Being a European History nerd (I'm very slowly getting my doctorate with night classes) I have an almost irrepressable urge to compare events and places in history. I've lately been reading up on the histories of Poland and Austria, and I have just lately hit upon a parallel of sorts. In their quest to cling to power, to cling to relevance, to claim the mantle of "civilization," such as it was, Hillary's campaign is starting to remind me of the Habsburgs' self-destructive quest for relevance which ended with Austria-Hungary's dissolution in 1919, effectively erasing what had been a major power for over three centuries.
As usual, everyone's going nuclear over a Democratic defeat on the war. But before we go off half-cocked like so many 3rd world SS-1 Scud knockoffs, I should maybe share something I first rememebr thinking 3 years ago, but which I dared not speak at the time, mostly because, I confess, I didn't want to pour gasoline on the funeral pyres of Kerry-Edwards. What I dared not speak was this: I knew we would be in Iraq till Bush left office.
While Allen hasn't conceded, it seems unlikely he'll make up the 7,000-odd deficit to Webb in a recount. The last recount here in VA, for Attorney General in 2005, changed only 12 votes. So I decided to delve into the numbers and see how Webb pulled it off.
Well, the sign wars are in full swing here in the Old Dominion. Allen signs up for about 2 weeks are now being challenged with a deluge of Webb signs. Webb and Allen bumper stickers are proliferating. Webb/Moran combo signs dot the Fairfax County Parkway's Reston exit. And here in the VA-11, Signs for Republican incumbent Tom Davis and Democrat Andrew Hurst have sprouted with a speed putting mutant dandelions to shame. But I saw something rather more clever today.
The Democrats have won quite a few legislative victories, considering they're in the minority. In fact, more victories than any minority since the Republican minority in early 1994. But to hear the mainstream media (and sadly, often even the blogosphere) tell it, you'd never notice.
Anyone old enough to remember 1994, and blessed with a really accurate memory, is probably getting Deja Vu. And if you aren't, here's why you should be.
Every once in a while, I am reminded why I am a Democrat, and why I am not a Republican. Sometimes it is just another daily event, but sometimes the declaration of one person are enough to suffice. I had one of those experiences today while perusing the Republican finger-pointing going on here in Virginia, where the party has lost ground in the state government steadily if slowly since 2001.
So all of you remember how Tim Kaine whipped Jerry Kilgore's ass about a month ago here in Virginia. And you probably figured that part of the reason Kilgore lost was because of his far-right positions and unwillingness to talk to moderate voters, right? Well that's not how the state GOP sees it. More after the flip...
It's pretty much a given that we're all on here to talk about politics. But reading the Reagan-survey diary it occurred to me: I really have no idea how most of you got interested in this subject. And I also realized that I have never related my slightly odd story of how I got into it. So before I ask you for your stories, I'll tell you mine.
Now that we've secured a beachhead of sorts in our 2005 wins, we shpuld be thinking about what seats we can grab in 2006. We should be challenging every Republican we can, of course, but these seats, I think, we could grab even if Bush manages to get back in the 40% range (though given how bad things are going for him, I have to admit that a recovery seems unlikely to happen in just a year).
OK, so I just read VirginiaBelle's entry, and I thought I'd give my analysis. Some of this may be a retread, but I think she was on to a few things that I'd like to expand upon (by the way, if you haven't read VirginiaBelle's diary on the Kaine win, do so quickly, it's quite good).
anyhow, the main interesting thing to not is how much better Kaine did in the suburbs than previous statewide candidates. Warner's win in 2001 was largely on the strength of rural southside VA voters, while in NoVA, Richmond, and Hampton Roads Warner did pretty much as well (or only slightly better) than Kerry did in the general election. But in 2005, Kaine blew Kilgore out of the water in the suburbs.
In his new Newsweek column "On K Street Conservatism," George Will takes large chuncks of his party to task for falling in love with big government, apparently not realizing that they never had a problem with spending, just about responsibility.
It is always amusing to watch conservatives eat their own, and Will so demolishes the GOP's remaining credibility that even I can hardly add to it.
Back when I lived in Alexandria, this guy was my congressman. Oh would that I still lived there.
Say what you will about Moran, he's never been afraid to tell you what he thinks in pretty blunt terms. He once even got into a fistfight with Randy Cunningham (R-CA) when Cunningham used an ethnic homophobic slur against him.
OK, so I'm kid of pimping my home state delegation, but some of these lines are just too sweet. Courtesy of RawStory.com
All too often those in the "chattering class" have tried to convince us that those who change theor minds are somehow inherently dishonest or unrelaible (John Kerry anyone?). This has, in my opinion, really gotten out of hand. In this fictional world, all opinions are set in stone, never to be changed. Bus is great, they say, because he "knows here he stands."
This is braindeadese for: "He doesn't know enough to ever change his opinion."
The most recent recipient of this barb is David Brock of MediaMatters.com. We are supposed to believe that, since Brock once lied for conservatives for a living, that he is thus not reliable as a liberal either.
But this ignores a very basic factL he wrote a lengthy mea culpa in which he basically skewered all of his old friends. Would an insincere con man do that? Better question, would a con man do that just as the GOP was taking over the whole damn government, as it was in 2001?
From Neocons to Fascists to Communists to the Religious Right, the enemies of Liberalism have one thing in common: They all believe the sky is falling.
