Media Narrative Continues: Republicans In Trouble This Fall

When the traditional media gets a hold of a theme, they hate letting go.

Slate: Panic at the House (news round-up)

NY Times: Republican Election Losses Stir Fall Fears

canada.com: GOP officials despair as 'safe' seats choose the other team

globeandmail.com: Wake up and smell the disenchantment

cqpolitics: GOP Seeks to Rebrand After Childers Victory (good luck with that, boys)

AFP: Shaken Republicans look to McCain as savior (good luck with that, too)

WaPo: After String of Losses, Republicans Face Crisis

Reuters: US Republicans scramble in wake of defeats

USAToday: Republicans fear public has lost confidence (pssst... they have)

AP: Third House loss shakes GOP, raises fears for fall

MSNBC: GOPer compares brand to bad 'dog food' (points for originality and honesty)

You get the picture. But then again, you knew that.

So, imagine this: The GOP that has always despised and derided John McCain

Senator Thad Cochran had this to say: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."

now turns to him as 'savior' (see AFP). Meanwhile McCain tries to make nice to the GOP base (and of course, the press, which is McCain's base)

Imagine, reporters protecting a candidate from himself! But, then again, since the reporters on the bus liked Mr. McCain too much to report on his gaffes, he really didn’t need protection. His candor was without consequence. It was another blandishment to the press.

but that won't stop reporters who are fascinated by trainwrecks from writing about the GOP implosion.

The real interesting trick will be to see how McCain is going to pretend not to be a Republican while Republicans wrap their arms around McCain in a death hug, not merely pretending to like him but pretending to be him. The more they succeed, the more he fails. The more he succeeds, the more they fail.

Of course, the odds are that they'll all fail. The bullshit is just too pungent to pretend it's not there, and it isn't the most effective way to sell authenticity and change to a voting public that has rejected the party standard bearer (George W. Bush) as a miserable failure. At the same time, the GOP is bitterly divided, even though they're smart enough not to constantly talk to reporters about it (a trick Democrats have never mastered).

Novak: McCain, GOP in Trouble as Obama Wraps it Up

The claims that McCain has a united Republican Party behind him are greatly exaggerated. We find considerable opposition on the right, ranging from economic conservatives (who consider him too green) to evangelicals. The biggest problem is that he does not realize he has a problem.

Update [2008-5-15 8:15:10 by DemFromCT]: NPR discusses McCain's base difficulties with David Keene (h/t nailbender)

Welcome to the 2008 election.

•  The Republican Collapse Was the Only True Air of

  inevitability.

  :::::

  by nowheredesign on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:38:44 AM PDT

  •  This is why

    Hillary is fighting so hard for the nomination.  She knows that a Dem is going to win the presidency.  

    by Kitty on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:43:39 AM PDT

    •  A dem will win the white house, unless...

      Hillary decides to run as an independent, which (with her complete contempt & disregard for party rules) it looks as if she's gonna do.

      by DFH on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:01:20 AM PDT

      •  No she wouldn't that. There'd be no funding.

        by notquitedelilah on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:03:16 AM PDT

        •  Clintons have $109M

          They can afford it

          by catnap1972 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:33:33 AM PDT

          •  They have to live on that

            and it's not easy.

            Besides, that was over 7 yrs, and I think it was before taxes.

            They're not poor, but they're not THAT rich. Hell, most CEOs make that much in ONE year.

            And yes, they're vastly overpaid too.

            by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:42:07 AM PDT

      •  Hillary is a politician

        She hasn't yet hit the self-destruct button.

        She is playing to win. By what conceivable metric might she have calculated she could win as an Independent.

        In her speech after WV she stated, quite categorically, that she would support the eventual nominee. That was the first clear sign she has given that she has considered not winning the nomination herself.

        Quite regardless of the style and substance of her campaign, which, frankly, has been awful, Hillary Clinton is a very well liked and highly regarded DEMOCRAT.

        Suggesting that she might seek to destroy her legacy, the Democratic Party and risk at least 4 years of another Rep. Admin. is not very helpful .... ymmv

        by twigg on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:09:10 AM PDT

•  more Novak

  Unlike Republican losses in industrial or suburban districts, the recent Southern losses don't reflect a stained GOP image nearly as much they reflect a diminished and dysfunctional party.

  by DemFromCT on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:40:53 AM PDT

  •  Way out in here in the sticks...

    (PA-15) There are 3 Ron Paul yard signs to every one McCain sign; and this is a very Republican area.

    Also, note that the (rather large) Mennonite community around here is going for Obama.

    :::::

    by nowheredesign on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:44:28 AM PDT

    •  Same in DFW

      I've seen more home made Paul sign than professional McCain signs.

      by plok on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:51:43 AM PDT

    •  So, between Paul and Barr

      The R's are royally screwed.

      Dare I hope? A 30 + state win?

      by edgeways on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:13:35 AM PDT

•  and, of course:

  

  by voila on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:42:23 AM PDT

  •  Elekshuns -- Ur doin it Rite! n/t

    by r u joking on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:38:14 AM PDT

•  Just heard this NPR interview of

  American Conservative Union head David Keene (at the NRA convention), regarding just this problem that McCain is having to address.  His comments are pretty damning, calling him basically a flip-flopper extraordinaire.

  Listen to the audio.

  by nailbender on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:43:50 AM PDT

  •  This is just standard

    Republican dual messaging far as I'm concerned. McCain says one thing, his "people" clarify afterward. McCain as Green! What a hoot!

    by plok on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:52:53 AM PDT

    •  listen to the clip again

      that isn't what is going on.  Keene is trying to find a way to like McCain while deriding his fence straddling as "quasi-shizophrenic".  That's not clarifying, it's an attempt at cauterizing.  His opinion of McCain's Cap and Trade proposal is negative, if you listen to the conversation with Inskeep.

      This is a very real problem for McCain, probably as serious as Gore's Naderite problem in '00.  Actually, probably more serious.

      by nailbender on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:12:40 AM PDT

      •  Hmmm... Did you read this article?

        from the American Conservative Magazine?  I know not many of us venture out this way, but check this out:

        The Right Choice?

        The conservative case for Barack Obama

        Barack Obama is no conservative. Yet if he wins the Democratic nomination, come November principled conservatives may well find themselves voting for the senator from Illinois. Given the alternatives—and the state of the conservative movement—they could do worse.

        [snip]

        The essential point is this: conservatives intent on voting in November for a candidate who shares their views might as well plan on spending Election Day at home. The Republican Party of Bush, Cheney, and McCain no longer accommodates such a candidate.

        So why consider Obama? For one reason only: because this liberal Democrat has promised to end the U.S. combat role in Iraq. Contained within that promise, if fulfilled, lies some modest prospect of a conservative revival.

        [snip]

        Yet if Obama does become the nation’s 44th president, his election will constitute something approaching a definitive judgment of the Iraq War. As such, his ascent to the presidency will implicitly call into question the habits and expectations that propelled the United States into that war in the first place. Matters hitherto consigned to the political margin will become subject to close examination. Here, rather than in Obama’s age or race, lies the possibility of his being a truly transformative presidency.

        [snip]

        But this much we can say for certain: electing John McCain guarantees the perpetuation of war. The nation’s heedless march toward empire will continue. So, too, inevitably, will its embrace of Leviathan. Whether snoozing in front of their TVs or cheering on the troops, the American people will remain oblivious to the fate that awaits them.

        For conservatives, Obama represents a sliver of hope. McCain represents none at all. The choice turns out to be an easy one.

        The zebra hasn't changed its stripes but they clearly see Obama as a better alternative to McCain in this conservative mag.  Hmm, now who has work to do?

        by ILean Left on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:21:48 AM PDT

        •  thanks for a very intersting link. But

          I don't think its import is what you are implying it is.  

          This is a pretty strong anti-neocon screed, and Bacevich is in that small camp occupied by folks like Bruce Fein (the conservative legal scholar who has been advocating Impeachment of the Bushists) who are core conservatives who see (correctly) that the neocons are anything but conservative and that the Bushist disaster is the worst thing that has ever happened to their movement.

          It is in that sense that Bacevich is advocating an Obama vote.  The large portions of the essay that you snipped explain it pretty well, I think.  Also, this is a guest op ed, not an ACU editorial.

          Definitely a good read.  Thanks.

          by nailbender on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:46:55 AM PDT

          •  Thanks for the clarity both here and in my diary!

            by ILean Left on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:55:15 AM PDT

      •  NPR gives ALOT of air to Keene

        And every time he's on it's "I hate this, this, this, this AND this." That's his schtick. He's trying to set the benchmark. I guess you're right, but Keene just strikes me as a constructive, positive force for Republicans even when he's whining. And it is ironinc that both of them discussed dual messaging, and the game of the game of dual messaging. You got to remember, say one thing/do another is Republican Gospel. It's all they know.

        by plok on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:43:07 AM PDT

      •  Rush Limbo is apoplectic re

        McCain's stance on AGW. Has him banging the table in frustration, literally (Rushie's shtick continues to be the "Liberal Hoax" line of argument).

        by r u joking on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:42:31 AM PDT

  •  Let them eat their young!

    Wait, did I just write that?  OK, how about, let their young eat their old!

    How does that sound?

    by Its the Supreme Court Stupid on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:57:17 AM PDT

    •  Flip flop in the mouth-

      Breaking News: McCain sees Iraq combat over, U.S. troops home before 2013

      In a speech he's about to give shortly at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will for the first time talk about a specific date for when he envisions direct American military involvement to be over in Iraq.

      It's January, 2013. By then, he says, American combat involvement will be over and most U.S. troops back home.

      by borkitekt on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:14:02 AM PDT

      •  What a strange thing to do...

        If he's going to agree to a date certain for removal of troops (regardless of the doom-&-gloom consequences the Neocons are always warning us about), why not a closer date?  Does he somehow think that the public would prefer a fixed date of 2013 to a 2009?

        And wasn't that Hillary's date, too?  The end of her second term?

        by penguins4peace on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:18:46 AM PDT

      •  Bush pulled this "in five years" crap too

        Promise to complete whatever program in electionyear+5.  Then they HAVE to reelect you so you can "finish the job".  I'm tired of this baldfaced manipulation.  Blech.

        by hillgiant on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:33:47 AM PDT

  •  The scapegoating will be the interesting part

    The results of the 2008 election have been baked into the cake since November 2006.  There's so much dissatisfaction with Republicans that that loss was only the appetizer for 2008, and the recession we've started will only worsen the situation for them.  The media narrative is only the usual belated recognition of the obvious.

    How will Republicans react to a massive loss?  That's the interesting question for me.  Given the nasty, reality-averse nature of their party I expect a lot of infighting and finger-pointing.  McCain will be the biggest scapegoat, but I expect a prolonged struggle between the Crist/Schwarzenegger pragmatists (a small fraction, but one likely to eventually win) and the various brands of extremists.  Extremists will shout loudly that the party didn't hew closely enough to their particular orthodoxy, whether it's tax-cutting or gay-baiting or hating on the brown people.  They will demand ever-further extremism.

    The Republicans are in for a long hard road to redefining themselves.  We'd better make hay while we can, because one of these days they'll be back.

    by Dallasdoc on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:59:35 AM PDT

    •  myself, I'm hoping for a third party

      to cleave away from the GOP.  A fundie party, maybe.

      If that were to happen, they might never come back.  You would have the GOP becoming the Centrist party (Lieberman, Collins, Snowe, more than a few DLC types, etc) the Dems and the true Wingnuts.

      A dream, to be sure, but hey, it could happen as we expose McCain's corrupt behavior in the upcoming months and, to counter the image-damage, he offers more liberal-sounding proposals like cap and trade and watered down health care bullshit that further alienates his far-right "base."

      by nailbender on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:30:23 AM PDT

      •  I'm hoping for a three-way split!

        The libertarian Ron Paul types, the religious Huckabee types, and the traditionalists.

        by McJulie on Thu May 15, 2008 at 07:58:25 AM PDT

      •  Dangerous thinking

        The GOP still has its base.   Once they come up with a viable candidate (unlike the misbegotten assortment of losers this year) they will be a force.

        The Dems still haven't shown they know how to be an effective majority party.  And we need a base -- labor is gone, minorities tend to split into fractious groups.  Coalescing around a platform, not a specific candidate, is in the GOP's blood.  The Dems have to learn how to do that too.

        Don't forget that only five years ago, Rove was forecasting a century of GOP rule.  

        by dotalbon on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:41:37 AM PDT

        •  What base?

          Honestly, what base?

          The 25% that's fundies, who will change their stripes once they can't drive to work, can't buy much food, and can't pay their mortgage? (And that's rapidly approaching...)

          The 20% or so that's rabidly anti-tax? They're already starting to change their tune, since now THEY need services and they're not getting them...

          Or the 20% or so of some states that's just xenophobic and racist? They can have them...

          The 1% or less that is the greedy, selfish, rich?

          That's the GOP's problem - they don't have a 'base'. They have a motley crew of various, contradictory, groups that they call their 'base'.

          You can only hold that together for so long...and only while things are pretty good for everybody. The first sign of trouble, and they start tearing each other apart.

          by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:51:42 AM PDT

  •  money quote from Keene:

    "(The problem is that McCain hes, in trying to) solidify his base while reaching out, is that he has pursued it in a quasi-schizophrenic way."  

    Ok, so he calls him only partially mentally ill.  Damning with faint derision?

    He uses McCain's recent endorsement of wingnut judges like Roberts and Alito vs. his Cap and Trade global warming proposal (which the WSJ excoriated for its liberality) as an examples of his schizoid behavior.

    by nailbender on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:03:21 AM PDT

  •  I call BS

    Conservatives pretend to hate their guy to get Independents to take a look.  "Maybe he doesn't eat babies after all--I guess I could vote for that."

    by RequestedUsername on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:22:16 AM PDT

    •  listening to that interview, I disagree

      Keene is trying his best to like the guy, but calling him "quasi-schizoprenic" isn't my idea of packaging that Independents can get behind.

      by nailbender on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:32:17 AM PDT

•  Cut to the chase...

  Give me the latest quote on the Ponies Futures Market.

  I have my saddle and tack all picked out.

  DFooK

  by deepfish on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:43:56 AM PDT

•  I think this year will bring a lot of ...

  

  (it helps to say it with a yooper accent.)

  by lineatus on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:43:58 AM PDT

  •  Schadenfreude?!! Where's my prize! n/t

    by dolphin777 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:48:46 AM PDT

    •  Ponies right this way.

      Get in line behind me

      by deepfish on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:54:41 AM PDT

      •  Wouldn't some salmon be better than ponies

        for you two?

        by lineatus on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:22:17 AM PDT

    •  Speaking of which

      by wmdrpa on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:06:12 AM PDT

•  Mc Cain has had a bit of a free ride for

  the last couple of months while the attention has been on BO and HRC. Many of the rank and file Rethugs really don't like him. And when his gaffes start making the evening news every night, I think that he will really be toast. On of McCain's biggest problems is that he is not very smart.

  by blue jersey mom on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:44:02 AM PDT

  •  The pendulum is going to swing hard the other way

    in the coming months.

    You can't store that much energy without releasing it at some point.

    Blammo!

    :::::

    by nowheredesign on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:46:31 AM PDT

    •  Also...

      Most "professional journalists" see themselves as being this close to being successful novelists. But they can't really sustain any narrative for too long.

      Like cute little hamsters, they get tired rolling the wheel all one way... so they think it actually means something when they start rolling it the other way... instead of asking the big questions like... why the hell hasn't anyone replaced this water bottle

      and

      why do these pellets suck?

      and even the dawning revelation of self knowledge is beyond them...

      "Jesus Christ, no matter how many press dinners I go to, I'm still only a freaking HAMSTER!"

      by deepfish on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:51:19 AM PDT

      •  lol! Were I a Hamster, I'd wonder how to tell

        which is a pellet and which is my poo; and likely, I would find out the hard way on a daily basis.

        :)

        ::::

        by nowheredesign on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:53:17 AM PDT

        •  Wake up nowherdesign...

          ...the hamsterwheel has you.

          by hillgiant on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:36:26 AM PDT

          •  Why, oh why, didn't I eat the blue pellet. :)

            by nowheredesign on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:58:39 AM PDT

            •  I'm sure...

              thereisnospoon can relate.

              DFooK

              by deepfish on Thu May 15, 2008 at 11:44:01 AM PDT

    •  That pendulum... uh... swings both ways

      Will the GOP narrative follow the "Darth Vader slow-descent-into-utter-corruption-(with-the-promise-of-future-redemption)" formula, or the "Rocky Balboa all-you-need-is-a-good-left-hook-(and-a-catchy-anthem)-to-win-the-next-fight" formula?
      

      by fastpathguru on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:08:03 AM PDT

  •  Not only is he not very smart

    he's a horrible speaker, and a worse actor.

    He sounds like a high-school student reading a paper that he didn't really write and doesn't believe. And acts like one, in every sense of the word.

    by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:53:46 AM PDT

•  351 dems to make up new congress come january!

  no more excuses Nancy/Harry. We'd better see results...

  by tnichlsn on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:44:18 AM PDT

  •  I want some gains in the senate so we can

    kick Lieberman to the curb.

    by blue jersey mom on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:45:50 AM PDT

    •  +5 in senate, whose running an election pool

      around here? I got $10 says we kick royal ass in nov!

      by tnichlsn on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:47:39 AM PDT

    •  When he is chosen as McCain's VP, Reid will have

      little wiggle room.

      I think Lieberman will be the choice. The GOP needs to present the guise of 'reaching across the aisle.'

      :::::

      by nowheredesign on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:49:32 AM PDT

      •  when McCain reaches across the aisle, it's to

        grab your wallet to send over to Baghdad! Will Joe go quietly into the desert err i mean night if he loses as VP twice do you suppose?

        by tnichlsn on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:54:08 AM PDT

        •  I think LIEberman is looking more for....

          a reach around than a reach across.

          by hillgiant on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:38:02 AM PDT

      •  That is my dream ticket...

        That pair would be radioactive - too conservative for left leaners, too moderate for the right wing (who are already unenthused). They would look like a pair of mummies on stage, and Lieberman wouldn't even be able to pull CT. Plus Joe would be gone and we can replace him with a good Dem.

        I would LOVE for McBush to pick Joe. Love it!

        by Dillonfence on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:58:05 AM PDT

        •  But Joe is such a putz...

          You really want to listen to ads with his obnoxious whine for months and months?

          How about Alan Keys?  I understand he's (always) available.

          Or they could run Zombie Reagan in order to make McCain look hale and hearty.

          by BobTrips on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:08:43 AM PDT

      •  And that will go over SOOOO well

        great way to piss off all the Talibaptists, the money people, and the rest of Congress all at the same time!

        No way will he pick Lieberman.

        I'm thinking Hagel - strong military supporter but anti-war, not currently in Congress so they don't lose a(nother) seat, appeals to independents.

        by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:57:23 AM PDT

•  Well NPR did a fine job

  of allowing Mara Liasson to paint McCain as being an independent. One caller praised McCain's military experience (doesn't Bush have military experience?).

  So McCain is gonna attack Obama on military and foreign affairs. How are we gonna handle this? What's the plan?

  by plok on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:46:59 AM PDT

  •  As always... begin by stifling the laughter

    that accompanies any mention of "McCain".

    Then talk about how McCain is just too unbalanced to be allowed to exercise his military experience.

    Besides....presidents need DIPLOMATIC experience law degrees.

    by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:02:45 AM PDT

    •  McCain&Nuclear Launch Codes:Disaster together. nt

      by JML9999 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:13:35 AM PDT

      •  McLaunch.

        McNuke.

        McBomb.

        by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:19:47 AM PDT

        •  Aaaaahhhh! Run for the hills! n/t

          by ILean Left on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:23:51 AM PDT

        •  God, those are great.

          I've been running with McSame and McShame (along with his McCronies), but I may have to turn up the heat and use McLaunch and his McCronies: McNuke and McBomb. McShame is the trinity of destruction. (He can be three in one or we can tag his running mate and top adviser with the other nicks.)

          by hyperstation on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:35:42 AM PDT

          •  Bring back the little girl picking daisies ad

            Hey, it worked for LBJ!  

            by dotalbon on Thu May 15, 2008 at 08:43:56 AM PDT

  •  And then keep your eye on Ron Paul Supporters...

    Ron Paul revolt could be 'disaster' for Republicans

    Conservative radio talk show host Mike Gallagher told the hosts of Fox and Friends on Tuesday, "There is no question that this could be a major headache for John McCain."

    "John McCain would be well-served to kind of reach out and give him an olive branch at the convention," Gallagher continued. "Let him speak, give him a role, because if these people are disrespected -- you know, this, combined with Bob Barr's announcement that Barr now is running as a Libertarian, is going to just take votes away from John McCain and could be a disaster for the Republican Party."

    Bob Barr recently cited Paul's success as having helped inspire his own candidacy, pointing to "what Ron Paul has tapped into in terms of reaching an awful lot of young people in particular and illustrating very clearly that in this day and age it is possible to reach a lot of young people through the Internet."

    Democratic political consultant and commentator Bob Beckel then joined into the Fox discussion, saying of Paul, "I think he ought to get a prime time speech at the convention. This is the only guy that has a bobble doll made for him that his head doesn't move."

    "They're nuts," Beckel said of Paul's supporters, hastening to add, "I don't mean nuts in a bad way. They're nuts about their guy."

    "I think they ought to do it, Mike," Beckel concluded, laughing. "I think it would be great for you guys to have Ron Paul at your convention."

    We should be strongly encouraging Paul's supporters.....

    by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:07:49 AM PDT

    •  I do

      I know a couple of Paulites. I politely jab them to encourage them.

      by plok on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:20:13 AM PDT

  •  Piffle

    That argument cannot work in 2008, because it did not work in 2004.  Kerry had far more meaningful military experience, but somehow bailing on flight exams is more relevant to the war on terrer.  You send an old soldier to make war, not to make peace.

    by hillgiant on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:40:57 AM PDT

•  They could always follow Rep. Jones's advice

  (reported in the WaPo article) and break with Bush and find a way out of Iraq.

  But I bet they won't.  Any more than they will nominate Ron Paul at their convention.

  by lysias on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:47:25 AM PDT

  •  Thay can't, and they won't.

    What's that old saying about sleeping with dogs and getting fleas? The Rethugs are stuck with an unnecessary and unpopular  war that will cost us $3trillion, a trashed economy, and corruption. Sounds like a trifecta for the Dems. to me.

    by blue jersey mom on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:50:33 AM PDT

    •  Yes... they can.

      But no... they likely won't.

      Repubs aren't risk-takers. They are advantage-takers and they are fresh out of advantage.

      by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:00:13 AM PDT

•  Republicans Ran The "Smear Obama Express" And

  Have had ZERO success in their three attempts.

  Geez could it be americans realized they were being played for fools by the RNC and the republicans.

  An ELITIST & OUT OF TOUCH President Who Compares The Sacrifice Of Our Brave Men & Woman In Iraq & Elsewhere With GOLF????

  
  THERE ARE NO "SAFE" REPUBLICAN SEATS AND THIS FALL WE WANT THEM ALL YOU HEARD THAT REPUBLICANS.

  by DFutureIsNow on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:49:55 AM PDT

  •  Obi Wan Kenobi and "the Voice"

    Remember the scene in the original Starwars where Obi Wan and Luke and the droids are being sought by the Imperial Stormtroopers in the city?

    Obi Wan uses the "Voice" to influence their thinking.

    These are not the droids you are looking for

    Now imagine that the Republicans have had the Voice for several years and are used to abusing it for everything.....only NOW it no longer works.

    They say shit like they used to, but now the Voice isn't working.

    Yes... those ARE the droids we are looking for, you imbeciles.

    Get 'em!

    by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:54:23 AM PDT

    •  The Jedi Mind Trick only Works on the Weak Minded

      The Voters have developed strong minds. However TradMed are still drooling idiots.

      by JML9999 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:06:28 AM PDT

      •  That's why it's been so successful

        in America.

        The Jedi Television Trick is still hard at work though....

        by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:18:55 AM PDT

    •  Or..."I am the great and powerful Oz"

      pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain....

      (who has a striking resemblance to porky pig)

      by crystal eyes on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:59:32 AM PDT

    •  I'm thinking it's more like

      the Arab with the scimitar in the original Indiana Jones movie.

      You remember the scene - big, tall guy, impressive, he wields that huge curved sword, swings it around...

      And Indy pulls out his gun and shoots him.

      I loved that scene.

      by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 09:00:43 AM PDT

•  Republicans

  are going to take an ass-kicking in November.

  Old diary I wrote that went nowhere, but remains accurate.

  I have informed the wife there will be HUGE parties in November and January.

  by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:50:55 AM PDT

  •  KO predicted a day of national rejoicing in Jan

    ... during his Special Comment last night.  Remember, there was dancing in the streets of Cambridge Mass. when Nixon resigned.

    by UnionJok on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:31:15 AM PDT

    •  I was there dancing

      "don't blame me, I'm from Massachussets" was the second most popular bumper sticker from that era.

      The most popular was:

      Jesus saves
      Esposito puts in the rebound

      by DemFromCT on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:34:42 AM PDT

•  HA HA HA

   Oh, it feels good to laugh three times, it does! Eight years of incompetence are coming to an end. No more religious fanaticism as the basis of foreign policy. No more pandering to the disloyal Christian Right. It's all going to stop when president Obama is sworn in :-)

  by Stranded Wind on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:50:58 AM PDT

•  Jes' luvs headlines in re Repukes with:

  fear!  panic!!  more FEAR!!

  Aloha   ..  ..  ..

  by dolphin777 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:51:45 AM PDT

  •  When you sow the wind...

    You reap the whirlwind.

    8 Years of playing on fear. Now the monster is loose in their own back yard.

    Love it.

    DFooK

    by deepfish on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:53:21 AM PDT

    •  Wrong!

      35 years. Not 8.

      And yeah, Frankenstein's monster has come home.

      Carry on.

      by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:57:54 AM PDT

  •  dolphins cavorting with fish... what's next?

    a black president?

    by tnichlsn on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:57:52 AM PDT

    •  Well, we have

      a woman Speaker. And the world didn't end.

      by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 09:02:28 AM PDT

  •  hey, they have been the party of fear

    at least since 9/11

    by Its the Supreme Court Stupid on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:00:27 AM PDT

•  we should also have a meme-watch,

  since the R's want to rebrand their 4th reich image without messing with the content.

  Bush wanting to show solidarity with the troops by lying about giving up golf.

  Kristol said somthing yesterday too, maybe government reform or somesuch.

  by borkitekt on Thu May 15, 2008 at 04:58:05 AM PDT

  •  Yaay, more slogans no change.

    by phatcat cane on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:06:47 AM PDT

•  Dean, Obama and Gore.

  

  2008 is a year of democratic stealth.

  by notquitedelilah on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:00:13 AM PDT

  •  Me-owwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

    by Its the Supreme Court Stupid on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:01:24 AM PDT

  •  I tot I taw sum BIIIIIIG pooti-tats!

    :O

    by xxdr zombiexx on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:09:06 AM PDT

  •  Okay. Gotta ask. Which one's Obama? Hehe! n/t

    by ILean Left on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:26:47 AM PDT

    •  That's obvious

      the tall skinny one with the big ears...

      by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 09:03:30 AM PDT

•  McCain is the Republican Lieberman

  John McCain could never unify the Republican Party. It would be like if a rigged primary season gave Joe Lieberman the Democratic nomination. McCain spent most of his career antagonizing much of the Republican Party.

  by Wu Wei on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:03:19 AM PDT

  •  Bad analogy

    McCain is far more acceptable to the Republicans than Lieberman would be to the Democrats.

    Lieberman is a complete disgrace, and has been drummed out of his own party (which he still claims to belongs to).

    McCain's analogue, if I were to guess, would be more like Ben Nelson... who votes party line only when absolutely necessary.

    by sacrelicious on Thu May 15, 2008 at 11:52:42 AM PDT

    •  Acceptable to some Republicans

      McCain is far more acceptable to the Republicans than Lieberman would be to the Democrats.

      A lot of Republicans, conservative ones, dislike McCain passionately. And why wouldn't they? He took the Democrats' side on most issues; undercut their leadership with the Gang of 14 deal; was endorsed first by "Democrat" Joe Lieberman, and is talking about nominating Liberman for VP; in the past talked seriously with the Democratic leadership about switching parties and becoming the Democratic VP candidate; said some of the Republican groups disgusted him.

      The difference is that the Republicans are in a civil war, and one of the factions, the centrist one, supports McCain.

      It's worth remembering too that Joe Lieberman was reelected, sits in the Democratic caucus, and holds a chairmanship in the Democratic Congress.

      by Wu Wei on Thu May 15, 2008 at 01:28:52 PM PDT

•  The idiots still don't get it.

  They think George W. Bush the man is pulling them down.  George W. Bush is a symbol for the failure of the Republican leadership in the last eight years.  Simply calling Bush a poopoo head caca face is not going to change the minds of the voters.

  They have to abandon Bush's very non-conservative policies.  Abdicate ending the war in Iraq.  No spying without a warrant.  Take a stand against Torture.  Expand the use of renewable energy, not to be green but to end our reliance on the Middle East.  

  These are the policies we should all be in agreement on.  These policies should not be up for debate.  Unfortunately, these policies are now the basis of the Republican brand:  war, torture, big-brother government, oil.  

  How could so many ivy league, uberrich conservatives be so collectively stupid?

  by phatcat cane on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:04:00 AM PDT

  •  be so collectively stupid

    Not the Brightest bulbs individually. Most came to their fortunes by inheritance or

    As Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever put it "simple blind do-dah luck".

    by JML9999 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:10:07 AM PDT

•  I am so going to

  post that list on my fridge. It puts a happy, albeit, bittersweet, smile on my face.

  by anotherCt Dem on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:05:14 AM PDT

•  I heard that McCain is saying that he will

  get the troops out of Iraq in 4 years. Ha!

  by MantisOahu on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:11:44 AM PDT

•  Choke off the republican party until...

  We can drown it in a bathtub!

  by manwithnoname on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:14:27 AM PDT

•  Wake-up call

  "This was a real wake-up call for us," Robert M. Duncan, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in an interview.

  Ever notice how whenever anyone uses that phrase, it's all over?

  "I can't believe my wife slept with that guy. I guess that's a real wakeup call."

  "I can't believe they said I'm fired and I have to clean out my desk. I guess that's a real wakeup call."

  by archer070 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:16:24 AM PDT

  •  By Extension ...

    the phrase also implies that whoever says it has been asleep for an extended period of time.

    Did anyone else catch this quote from NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.) about future strategy in the Washington Post article:

    "I don't see it as a particular advantage to be in a debate with our president. It's not for me to second-guess the president of the United States."

    Then, what exacly is your role as a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Cole? I would think the people in your district would be most interested in learning more about what you think you should be doing in the House. Is our country where it is because you and others in your party unquestioningly, uncritically and blindly followed this president's policies? Why, because you don't think the president should be second-guessed?

    You and your party's leadership have created your own wake-up call. But, by all accounts, you will all hit the collective snooze alarm.

    by D in Northern Virginia on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:02:43 AM PDT

  •  Just because you get a wakeup call

    doesn't mean you actually wake up.

    All too often, you just turn over and go back to sleep.

    And then, after you DO wake up, you run around like a headless chicken because you're late, unprepared, and look like hell.

    Sounds like Republicans to me...

    by mmacdDE on Thu May 15, 2008 at 09:06:17 AM PDT

•  Republicans have always been (in) Trouble

  it's just now that the American people are waking up to that fact.

  by hester on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:22:48 AM PDT

•  Hoping for a reprise of 1993 Canadian election

  Going into the  1993 election the governing Progressive Conservative Party had 151 seats in the Canadian parliament.  They lost 149 seats, including that of the prime minister herself.

  by UnionJok on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:23:16 AM PDT

•  Longing for November

  If Democrats can just get through the summer, we'll enjoy historic gains across the country.  

  If...

  It's a big word for only two letters.  Focus on this criminal war, focus on this criminal economy, spare no expense in tethering McCain to Bush, and the rest should fall into place.

  by bkirby816 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:24:03 AM PDT

•  The GOP's been good at selling fear.

  But are they ready for a refund?

  by BA BarackUS on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:31:21 AM PDT

  •  Payback's ...

    a beeyotch on this one.

    by D in Northern Virginia on Thu May 15, 2008 at 06:04:02 AM PDT

•  Can you please let the good people of

  Jacksonville Florida in on this secret?  We have a new progressive talk radio station here (FINALLY!!!) and I was driving i listening to the Paul Pierce morning show - he pretty much stays above the fray and tries to remain pretty fair and balanced.  He posed a question this morning of "Who ruined their party more, Bill Clinton in the 90's or George Bush now".  I kid you not, there were two callers (I had to turn off the radio and take a deep breath after the second caller) who both said that George Bush will go down in history as a great President in regards to his foreign policy......I about spit out my coffee.  Then one guy proceeded to say, now, I am not happy with Bush's economic policy because he has been spending too much, but his foreign policy is spot on.  At that point, I was like "Yea, dill weed, his economic policy is DIRECTLY tied to his foreign policy...we are spending billions of dollar on this brilliant foriegn policy decision called the Iraq war"...Sorry..just had to rant this morning...carry on..nothing more to see here folks.....

  by icecrystal72 on Thu May 15, 2008 at 05:35:20 AM PDT

•  And w