Posted on 03/28/2006 7:52:53 PM PST by Karl Rand
Republican pollster Jan van Lohuizen, in a memo written for RNC chairman Ken Mehlman, warns that if members of Congress try to drive a wedge between themselves and Pres. Bush, it'd be akin to adding weight to an anchor. GOpers are "W Brand Republicans" whether they like it or not. And van Louhizen, who has polled (often secretly) for the Bush White House under the RNC aegis for years, is worried about low turnout.
Time Magazine first reported on the memo this weekend, but the full text is below.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com ...
I needed a good laugh. What's the weather like on your planet?
If it were only a matter of 10 cents I might be persuaded. It's more than 10 cents and it's even more, very much more, expensive to devote the resources needed not just to remove illegals from this country, but also to marshal the political will of Americans to want to do this.
I understand and sympathize with your argument from 'we can't let the dems take power.' I agree. But your argument quoted above is a little hollow as it completely mischaracterizes the point conservatives are making. You argue that conservatives are whining because we are not getting more conservative fast enough--if they just wait a little longer, we will be closer to a consitutional republic than we are today. Conservatives are not complaining over the slow pace of improvement. Conservatives are complaining that W has taken us the wrong direction altogether on key issues--federal spending, campaign finance reform, guest worker programs, affirmative action etc.
And there is some truth to their argument. Even his two court appointments, which have been W's finest domestic moments are tainted--the conservatives had to go nuts to get him to back-off on what would have been huge blunders--first, Alberto Gonzales and then Harriet Miers. So he doesn't even get full credit for his twofer on this issue. So about all that's left is tax cuts (which I value) and they are all going away in a few years.
I'm a party official and deeply involved in GOTV. So don't go all high and mighty on me that I am abandoning ship. I'm not.
The reality today is, the BEST platform we have left to energize the base is: "Vote for us, we don't suck as much as the dems." (Basically, your argument.) And I can tell you from the trenches, it isn't selling very well this year. IMHO, we are headed to another 1982 election (the one after W's dad pulled off the 'read my lips' fiasco).
You can do all the happy-time cheerleading you want; but the party has to face that W has alienated a substantial portion of its base with insane spending and is working to really piss them off with a Guest Worker program. He has taken an issue (immigration) that we could have crammed sideways down the dems throats and turned it from a huge positive to a net-negative.
I see no effort going on at the national party level to deal with this. It's like it or lump it and a lot of my constituents are mulling over the 'lump' option.
I work in tech and instead of employing more H1-B labor, we just move everything to China.
assuming it's combined with a literal tightening of the borders.
Keep dreaming.It's about $$$$$ not about the future of this country , which is my priority.
I heard Tancredo say tonight that it will be 70 million more (those who will be allowed in as family) besides the 30 million that will be given amnesty.
100 million -- what will become of this country if we have to try to assimilate that large a group, most of whom don't want to assimilate at all?
We surely have a thread here filled with people trying to tell the GOP what to do in 2006 and 2008, don't we?
Let's see if we can figure out who they are:
Although President Bushs approval ratings continue to slide in national polls, his support among Republican voters remains strong, with 80% of Republican voters approving of his job performance, and 84% expressing a strongly or somewhat favorable opinion of him. Evangelicals report an 85% approval rating of Bush, and 89% have a favorable opinion of the president.
Any questions?
I want the all deported, and it isn't going to happen until Bush gets "deported".
It sounds like you're arguing in favor of economic protectionism. In the long run, I think that's completely futile. We're going to have to live with the fact that people around the world are willing to work for less money than we are. As the world develops, economically, socially, and politically, things will tend to balance out. But I've told my kids that they are going to have to get all the education and skills they can to compete in the economy that's coming down the road.
I believe the voters are so entranched in their respective parties that candidates could come out for a debate and tap dance on kittens and it wouldn't change voting patterns.
It isn't Congress driving a wedge between themselves and the President. It is the lame duck President driving a wedge between himself and every other thinking Republican. He's not running again and he's not doing Republican in Congress any favors with his recent shenanigans
If WE WANT TO WIN "BACK THE PRESIDENT, OR SHUT UP"
So if it's too expensive to remove them we just let them and anyone else who wanders into the US stay ? You go after the people who employ illegals and have sever concequences for them . No jobs, they will leave on their own. refuse illegals free schools and free $$$ and they will leave. They scam and milk the system by the billions and form almost 1/3 of the prison population (%80 in southern CA ) I want my country back .
In central Pennsylvania spring weather is nearly here.
The USA already "became". It is now just a matter of survival and winning the office pool to see what date we officially become 3rd world status.
Many are to blame, including Bush, of course, but also these so-called "conservatives" who defended leftist move after lefist move after leftist move by the Republican'ts.
Yes, some of them suck .. but not all of them
Besides .. you got a better idea to keep the Dems out of control
Because once they get back in .. you can kiss your freedoms and your principals good bye
"It was basically the radioactive equivalent of what's in a smoke detector," he told the Associated Press news agency.
Sorry, this is one of the "gotcha games" different sources like to play -
The reality is these were not ME men/women (or profiled individuals), nor did they have enough material to create even one dirty bomb. Additionally there is more to this story (that you'll see reported about in the coming weeks).
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