Boy, the Republicans must be getting VERY worried about all the negative press they have been receiving recently on detainee torture, the Downing Street Memos, Bolton, the Shiavo autopsy results, GOP senators' failure to support anti-lynching legislation, and more and more service men and women dying in Iraq - because I just received 4 (count 'em, FOUR!) emails from GOP.com. At some point last election season, some joker signed me up for every stinkin' interest group on the RNC web site, so now I get regular emails from my dear buds on the other side, targeted to various and sundry constiuencies. Usually I only get one or two a week, but today my mailbox practically had to be de-slimed....
So what topics are so pressing that the Repubs needed to spam me 4 times today? Well...
1.) A book review from the GOP.com bookcast!
President Ronald Reagan is one of the most beloved and admired Republican leaders in our Party. Over sixteen years since he left office, President Reagan continues to be a large influence on today's Republican leaders. In his newest book, "Why I Am A Reagan Conservative," former Reagan advisor Michael Deaver brings together essays from prominent Republicans such as Ken Mehlman, Sen. Bob Dole and Sen. Bill Frist about why they are Reagan conservatives.
Apparently the loyal troops need to be reminded that Bill Frist is a Reagan conservative - 'cause lately he's been looking more like the Dobson kind.
2.) Medical malpractice!
Medical malpractice legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives recently and referred to the house Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce. The bill is aimed at providing comprehensive reform regarding medical malpractice, and will help protect medical practitioners from the fear of frivolous lawsuits.
[H]elp stem the tide of frivolous lawsuits that are raising the costs of health care and putting our doctors out of business.
See, it's all the trial lawyers' fault!
3) What Dick Durbin said this week!
Just when it seemed the Democrats' rhetoric could not sink any lower, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) earlier this week compared the way American soldiers treat terrorism suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay with the way Nazis abused prisoners during World War II.
Senator Durbin's reprehensible remarks could not be a greater disservice to our men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line everyday defending our freedom. Senator Durbin may not realize it, but America's armed forces adhere to the highest standards in the world as they defend our liberty and uphold our values. Senator Durbin's comparison of the way these heroes treats detainees with Soviet gulags, the Nazi concentration camps, and Pol Pot's regime is simply beyond the pale of acceptable political debate.
The detainees at Guantanamo - dangerous individuals suspected of fighting against America in the War on Terror - are threats to our freedom and way of life, yet American forces follow their duty and treat them justly.
It is deeply disappointing that Senator Durbin has refused to repudiate such insensitive comments. Senator Durbin should apologize for having compared the greatest soldiers in the world to the worst oppressors in history.
Take action by calling talk radio and writing letters to the editor, spreading the word about these shocking remarks!
Sincerely,
David Watts
RNC Director of Coalitions
Don't you people know abuse is justified when it's done in the name of the War on Terror?
4.) What Howard Dean said last week!
This National Review article isn't to be missed! Take action today by calling talk radio and writing letters to the editor describing Dean's hypocrisy.
In Case You Missed It- Dean on Defense: The "White Christian" party.
National Review
By Peter Kirsanow
June 10, 2005
During a discussion with minority leaders and journalists on Monday, Howard Dean declared that Republicans are "a pretty monolithic party. They all believe the same. They all look the same. It's pretty much a white Christian party." He further stated that "the Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people" and Democrats are "more welcoming to different folks, because that's the type of people we are." Dean continued to defend his remarks as recently as Thursday. ...
In terms of sheer historical hostility toward minorities, the Republican party fares a bit better than the competition. For example, it wasn't the GOP that opposed the Emancipation Proclamation. Nor was it the GOP that opposed the Thirteenth Amendment prohibiting slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing equal protection, or the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteeing voting rights. (In fact, Republicans voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act in greater percentages than did Democrats.)...
Moreover, it wasn't the Republican party that opposed Teddy Roosevelt's anti-lynching legislation or that filibustered or otherwise opposed more than a dozen other anti-lynching provisions during the 20th century.
Republicans didn't institutionalize Jim Crow, implement school segregation, or establish poll taxes and literacy tests to keep non-whites from voting. Bull Connor, George Wallace, Lester Maddox, and Orval Faubus weren't Republicans.
It wasn't a Republican who ordered the internment of Japanese-American citizens (or Italians or Germans) during World War II. Nor were Republicans behind the Chinese exclusion acts or licensing requirements that discriminated against non-white businesses and tradesmen.
While Dean maintains that Democrats are more welcoming to non-whites, several major media organizations have noted that the aggressive GOP outreach to minorities is far more vigorous than that of the Democrats. USA Today recently noted that whereas Dean has been spending the bulk of his time preaching to the converted, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman has maintained an exhausting schedule appearing before predominantly black, Hispanic, and Asian audiences. ...
The GOP may have been missing in action in minority communities in the Sixties, Seventies, and Eighties but Howard Dean must not have paid much attention to what's been going on recently. Republicans still have lots of work to do, but now they're playing offense while Dean's on defense.
Got that? Never mind that a bunch of Republicans this week refused to co-sponsor the anti-lynching statement. The Republicans of 100 years ago were the good guys, so never mind that the current Republican party is made up of former Dixiecrats who switched to the Republican party in the sixties.
This frenzy of outreach to the GOP faithful by email tells me that they are getting very worried about the drip-drip-drip of bad news, bad press and bad polls. I just pray this all turns in to very bad results for the Republicans in 2006 and beyond.