Awesome comment from Republican Steve Schmidt

[Playinghardball]

[still_one]

1. These are honorable people looking for moderation and a new direction in their party. Easier said

Then done

[smaug]

3. He seems a decent fellow

The teabags will demand he be ostracized within the party. Good for us, but it'll be hard on him.

[ailsagirl]

6. For a repuke, he's pretty straightforward

I don't believe in the things he does, but he's not a rabid moron like so many are!!

[still_one]

13. That is the way you should have a dialog

[ailsagirl]

32. Exactly. Only thing is, the repukes don't know HOW to discuss things rationally

because what they spout is IRRATIONAL.

[adieu]

22. Oh yeah, he's getting his RINO horns just as we speak

I swear, the few rational republicans, Schmidt here, Lugar, Charlie Crist, Colin Powell, maybe Chris Christie, NJ's former GOP governor, Christine Todd Whitman, and several others, are going to stand for this disparaging "RINO" epithet for only so much longer. The democrats should do well to get them to join the party. A truly big tent means getting people who are sane, but may have a different perspective.

Once you strip away the sane ones, you're left with the Joe Walshs, the Santorums, the shady Gingriches, and those who are too entrenched, like Orrin Hatch and - possibly - John Boehner (I'm not sure whether he's a loony or just has his balls in a vice held tight by the TP'ers).

The entrenched ones will die off and what's left would be loonies like Walsh and West and Bachmann and so on. They will comprise of about 30% of the looney electorate.

But it's important to squash them completely because we don't want them playing kingmaker. If the Democratic party splits on ideological lines with a conservative wing and a liberal wing, that coalition may falter if the TP comes in and plays kingmaker with those in the conservative wing. I like a two+ party system, but I need those parties to at least acknowledge the facts presented to them as the facts. At the moment, if you show everyone a picture of a house, the GOP will contest that a picture was actually shown, much less arguing that the picture is not of a house (yes, they can be internally inconsistent so that they can at the same time claim the non-existence of the picture and claim the picture is not of a house).

[dchill]

33. John Boehner ... balls in a vice ... Tea-baggers

It's a mental picture wonderland.

[justice1]

16. If they don't, they are done.

One thing I like about the Democrats, is we don't always agree, but we are always evolving. They have played a statistics game for years to prop up the rich, relying on one issue voters, to keep them in power.

[valerief]

30. If they were truly honorable, they wouldn't belong to the party of the plutocrats. nt

[wilt the stilt]

2. this is getting good

go go go civil war inside the republican party. get the popcorn.

[txdemsftw]

4. He is one Repub that I have always

respected for the most part.

[bluestate10]

12. I don't agree with a single policy proposal of his, but I respect him. nt

[txdemsftw]

19. Agreed

[sarcasmo]

5. Having seen him quite a few times on MSNBC, he may be the only Republican I can stomach.

[ailsagirl]

8. He and Michael Steele, because Steele doesn't seem to take things TOO seriously

He can laugh at his party's expense.

[JNelson6563]

23. Yes, Steele has been

pretty rational post-election. I saw him on MSNBC election night (? I think)and the next day. He actually came off as reasonable, rational and intelligent.

I also saw Schmidt on election night, same goes for him.

A nice change from those who usually represent the right on TV.

Julie

[ailsagirl]

31. You said it!! Those folks, I turn off.

I just can't stand their guff.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

7. Yeah, he said that either on election night coverage or the next day, I saw it.

I really liked this, because mostly people pussyfoot around about the fucking messaging or whatever, but he called the party right out.

We still don't know if anyone heard him. I guess we'll know for sure in 2014 and 2016 depending on the candidates and message being run out by the GOP.

[ailsagirl]

9. It does annoy me when he tries to explain the repukes' often bizarre behavior

[hifiguy]

10. I heard him say that on msnbc on election night.

Even Michael Steele has sounded sane lately. He was civil and rational on Maher a couple of weeks ago. I think there are some responsible Repubs like Schmidt who are frankly sick and tired of the racist bullshit of Hopalong Pillhead Limpballs and his ilk and will no longer even try to defend it. I really do.

Old fashioned conservatism has an honorable history. Crackpot tealiban neo-fascists do not.

[adieu]

24. Here's the thing

When Steele was RNC Chair, he was batshit crazy like Palin. Now that he's on his own, he's sane and civil. That leads me to believe that it's all a façade. If it's a façade, why have one, especially since it's so unpopular? Why play to the 35% crowd instead of the 65% crowd, or find a more interesting common denominator and play to the 100% crowd? Why not bitchslap the ideots in the 35% and totally ignore them and their ideologies and move on?

If they have to maintain a schtick, why maintain such a stupid hick schtick?

[Separation]

27. $$$

Gotta play the role of who is footing the bill of re-election.

[Volaris]

28. Because it pays better, at least in the short-term.

The thing about Chicago-School Economics is that it glorifies short-term success at the expense of long-term profit stability, and that thinking isn't just limited to finance and economics. It has a POLITICAL facet as well, that can be felt in the Real World. If Steele HAD slapped down the idiots while he was still Chairman, he would have made a name for himself as a very smart, long-term-thinking prophet of GOP politics. The reason he didn't is because he didn't want to get straight up fired in the near-term.

Steve Schmidt might want to take up that mantle, as it were, but he has to know going IN that he's going to be playing the Long Game here, otherwise, this line of intelligent thought process will get him absolutlely crushed inside his own party apparatus; it's a pretty big-damned burden to carry, and if he has the balls to try, more power to him and I wish him the best of luck.

He will have to find a way to take down Limbaugh to have any HOPE of success, though, and I don't know if that's possible.

[Blue_In_AK]

11. I like Steve Schmidt.

It would be great if there were more Republicans like him.

[Marr]

14. God, I hope the sane Republicans take that party back.

It's gone absolutely batshit insane over the last 20 years. I can remember when "Republican" was not a synonym for "asshole lunatic"-- when it was an actual party that had actual policy ideas based in actual reality.

[TheKentuckian]

15. There is much honorable about this fuck. He just wants the yahoos (that he helped rile up)

to chill enough for them to focus on looting the country, starving grandmas, engaging in profitable military adventures, and advancing corporate rule.

He knows that task is tougher with crazy bullshit about self deportation, the godliness of rape, keeping tax paying citizens from getting married.

[Cha]

17. Oh, he's on limpbaugh's shite list! "Repub leaders" having the guts to stand

up to the venomous hate, lies, and smears?! rofl

[Marie Marie]

18. Come on Steve - step into the light. You are so close.

You know you want to. We would welcome you on our side. And we are way more fun.

[sabrina 1]

34. I would not welcome him to our side. First, bringing Republicans who are

now speaking out about the craziness that has taken over their party into ours, means turning our party into the slightly more moderate Republican Party.

He is only upset now because the country has demonstrated that the TP extremists were too extreme for the average, rational voter and cost them several seats in Congress and the Senate, and the WH.

Airc, he was one of those Republicans who even though he knew how crazy Palin was, was more than willing to cover it up and foist her on this country just so his Party could win. It was only later, after a majority of the people rejected them, that they were willing to admit what a frightening choice she was.

Anyone willing to place that woman within inches of the WH has no principles and puts party over Country.

I'm glad that now they are beginning to realize that encouraging the most extreme elements in the country is not a winner. But you can be sure that if it was we would not be hearing this from him now.

Winning is everything to them. Losing causes this way-too-late reflection which should take place way before they lose.

[zentrum]

20. Please don't buy this newer,

...better, shinier piece of Republican guano. They're all over the airwaves saying that they can win on the same message but all they have to do is stop talking so nasty. And BTW--that's how they want to get the Latino vote.

So they aren't actually at all interested in not being the party of oligarchy and privatizing all national resources and government programs--they just want to eliminate the word "slut" so it will be a poison pill that goes down smoother. Complete Bull$$hit.

[frogmarch]

21. +1

[eridani]

25. It may be too late for Repubs like him

How are they going to unhitch their wagon from the whackjobs, since that's where most of their votes come from?

[eridani]

26. It may be too late for Repubs like him

How are they going to unhitch their wagon from the whackjobs, since that's where most of their votes come from?

[secondvariety]

29. Sorry, Steve.

It's going to take a long time for me to trust anyone who calls themselves a Republican.