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Post Mortem Why Republicans got shellacked in the midterms
the weekly standard ^ | 11/08/2006 9:00:00 AM | Fred Barnes

Posted on 11/08/2006 6:35:06 AM PST by flixxx

THIS ONE IS PRETTY EASY TO EXPLAIN. Republicans lost the House and probably the Senate because of Iraq, corruption, and a record of taking up big issues and then doing nothing on them. Of these, the war was by far the biggest factor. Unpopular wars trump good economies and everything else. President Truman learned this in 1952, as did President Johnson in 1968. Now, it was President Bush's turn, and since his name wasn't on the ballot, his party took the hit.

(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: elections
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To: stuck_in_new_orleans

You obviously think there is no islamic terrorist problem whatsoever. Must be nice to live in your world.


121 posted on 11/08/2006 7:25:43 AM PST by Codeflier (Implement Loser Pays)
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To: flixxx

It looks to me like country wants middle of the road people in office.


122 posted on 11/08/2006 7:26:42 AM PST by JFC
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To: snowrip
The reason the public doesn't like the war is because of the MSM's portrayal... If they were getting accurate reporting, the opinion of the general public would be vastly different.

With all due respect, that's a lot of baloney -- and we had better get off this "inaccurate MSM portrayal of Iraq" horse right now if we have any intention of being credible force in national politics for the foreseeable future. The MSM doesn't have to slant the coverage of Iraq at all when you've got dozens of U.S. military personnel killed and hundreds wounded every month -- more than three freaking years after the President declared an end to "major combat operations."

Ironically, the one guy in the larger scheme of things who comes out of this whole thing looking very shrewd is Muqtada al-Sadr. He knows damn well -- and has known all along -- that the U.S. was going to cut and run from Iraq at some point (due to political pressure in the U.S.) and leave the place in disarray, and he cobbled together his Mehdi Army to prepare for exactly this (so as to prevent a repeat of the 1991 debacle when the first Bush administration left the Shi'ites dangling).

123 posted on 11/08/2006 7:27:33 AM PST by Alberta's Child (Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?)
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To: stuck_in_new_orleans

I agree on the use of overwhelming force. Bush is like his father in that he believes in the utter fallacy of limited war.

However you are wrong about the Iraqi people.

The "insurgency" is only that if the people fighting are indigenous to the country where the fighting is taking place. The OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of those fighting our guys come from other countries... and that makes them mercinaries.

Iraq was a democracy for a long time. They are VERY welcoming of their newly-regained freedom.


124 posted on 11/08/2006 7:29:39 AM PST by snowrip (Liberal? YOU HAVE NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT. Actually, you lack even a legitimate excuse.)
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To: Conservativegreatgrandma

They're dancing in the streets as they cancel truces.


125 posted on 11/08/2006 7:29:59 AM PST by TET1968 (SI MINOR PLUS EST ERGO NIHIL SUNT OMNIA)
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To: Alberta's Child

"With all due respect, that's a lot of baloney -- and we had better get off this "inaccurate MSM portrayal of Iraq" horse right now if we have any intention of being credible force in national politics for the foreseeable future. The MSM doesn't have to slant the coverage of Iraq at all when you've got dozens of U.S. military personnel killed and hundreds wounded every month -- more than three freaking years after the President declared an end to "major combat operations."

To think that the media portrayal of the war in Iraq was not a major factor in the recent elections, is a perfectly ridiculous thing to think.


126 posted on 11/08/2006 7:32:25 AM PST by mutley (The dems and the terrorists are celebrating the day.)
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To: flixxx

Two HUGE ISSUES really worry me: Iraq and the illegals. Will the RATs screw them both up forever?


127 posted on 11/08/2006 7:33:09 AM PST by Paulus Invictus
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To: Tucker822

"Remember, the terrorists hate Bush just as much as the Dems do."

Nah, the Dims hate him worse, the Terrorists do at least respect him, or at least respect him enough to know that he will do as he says he will do.


128 posted on 11/08/2006 7:33:15 AM PST by Leatherneck_MT (In a world where Carpenters come back from the dead, ALL things are possible.)
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To: JFC
It looks to me like country wants middle of the road people in office.

This has been a good opportunity for us to cleanse the GOP of moderates. Many lost yesterday. If we elect new GOP leadership that practices fiscal conservatism, we should have a good base to start from.

129 posted on 11/08/2006 7:34:02 AM PST by Ronaldus Magnus Reagan (Pennsylvania-Home of the Flat Tax w/ no deductions)
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To: MNJohnnie

All of this may be true, but you can't side with the Dems on illegal immigration, and try to outspend FDR on unwanted social programs and still have an energized base on election day.

One "Oh crap" wipes out a lot of atta boys.


130 posted on 11/08/2006 7:34:30 AM PST by NavVet (O)
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To: SouthernBoyupNorth
"what will it take to wake up the sheep? a bombing that levels wall street? a nuke in NY? how about one in DC? No real loss there."

That might wake them up for a few hours but then they would spend the next two years globally purging our military /intelligence assets for "negligence".
131 posted on 11/08/2006 7:34:34 AM PST by TET1968 (SI MINOR PLUS EST ERGO NIHIL SUNT OMNIA)
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To: The Worthless Miracle
I have a sick feeling that we may have started down the road the Europeans have been on - toward socialism.

Started down? Take a close look at what the liberals support... it's ALL socialist. Weaken the military so other nations can achieve parity... control the educational process... take from the wealthy to support the working class... abandon the notion of property rights... abandon Constitutional rights by loading the courts with activist judges... and on and on and on.
132 posted on 11/08/2006 7:35:30 AM PST by snowrip (Liberal? YOU HAVE NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT. Actually, you lack even a legitimate excuse.)
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To: snowrip

Too much compassionate, not enough conservatism.


133 posted on 11/08/2006 7:35:57 AM PST by Aria (Terri: Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for theeii)
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To: GeorgefromGeorgia

I look for TV ratings to sink to the cellar. I know I just can't abide watching Nancy's eyes pop, and Schumer's sneer.

Fox has been getting less appealing for awhile now, and I watch nothing else.


134 posted on 11/08/2006 7:37:19 AM PST by Bushiefan
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To: AngieGOP
Not according to Rodent...there are no such things as terrorists who wish to do us harm. Bush/Cheney and Rove just made them up to "scare" us.

Yep, just whistling past the graveyard. Interesting that the DUmmies use the circular logic that a lack of terrorist attacks shows it is an overblown danger, while ignoring the fact that Bush's anti-terrorist actions might be the reason for the absence of attacks. If Kerry were president right now, they wouldn't be using that logic.

135 posted on 11/08/2006 7:40:33 AM PST by Ronaldus Magnus Reagan (Pennsylvania-Home of the Flat Tax w/ no deductions)
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To: NavVet
One "Oh crap" wipes out a lot of atta boys.

Medicare prescription drug fiasco
Major Social Security reform....uhhhh....never mind
Dubai ports
Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court
Comprehensive immigration reform
136 posted on 11/08/2006 7:40:54 AM PST by TomGuy
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To: Rodent_in_NY
I think it was pure unadulterated corruption that generally occurs when one party runs everything. It was an orgy of spending and an orgy of trampling on individual rights to suit personal pet peeves of the particular corrupt politician authoring the bill or the amendment. Every one of the corrupt, criminal, unamerican swine went along, to get along, almost every time, and the most corrupt, unethical slob of them all, rubber stamped every one of the bills that attempted to bankrupt and destroy America.

You're clearly talking about the early Clinton years. Get with the program. Live in the now.

Your utter lack of comprehension when it comes to matters involving honor, integrity, reality and even rational thought itself show your true colors.
137 posted on 11/08/2006 7:41:12 AM PST by snowrip (Liberal? YOU HAVE NO RATIONAL ARGUMENT. Actually, you lack even a legitimate excuse.)
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To: Oberon
It was that very trait that enabled Ronald Reagan to do as much as he did in the face of an opposition congress. Simply put, he did what he said he was going to do.

The Republicans got fired for non-performance. If you hired a contractor to remodel your kitchen, and after 12 years all he did was replace the sink, you would fire him.

The government is bigger than ever, the deficit is huge, the national debt is beyond imagination, PBS and NPR are still suckling at the taxpayer's teat, the country is overrun with illegal aliens, the border is still wide open, the Dept. of Education is still run by teacher's unions, and on and on and on....

138 posted on 11/08/2006 7:41:21 AM PST by EricT. (The Democrats have decided it will either be a Democrat led America, or no America at all.)
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To: TomGuy

so what does President Bush need to do today... what should he say to the powerful left and majority of americans.


139 posted on 11/08/2006 7:42:03 AM PST by JFC
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To: Rodent_in_NY


To the casual observer Iraq is portrayed as a portion better than anarchy and that premise will prevail until Iraq proves otherwise. The certainty of Iraq not serving US interests in a future [unforseen today] conflict confirms the perception of no gain in the security of the United States beyond what existed yesterday. These are truths that prevail in the populace of this country and are not congruent with the agenda of the Republican party.


140 posted on 11/08/2006 7:43:04 AM PST by Shanty Shaker
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