Yessss...

[WilliamPitt]

Republicans See Storm Clouds Gathering
Week of Bad News Highlights Difficult Challenges for GOP in Fall Elections

By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 16, 2008; Page A05

While all eyes were on the presidential campaign and the demise of New York Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer (D) last week, Republicans on Capitol Hill were suffering a run of bad news that could hold dire implications for the campaign season.

It started with the loss last weekend of the seat held for two decades by former House speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). It got worse when Republicans lost potentially strong challengers to Democratic senators in South Dakota and New Jersey, and failed to field anyone to oppose the reelection bid of Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.).

The latest blow came with the revelation that the former treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his own bank accounts.

If Republicans needed any more evidence of how difficult this fall may be, the past week had it all, analysts said. The Illinois race demonstrated new levels of disaffection, the party's efforts to go on offense elsewhere were thwarted by recruiting failures, and the NRCC scandal will divert campaign resources and could frighten off badly needed contributors, they said.

"It's no mystery," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.). "You have a very unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand."

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/15/AR2008031502047.html?nav=hcmodule

...pssssssst...John McCain is not a strong candidate...his party is crippled...we'll be fine...debate and hard contests are good things for this calcified Democratic party pass it on...

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. Fuckin Hear Hear Will! Thanks For This!

:toast:

[Coexist]

2. I'm calling indy's in PA right now,

and they are leaning much more Dem.

[Forkboy]

3. Oh yeah...that other party. Forgot about them!

;)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. What?

treasurer of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) had allegedly diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars -- and possibly as much as $1 million -- from the organization's depleted coffers to his own bank accounts.

Say it ain't so, Joe!

[BeatleBoot]

5. Will, the last time I saw Republicans at my place of employment ...

acting and saying what they are saying...was back before Bill Clinton was elected.

They are in desperation. They realize it and they are panicking.

[WillyT]

6. Doing The DU Dance Of Joy Right Now...

Yeah baby...

:toast:

[Cooley Hurd]

7. The last 27 years of deregulation (including 1993-2001) have been catastrophic...

...to the US. CONSERVATISM has effectively destroyed our upper-economic-hand in the world economy. The Straussian nitwits won elections, but lost the country for the rest of us.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

12. BINGO FOR YOU

[Jackpine Radical]

34. Indeed. Sadly, the Clinton years were at best a velvet glove

on the iron fist of corporatism.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

8. Agree whole-hearted with your closing statement.

There will be some ass-kicking of the GOP come November.

[Thurston Howell III]

9. Will, there's one problem that always concerns me.

Are the Democrats going to screw it up? I realize that the Republicans are in pretty bad shape but there are no bounds to which the Democrats will totally screw up. BTW, I think that Obama will be a fighter, but I am so jaded about the Democrats that I will not rest until Nov 5.

[Cha]

10. It's the republican "brand", alright.

"You have a very unhappy electorate, which is no surprise, with oil at $108 a barrel, stocks down a few thousand points, a war in Iraq with no end in sight and a president who is still very, very unpopular. He's just killed the Republican brand."

A war in Iraq that was politically motivated with real people's lives at stake.. who lost.

[Window]

11. Oh, Hell Yes!!!

Good news. Thanks for sharing.




Peace:thumbsup:

[kimmerspixelated]

13. Yesiree Mr. Pitt!

Thanks for reminding us all!

[patrice]

14. "... killed the Republican brand." And he's going to walk away to go live in Paraguay,

while the PNACers et al build a temple to his pResidency and tell glorious lies about him til the end of time.

[Tatiana]

15. Recommended. Now let's hope our nominee brings the rain. n/t

[TZ]

16. Interesting that there is a quote from Tom Davis of N. Va

His conservative wife lost a bid to a democrat in a special election to fill a seat in a formerly reddish area of Va. He is retiring from Congress and its generally believed that his seat will be won by the democratic challenger. When we see Virginia, one of the traditional Republican strongholds, going democratic, we should all be very encouraged!

[checks-n-balances]

17. I hope "we'll be fine", but risk disillusionment w/new voters

if Hillary's scorched earth policy is successful:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5111261

(I want to be optimistic & hope you're right, but you know how suddenly things can turn.)

[Major Hogwash]

18. "Stay the curse" - famous last lines of Bush/McCain

And after Bear-Stearns was bailed out by the Fed for a quarter of a billion dollars, Wall Street had to change their pissy panties.

[Oilwellian]

20. The bailout was $250 billion

Will, I agree, the Republicans are in big trouble this year. I'm looking at a possible 60 Dem Senate and an even larger Dem House. Hopefully they'll wipe out any damage the blue dogs may do.

[Garbo 2004]

19. K & R

[BumRushDaShow]

21. I've been saying this for some time now...

Despite all the turmoil in the Democratic Party, the Republicans have just as much turmoil in terms of them being the custodians of the country at this time. The blame for the economy and assorted scandals, let alone failed wars, definitely makes McCain an easy target once we have our house in order.

EDIT: Check this out - JPMorgan-Chase buys Bear Stearns for $2 a share (looks like it became a penny stock overnight)!

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ar0QxIGdOnWI&refer=worldwide

Bear Stearns was the nation's 5th largest bank.

Can McCain stand up to that? And November is like 8 months away!

[GOPBasher]

22. You're always the optimist, Will. I wish I could be as optimistic.

(Rec'd, by the way.)

I see how the GOP, election after election, manages to get the country talking about ANYTHING besides the real issues. Anything at all. We are in the worst shape since 1939, and now the media can't stop talking about comments made by, not Obama, but his pastor. His fucking pastor. My pastor for a long time was a right wing nutcase; it obviously didn't influence my politics.

Here, this is the point I'm making.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=7572405&mesg_id=7572405

[postulater]

23. Just hope the votes get counted right.

[lark]

44. Isn't that the crux of the matter?

Since the Repugs can't win by popular vote, they steal the electronic ones and manipulate the system to discount many thousands of possible opposition voters. I'm know I'm a little paranoid about this, but living in FL, and having seen the riots in 2000 in Miami and seeing the Supreme Court totally highjack the election, well, I have no faith in results being counted. Even now, the people of FL are being disenfranchised by our own party and it pisses me off. We are not responsible for this sorry situation, the elected and non-elected pols are, yet we are paying the price! Sorry, but not counting votes seems rampant and yes it could skew the entire election in many ways starting with the Democratic process of picking the nominee on through the general election.

[ejbr]

24. Now only if we could do something about those fucking machines

so that news like this mattered.

[Scurrilous]

25. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Ellipsis]

26. Better known as the "Lime Away" transition. n/t

[faithfulcitizen]

27. Not when they last til' June.

[Swamp Rat]

28. HAHA!

[donheld]

29. Now if we can only keep from destroying each other here at DU

We might actually win the White House.

[bleever]

30. Aw jeez,

not Denny's seat...


It is a bad sign when one of the most insulated and sanguine Republican districts in the nation is actually wondering WTF and looking to see whether the Democrat might be a better choice than the heir apparent to the long-held seat of the money party.

[McCamy Taylor]

31. William, you know propaganda has the good stuff in the first and last paragraphs.....

from the end of the article.

More cause for hope resides in the presidential campaign, which could provide a new storyline for Republicans down the ticket, said Newhouse, the pollster. Some national polls showed McCain pulling even in matchups with Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) by week's end, and Newhouse said McCain's appeal to independents and some Democrats could change the political dynamics in some swing districts.

"What you're seeing," he said, "is the impact the Democratic primary is having on voters at the national level. The longer this goes on, the better for our chances in November."

I will translate this article into Republicanese a language which all GOPers learn when they are taught about how to use dirty tricks tp win elections with their minority voting numbers.

"Ok, troops. Things look bad. The economy is in the toilet. All the tax cuts for the rich and the insane profits that Exxon and the other oil companies have made and the War in Iraq that has allowed the Bush administration to dismantle the Constitution using the Article II clause so that we can a strong executive branch again like we had in the good old days of King George III---all of that has just about bankrupted the economy. That means that there will be hell to pay when all the little people decide to get off their butts and go out to vote for their economic best interests instead of for national security the way that they are supposed to. If we don't watch out, those god damned commie Democrats could get a veto proof majority in the Senate and then we are doomed to national health insurance, equal opportunity, fair housing and everything else that will end our special privilege. And we don't want that.

"So, the only thing that we can do to keep this country from getting another FDR and another New Deal (and you know what that got us) is to make sure that the Democrats keep fighting all the way to Denver. Since we have already picked our guy, it is up to you to head to those primary polls and vote for whichever Democrat is down at the moment. Right now that is Hillary, but keep your eyes on the WaPo and especially on George Will's column, because that could change at any moment given Obama's tendency to contract foot in mouth disease.

"Remember. Brokered Democratic Convention, like 1972. Liberal Democratic nominee that half of the party hates because they think he smeared the other guy. If enough Democrats stay home, McCain might just win. And at the worst, we will keep at least 41 seats in the Senate, enough to keep 40 million Americans uninsured."

That is what I read, when I read the WaPo article.

[tomp]

32. like there's a real debate going on.

once kucinich was out there was no serious debate, and you know it.

[f the letter]

33. Very true. Debate was pretty scant even then.

i still hope the article is right, though.. hopefully we don't blow this one. It's almost like it's being handed to us in a way, but i fear the infighting. If the infighting stemmed from argument over ideals or issues i'd be ecstatic about it, but it's only inflated silliness.

[helderheid]

35. thanks Will!

:hug:

[uponit7771]

36. 85 yr old Bear Stearns takes a dump to 2$ a share after trading at 170!! They're in trouble and they

...know it

[Yurovsky]

37. The only thing that can stop us now ...

is if HRC steals the nomination.

Don't get me wrong. She wins it fair and square, and Democrats will turn out.

She pulls a fast one in Denver, and her defeat in November will be certain.

[ooglymoogly]

38. I hate to be a party pooper.....

but the pugs have two aces up their sleeve; Election fraud and their bull horn, the corporate press who can destroy any candidate who poses a threat to them. In the past they have destroyed many of our best candidates who, without the press booby traps and dirty tricks would have won far more recognition.

[peace frog]

39. So good it must be repeated

...pssssssst...John McCain is not a strong candidate...his party is crippled...we'll be fine...debate and hard contests are good things for this calcified Democratic party pass it on...

[WilliamPitt]

48. Didn't help them in '06.

We took a Senate seat in Montana. We were without a 'standard-bearer,' just like now, and we ran the table anyway.

Call me cautiously optimistic. We maybe pick up five Senate seats, including the other Virginia seat pretty much for certain (yeah, seriously), hold and maybe expand our majority in the House, and 6-4 and pick'em on the White House. I can live with that until '10, when we pick up five more Senate seats and finally have the 60 needed to thwart the inevitable GOP filibuster. From then on, the Senate will govern.

And for those two years, we hold the line on SCOTUS, during which time as many as three Justices may step down due to age. That's a big fat huge win, a generational win.

Sucks, but yeah.

[ooglymoogly]

49. Will; For the most part I am in agreement with you, In a perfect

election and by all indications, there would be a landslide all round but we all know pugs will do anything to stay in power; The governor of Alabama blatantly railroaded into prison, the clearly won elections in Florida flipped to pugs etc, etc add finitum. The only thing I am certain of is that a landslide for the Dems is clearly inevitable and by all rights should nullify even massive cheating from the other side. Having read most all of your posts on D.U. I know you have superior knowledge on these issues but none the less these are my (perhaps paranoid) fears: particularly for the presidential election where the corporate press can smash any candidate that poses a threat to them like a bug. I do not think the pugs can cheat in all of the elections but in the most notorious of past elections they have the machinery to do it.

[Gonnuts]

40. Cornered Rats

Beware, there is a great deal of damage that can be done before the election. That's even if we have one.

I don't mean to be an alarmist but the magnitude of crimes committed by this so-called government is staggering and there is no way they will risk being held accountable. Not that I think if there was a Democratic landslide that this would happen anyway, most of the democratic party members, especially among the entrenched incumbents are just as corrupt as their republican counter-parts, but the threat of exposure would be greatly increased if indeed an number of incumbents could be replaced. To forestall this from happening those that would be exposed will use every and any method at their formidable disposal to keep that from happening, and the depth of their depravity is near unimaginable.

The economic collapse, coupled with an attack on Iran, possibly another "false flag" attack, any one or combination of these could throw this country into chaos whereupon for "national security" reasons Marshall Law could be declared and elections suspended.

Alarmist? Maybe, but all the plans and devices for this to happen are in place. bush has the power through Presidential Directive 51 to usurp all branches and levels of government. One has to ask why have this directive if one wasn't planning to use it? Our military has already been programmed to police and fire upon it's own citizenry and what they won't do Blackwater will.

We must be extremely vigilant in the coming months for history has shown that if a democratic nation is threatened with a take-over of totalitarians it is in the few months before an election that they strike.

[Narkos]

41. Agree, we're overstating our liabilities. We'll win.

[Arugula Latte]

42. Gawd, this is satisfying: "He's just killed the Republican brand." ... BUT

Too bad it took the destruction of our Constitution and our Economy and the destruction of Iraq and New Orleans for people to punish these bastards.

I think of the hubris of these bastards just a few years ago, with that puffed-up little frat boy playing dress-up on the carrier and the media rubbing our noses in the fake patriotism of these lying neocon robber barons ... :grr:

[YOY]

43. Bush is about to do for the Republicans what Carter did for the Democrats

with none of the cool Nobel winning post-presidency.

Sorry a thousand times over Jimmy but it's true.

[rucognizant]

45. B___S___!

I survived Carter's presidency, by earning more money every year! I divorced in '73, had 2 kids to support, and did it well. In '79 I had made the most money in the decade. Then I got myself into an FHA 245, 'subprime mortgage! The total price of the house was only $52,000. but the little money down, made me house poor. The interest rate climbed from 9% to 11% before I got to settlement. It was Reaganomics that did me in over the next decade until the Neil Bush, S&L scandal, and the '87 meltdown, finished the job.
Oddly, saddly, I BLAMED MYSELF for the first part of the CLinton admin., until I really began noticing the corporate takeover! Then the puzzle pieces fit together.!

[YOY]

47. So sorry you feel that way.

I got a fixed rate. I don't complain much. You see, I knew variable IRs are and always have been BS. I try not to blame folks for the variable interest rate mess but caveat emptor.

The gas price rise? The economy teetering off at the end of his term? Feels like Carter sans the humanity.

Sorry, maybe you were lucky but not everyone was in that decade aparently.

[Johnny__Motown]

46. psssst..... why are we whispering?