Bush loses in November. What will/Will there be?A power struggle in theGOP

[Bombtrack]

What do you think. Will Bush through Delay remain the defacto leader at least as much as Clinton remained the defacto leader of our party or more? Will the moderate/not crazy about Bush repubs like McCain, the northeasterners, and even Lugar and Hagel try to assert themselves?

Will the Scaife/Norquist/Moonie elite people select an 08 candidate to get behind and just work on making sure he's the nominee such as Bill Owens, Mitt Romney or more likely Bill Frist?

[coloradodem2005]

1. Oh great.

Just what we need. BO (Bill Owens) in the WH. I have had it with him.

[hlthe2b]

3. Bill comes with lots of baggage as my fellow Coloradoans likely know....

even if we can't get our muzzled press to report on it.

In a national election, he'd be pilloried though without the protective BFEE-like mafia to deal with his skeletons...

[MissB]

12. What sort of skeletons?

Just curious. He's from Colorado, right?

[hlthe2b]

16. extramarital affair resulting in his recent marital separation and

with at least one child as a result (according to rumor possibly two). While some of this remains only grist for the rumour mill, independent media sources have tried to take a look into it, and been stronly "stymied." (I have it on some authority that there has been an active attempt to stop any investigation/reporting)

[Kahuna]

2. I don't think the loser gets to stay the leader. Maybe I'm wrong..

I say, Poppy bush and cheney will continue to set the agenda, Behind the scenes of course.

On edit: What I said makes absolutely no sense. Poppy bush lost and he's still pulling the strings. D'oh. :crazy:

[Bombtrack]

4. But they weren't setting the agenda during the 90's after poppy lost

People here exaggerate the conspiracy stuff about them being the ringleaders all along. They're in power of the GOP right now but just like any other gangsters it's probably relatively new and temporary. We know it was Gingritch during most of the 90's. He was at least more powerful than them.

[wyldwolf]

5. It'll be real bad.. for example...

... a turncoat Republican senator will start rooting for the democrats and write a book about the Republican party called: A National Party No More - The Conscience of a Liberal Republican!

[cjbuchanan]

6. I think there will be a big fight

Of coarse this will also depend on how Congress goes.

If we win the WH and the Senate, things are going to be ugly on the GOP side. If we also get the HoR, I think it might be even worse for them.

I think a fight will bubble up between the moderates and the far righters. This will also become a regional thing. I think the Southern wing of the Repug party will take a lot of the blame since they are the people running the party.

I think Ashcroft will run in '08.

Let's hope all the chaos happens.

[PfNJ]

7. Now that's scary.....

"Ashcroft in '08".....

Who's his running mate, Jerry Falwell or Mullah Omar?

On Edit: I think Omar has the edge, since he's already run a theocracy.....

[Bombtrack]

8. Ashcroft is not going to get any support from pragmatic republicans

None of the big puppet masters are dumb enough to hedge their bets on him. He was pariah #1 for this administration before the war turned unpopular among independants. Gay Marriage is the only issue in the culture war that liberals haven't really won and by 2008 it might be 50/50 on even that. Ashcroft is all about the culture war and there's no way he has a future on any republican ticket for national office

[RobertSeattle]

9. Hopefuly the GOP will split in two

One for for "classic" economic Republicans.

One for the fundie/social issue Republicans.

[Wickerman]

10. When GWB* loses, he is done

The machinery around him will continue as it did with him as the puppet head, but GWB is gone. He can't even do the lecture circuit. He might show up at a few fundraisers, say the requisite 1,000 words, Gawd, America, terraism, freedom, no tyrants. When its apparent he is more and more drunk at these events they will remove him from the limelight except for very controlled events. He will continue to be a figurehead, but only for the uber-faithful.

I do hope for a McCain-Hagel coup - not holding my breath.

[Jade Fox]

11. There's already a power struggle in the GOP....

They are anxious to present a united front, but behind the scenes
I bet the plates are flying. Bush is costing them gazillions, and not
just in money. Their credibility is taking serious blows. The negative
coat-tail affect could be disaterous. They can't dump Dubya
because it would look bad, plus he does have all those hardcore
supporters. They are stuck with a turkey whose likely going
to lose, and take a lot of other Republicans down too.

The GOP had a big advantage after Monicagate. They blew it by backing
a trashy bunch of Mayberry Machiavellias.

[Ironpost]

13. I say wake up

he'll go out in a fit or rage.

[troublemaker]

14. My crystal ball says Cannibalism

When Bush goes down the Republicans will go insane for a year. The conventional Republican wisdom will emerge that Bush was too moderate because extremists shape the conventional Republican wisdom.

If they can avoid impeaching Kerry they'll do okay in 2006... but at the cost of inflaming the 'impeach Kerry' people.

In 2008 if Kerry is doing GREAT they would run an actual psycho; the culture war equivalent of Goldwater... maybe that Senator that had an open casket funeral for his dead fetus. If Kerry looks weak going into 2008 they might get their shit together enough to pick a Guliani type but that might prompt formation of an impromptu Life Party.

The demographics don't favor them long-run, so it should be ugly no matter what.

[Bombtrack]

17. What senator was that?

Or is he fictional?

[Auntie Bush]

15. What about JEB?

[yellowcanine]

18. Bill Frist will be toast if Dems take over the Senate - Doubtful that the

moderates can take over the party either. Denny Hastert and Tom Delay may be calling the shots (unless Dems take over the House as well).