A Good Night for the Republican Nominee (works for me)

Weekly Standard ^ | 9/27/07 | Bill Crystal

[teddyballgame]

Last night, for the first time this election cycle, I watched a Democratic presidential debate. It was appalling. But it was also, in a way, encouraging. Before last night, I thought it was 50-50 that the Republican nominee would win in November 2008.

Now I think it's 2 to 1. And if the Democrat is anyone but Hillary, it's 4 to 1.

Here, judging from the debate, is what the 2008 Democratic nominee is likely to be for. Abroad: ensuring defeat in Iraq and permitting a nuclear Iran. At home: more illegal immigration, higher taxes, more government control of health care, and more aggressive prosecution of the war on smoking than of the war on terror. And this is only a bit of an exaggeration. Going into last night, I had no great expectations of the Democratic field. But the level of routine irresponsibility demonstrated throughout the debate was jaw-dropping. Bush may remain unpopular, and the Republican "brand" unattractive. But I believe the toughness of Giuliani, the sobriety of Thompson, the gravitas of McCain--any of these would be very difficult for the Democratic nominee to overcome.

[teddyballgame]

Bill Crystal was one of the few pundits who correctly called last year's mid-terms. There is some truth to his analysis. The Democrat's postions on a host of issues may not stand up under the light of day, ie. a national campaign against any Republican.

[BibChr]

So...

Good news: the election may be the GOP’s to lose.
Bad news: the GOP is really good at losing.

[Always Right]

The Democratic party has been taken over by kooks. Actually they have always been kooks but now the kooks on the internet are forcing them to publicly display their kookiness. Hillary tries to play the middle, but the kooks keep forcing her to admit her kookiness. I am rooting for the Democratic nomination to tighten so Hillary has to become an all out kook prior to the general election.

[johnny7]

Bill Crystal was one of the few pundits...

Isn't it... Kristol?

[teddyballgame]

It is, sorry.

[chaos_5]

The Democrat line up reminds me of a bad joke... A feminazi, a mulatto, and a meterosexual walk into a bar....

It's not like half of the Republican line up doesn't remind me of a bad joke either...

[Always Right]

Good news: the election may be the GOP’s to lose. Bad news: the GOP is really good at losing.

True, but hey, after 7 years Bush and the GOP is finally getting tough on the budget. Maybe there is hope this election cycle, but the real question is what the heck went on the last seven years? The GOP is finally getting back to their roots of social and economic conservatism, too bad they had to become the minority party before they do this.

[TSchmereL]

The GOP may be good at losing, but the Democrats are much better at it. (But these facts do not encourage high stakes wagers).

[Congressman Billybob]

I just watched a rebroadcast, this morning, of half of that debate. I found the "would you torture a man to find a bomb in a US city?" particlularly interesting.

All of the Democrats said that they would "never use torture." On the other hand, each of them said, "I will do everything possible to protect the American people." Some even said, "Torture doesn't produce reliable results."

Is anyone thinking, here? If I knew that one man had information that would save a million American lives, I would pull his fingers out, one at a time, until he provided the information. And as for accuracy, the torture would continue until the bomb was found.

No one who would be President should get the job unless he answers this question the way I just did.

Congressman Billybob

Latest article, "Dan Rather, CBS, Plus Duke"

[johnny7]

The Democratic party has been taken over by kooks.

Where I live... the electorate has been taken over as well.

[RetiredArmy]

I guess I have lost faith in any republican actually doing what is right by conservative standards. I have for years now listened to Bush’s so called conservative values and what he stands for. It does not sound like a conservative to me. He sounds more like a dimocrat. I lost faith in George W. Bush, other than the war on terror. On the illegals, the north American union, spending, etc., he totally let me down. I have lost faith in a majority of Americans to do what is right. Most do for their own little piece of pie and forget the big picture. Unfortunately, we will once again be stuck with voting for some republican whom we probably do not want to support, but will anyway because we have to to keep Hillary or one of her ilk out of the White House. It is sad that you have to pick the worst of the evils to keep the most evil out. Sadly, we are having fewer and fewer heroes. Certainly none in the beltway. We are stuck with power hungry assholes who are in it for their own personal gain, and not what is best for the Republic. I think I was born 150 years too late. Sadly, I cannot go back to that time. I think regardless of the harshness of the time, living wise, that I would have enjoyed shooting the enemy and making a new Republic, than now having to watch all that it was, being destroyed day by day by day, up in Sodom on the Potomac.

[teddyballgame]

“Abroad: ensuring defeat in Iraq and permitting a nuclear Iran. At home: more illegal immigration, higher taxes, more government control of health care, and more aggressive prosecution of the war on smoking than of the war on terror”

Works as a commercial for Republivcans explaining the Democratic Platform.

[LS]

Bill Krystal also BADLY missed the 2002 mid-terms and the 2004 elections (of which I was DEAD ON in both cases). He is absolutely wrong here in that no matter who the Dem is, they won’t pull out of Iraq. Now, how they prosecute the war still might lead to “defeat,” (or more likely a true Vietnam, as opposed to the faux Vietnam they have foisted on us in their terminology) but they will not pull out. They know it, and Krystal knows it.

[eureka!]

Your comment offers some reassurance, however, Mr. Kristol’s opinion is predicated on thinking voters. While there are many, but sure are not enough...

[Izzy Dunne]

Bill Crystal was

Why is is so hard to spell a guy's name right, when the article you are posting has it right in front of your face?

[kabar]

Almost all of the Dems were in favor of taking the cap off of SS. First, no one seemed to know that the cap is raised automatically every year. Second, they failed to grasp that raising the cap would also mean that the employers would have to come up with more money to match the current 6.2% of earnings. Third, if you remove the cap, one would assume that benefits would also have to be raised. Finally, SS is a pay as you go system. Any "surplus" will be used for other purposes and the amount of the "surplus" placed in the SS Trust Fund in the form of non-market T-bills. The SSTF is part of our $9 trillion national debt under "intragovernmental holdings." It represents an unfunded liability. So increasing the "surplus" will just increase the national debt. It is an insane position. SS is a Ponzi scheme.

Removing Social Security's Tax Cap on Wages Would Do More Harm Than Good

SS will start paying out more than it is taking in by 2017. The politicians will have to do something. I suspect that we will see a repeat of 1983 when SS started paying out more than it was taking in, i.e., reduce benefits and raise taxes. Also, look for them to change the COLA formula to reduce the annual increase in benefits. The system is structurally unsound, so look for the Dems to kick the can down the road again rather than making the needed hard decisions.

[JRochelle]

So he misspelled the guy’s last name.

Big deal.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“Where I live... the electorate has been taken over as well.”
Let me guess. Cleveland’s West Side?

[dforest]

Good post. You certainly have got it.

[Thrownatbirth]

See how the GOP fares in the VA General Assembly elections six weeks from now. It’s ALL about illegal immigration. You may feel better about our chances in ‘08 when you see the results.