Posted on 04/25/2005 12:07:45 PM PDT by Choose Ye This Day
ANGER ON THE RIGHT
There is an undeniable fury building among Republican voters coast to coast. It has now been almost six months since that euphoric day last year -- November 2nd -- when Republicans stunned Democrats across the board. Not only did President Bush handily beat John Kerry, but the GOP did what few predicted -- it managed to pick up four seats in the Senate. John Thune's victory over Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle in South Dakota was extra sweet.
That seems like six years ago, not six months ago. Talk to your average Republican voter today and you will find a mood that ranges from anxious/concerned to enraged/frustrated. Yes, the Iraqi elections were amazing. Yes, the President's commitment to the spread of liberty is stalwart. Yes, his European "Unplugged" tour was a necessary step. The focus here is not President Bush (although in an ideal world he would be stronger on the stump on issues beyond social security reform). After the mid-term elections, President Bush will be on his way out, a "short-timer." The future of the Republican Party depends more on what happens now in Congress.
So what has our Republican majority in both houses of Congress gotten us lately? Well, the Terri Schiavo bill-regardless of what you think about its merits -- was at least bold. Then there was the bankruptcy bill. Good stuff, though hardly the legislation that will get voters running to the polls next election.
Of course being in the majority sometimes requires deal-making. Sometimes it requires delaying victory on one issue in order to win support on another more important issue. But sometimes being in the majority just requires that you act like you are in the majority.
This year, with a Republican majority in Congress, we have watched as 20 percent of the President's appellate court nominees are left twisting in the wind. With a Republican majority presiding, we have watched as John Bolton, the President's nominee for U.N. ambassador, has been personally and professionally maligned. With a Republican majority, we have seen spending skyrocket to obscene levels. With a Republican majority, we have seen the Democrats out-maneuver Republicans in the public-relations game with lame lines and gross misrepresentations.
Okay, the Senate did pass tort reform.
But a bill here or a bill there is simply not going to be enough to stem the tide of Republican voters' righteous anger about what many are calling "Creeping Wimpiness." Did thousands of volunteers work tirelessly to give the GOP this majority only to allow the minority to roll them on judges, policy, and other nominations? Did millions of generously open their wallets to the RNC only to see John McCain, Chuck Hagel, Lincoln Chafee, and George Voinovich help the Democrats when we needed them most?
Now is not the time for Republican Senators to cling to niceties. It is not the time to call for more discussions or negotiations. Now is the time for action. Allowing the Bolton nomination to be delayed was unforgivable. (Chairman Richard Lugar was caught totally off-guard by Voinovich's joining the Dems push to delay the Bolton vote.) Allowing Chuck Schumer and Barbara Boxer to brand nominees such as Janice Rogers Brown (an African American California Supreme Court justice) "extreme", was a colossal mistake. Most of the country still does not know that never before in the history of this country has the filibuster been used to block a vote of an appeals court nominee!
The frustration felt by many GOP voters has created a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for conservative politicians. For the first time in decades, we have no clear front-runner for the next GOP nomination. For the first time since George W. started his presidential campaign in the late 1990s, there is no clear standard-bearer for conservatives to rally round.
If a senator or governor can seize this moment, and create the type of bond with conservatives that Bush created during his nomination battle with McCain, that person could be on his way to the White House. If no one steps forward, and conservative voters increasingly watch their party kowtow to the McCains, Hagels, and Chafees of the mushy middle, then those voters will disengage from this party, meaning that the mainstream press will enjoy covering the elections of 2006 and 2008 a lot more than they enjoyed the election 2004.
That's the logical solution, but many people don't do this until they're over their head. There are people that actually make less per month than their bills-they really have no other option. Not that I am justifying their position, I'm not.
Right. The (previous) lax bankruptcy code fosters a culture where people think they do not have to be careful about going into debt: the government will always bail them out.
But you did bring up law enacted by our elected representatives and signed by the President in our representative democracy. Yet when it's something you disagree with, it's bilge that needs overturned. You want judicial activism when it serves our purpose?
Good god, man. It's not judicial activism when congress enacts laws. That's their job. Judges are supposed to interpret laws. It's SIMPLE CONCEPT.
I agree that the filibuster rule should be overturned to allow an up or down vote, but I don't think that the Republicans are framing the debate effectively by saying that the filibuster has "never been used before on judges that are likely to be confirmed if allowed a full vote." It almost sounds like "I have never lied to the American people in my life at 2:17 AM on November 17th." It sounds like they are stretching to qualify their statement with a bunch of prepositions. All they need to say is that the filibuster rule has been change back and forth before under both parties.
So campaign finance reform should stand?
There was no treaty involved with capital punishment.
Not activism; just do the job you swore on the Bible to do. So you think the First Amendment is no longer relevant in this com-pli-ca-ted world?
People are getting offers for credit limits that are often more than 50% of their annual wages! It's crazy!
Targeting college kids, and kids just out of high school, with the "build your credit" myth is just pernicious.
I normally listen to Rush, then Hannity, then Savage. But, this morning, I had the radio on the wrong station, and listened to Laura for a little bit. It was great! Plus, she's hot.
My guess is despite whatever rhetoric was bantered around, those who voted must have felt it met with consitutional muster. Clearly the President did. IF he did not, then what he did was impeachable as he swore an oath to uphold the consitution. But then again, I've not seen too many folks desiring that action, esepcially in what you and probably the vast majority of FReepers believed was clearly an unconstitutional law. Finally the court upheld it. Not sure the vote, but it made it past court scrutiny.
The problem with many pols is that they view their positions as career-cappers and not something to be done "for the people". This goes for many Republicans as well as Dems. Power and perks mean more to them than responsible representation. That's why I could respect a pol like Paul Wellstone, even though I was at the opposite end of the political spectrum, much more than the elite, effete Rinos from the northeast because at least Wellstone truly believed he was helping his constituents. I'd like to give a lie-detector test to all prospective office-holders with the first question being are they doing for themselves or "the people".
So you're OK with the government telling us what speech is OK in political campaigns?
Usury is illegal. But offering someone more credit than they can afford is not, as long as the terms are fair. It is buyer beware.
Yes, criticize the hell out of the credit card companies, but beware of laws restricting credit or making bankruptcy too easy.
Maybe I'm having a case of the Mondays so I better stop now.
The word CHUMPS comes to mind. GOP or DIMS, doesn't matter. None of them is worthy of support. They should all be run out of office. I'm still waiting for someone to show me one single congressperson that is worth a sh*t.
WOO! HOO! I can now hear Laura Ingraham LIVE on WKAT (1360 AM radio) out of Miami here in Broward. New all talk format. It is SOOOOOOOOO refreshing to hear her and not to have to listen to the incredibly annoying and boring Glenn Beck. Hey Glenn, your dopey quiz show shtick was already old a year ago and you're STILL doing it.
Who is Laura Ingraham marrying? I didn't hear her for a long time but when I started listening again last week she mentioned something about her upcoming marriage.
I guess the bigger question is you are ok with a President that may have signed a bill into law that he knew was unconstitutional?
It's not that hard... Ask: Do you think people should pay their debts? That's pretty much the question.
Individuals should be held responsible for their decisions, and especially their contractual obligations! If you buy something, you should pay for it. Any questions?
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