</p>
<p>I believe Obama took the playbook from Bill Clinton. I might not agree with everything McCain says, but at least he doesn’t change with the polls as often as Obama.</p>
<p>Against drilling, for drilling
For late term abortion, against late term abortion
Against guns, for guns
Talk to Alhemdijad, now who knows!
Withdraw the troops immediately, now withdraw and send to Afghanistan.</p>
<p>I can’t keep up with where he is at. It seems as he changes his position depending on the polls (i.e Bill Clinton)</p>
<p>He is tiring me out just trying to figure out where he stands.</p>
<p>Yes, McCain also flip flops, but he has a track record to prove his reasons.</p>
<p>The only reason the Republican cartoon character attacks work so effectively is because there is always a kernal of truth.</p>
<p>The way for the Democrats to counter is for their nominees to run on a record that simply makes the attacks laughable. For example, everyone already knows years in advance that the basic Republican talking point will be: “Democrats are for big government, higher taxes, and waving the white flag in the war on terror.”</p>
<p>Thus, the way to blunt the attack is to nominate candidates with a long track record of advocating “pay as you go”, “balanced budgets”, and strength in military affairs.</p>
<p>Democrats lose essentially all Presidential elections because, more often than not, they nominate week, ineffective candidates that make it child’s play to destroy them with characature attacks.</p>
<p>That won’t happen because that isn’t what the Dems want in a candidate. They don’t seem to get that everyone doesn’t want their way of things. They nominate those that are too far to the left. There should have been mass executions of Democratic operatives after they failed to beat Bush on '04. They lost because instead of finding a nice moderate liberal they, once again, found someone from the radical left. It’s their own fault they lost and rather than admit it and move on there are any number of them still playing the “election was stolen” home game.</p>
<p>Yep. Democratic Party poo-bahs actually believe that they keep losing election after election because their candidates aren’t liberal enough and that, if they would only make the party even more liberal, they would win.</p>
<p>Welcome to the world of Kerry, Brazille, Pelosi, and Dean. Look at the parade of losers surrogating for the Democrats this weekend. John “Liveshot” Kerry? Tom Daschle? Are you kidding me? I’m surprised they haven’t trotted out Dukakis.</p>
<p>And, of course, the Republicans have managed to seize the opening left by the Democrats and move their party away from the extreme-right wing fringe back to the center with a candidate known for his maverick center positions.</p>
<p>For thousands of years politics has been a nasty, vile game. It shouldn’t shock anyone that it is still that way. The liberals get plenty mean about things when it suits them. For some reason they won’t play hard-ball politics in the presidential election and then want to cry about it afterwards. There is no moral high-ground to be had. It’s all trench warfare. </p>
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<p>I never really thought of it that way. You may be on to something. I’m still pretty sure the center is where you will find most of the support but it escapes them. The Republicans are doing just that with McCain. Like him or don’t like him he isn’t a religious-right kinda guy like Bush.</p>
I’ve heard people gripe that he’s ignored the McCain attack ads when he should have responded quickly and forcefully. … But either way, it’s a no-win situation for THE ONE. If he doesn’t respond in kind, he’s a wimp. If he does respond in kind, he’s no better than his rival when it comes to mud-slinging. …</p>
at the end of it.</p>