Posted on 11/08/2006 7:25:35 AM PST by lasereye
Already you're seeing people criticizing outgoing Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist for the failures in the Senate. Frist certainly deserves to take hits over his inability to control the likes of Sen. John McCain during legislative battles, but without Frist the election might have looked even worse. Tennessee right now is the only strategic hold the Republicans got on Tuesday night, and it was largely because the Frist operation saw Corker's problems earlier this year, took charge of the campaign and got him back on track. And while some Republicans - Allen, perhaps being the greatest offender - chose not to run on the judges issue, Corker, in fact, did. And he won. That wasn't an accident.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
It is easy to see now that the Republicans should have been running on substantive issues. The economy, national security, border control, judges... all these issues work for us. But most Senate candidates chose to ignore all that, and concentrate on quick scores, with Allen being the worst offender.
To be an effective candidate, a Republican must first educate the electorate to understand what these issues are and why they are important. This is a long, drawn out process, and takes time. It cannot be done in a five-second sound bite in between attack ads on your opponent and rah-rah rallies.
I thought Steele ran an excellent campaign in Maryland. That is the race that disappoints me most.
More than most people realize. I personally know several people who are normally not involved at all in politics that went out to vote Dem. for that exact reason.
I don't know why Allen didn't mention judges. The Gay Marriage Ban won here 58-42%, so obviously a lot of people who care about social issues voted for Webb.
Allen also didn't mention how losing the Senate would cost us in Navy contracts, which means jobs will be lost (because John Warner won't be the chair of the committee anymore, unless Burns or Allen pulls out a miracle).
John McCain belongs in the Hall of Shame also. These two were just doing his bidding, and now there are some who will claim McCain was right. He was an obstructionist from the word GO! Last night he was in his "Elderly Statesmen Mode", but he, Graham, Hagel, and Bill Kristol will remain defeaters of Republicans to me. However, they didn't do it by themselves....we have too many weak-kneed representatives who are afraid to stand up and expose the corruptness within the Democrat Party. I hate to blame the President, but he should have stopped 'trying to get along' with the Dems after they insulted him every time he offered the olive branch. Ted Kennedy all but spit in his and former President Bush's face after they honored him! I wish former Pres. Bush had waited until GW was out of office before he became buddies with Bill Clinton. All the niceties in the world will not stop Bill or Hillary from stabbing you in the back if you pose even a tiny threat to them.
"So we officially lost the Senate too?
"
Not yet. On the other hand, there are still plenty of RINO Senators, so a miss would be just about as good as a mile, I'm thinking.
I think Montana's gone, but Virginia? We probably won't know for a few days.
Butler may have been able to win. I liked him and voted for him in the primary.
...."outgoing Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist"....
I thought the votes were still being counted in Montana and Virginia?
That was one of the biggest gaffes I've seen this year. I don't see how it got a single vote from people opposing "gambling", because it was never debated so nobody was expecting it.
And it wasn't highly touted, so people who cared to stop gambling didn't even know that Frist had thrown them a bone.
But gamblers knew, and investors in gambling stocks knew, and limited-government conservatives knew.
The republicans hoped that fear over having democrats run the house and senate would be enough, but it wasn't, because conservatives understand that we control our own lives, not the government.
Also the robust economic numbers, made the whole immigration issue a non-starter this election cycle. And it cost the GOP the Hispanic vote.
I keep saying that "God's ways aren't our ways" but that doesn't make me feel much better. Maybe in a couple of hours....thanks for the reminder.
It is not quite true that the Alito nomination was not an issue in New jersey. I got a pro-Kean computer telephone call on this point. However, I think that the pitch was wrong. It said "You as an Italian-American should be especially interested..."
I am intereseted, but I am not an Italian-American. I don't even have an Italian last name. I have a Pennsylvania-German surname, but am of nicely mixed ethnic background. I still strongly favored Alito's nomination, but why pitch it to me as an ethnic issue?
Even in Texas, the Rats completely took over the Dallas County Government, including the DA race which was considered to be a lock for the GOP here. Even in Texas, it was a bad day for the GOP.
Maybe not from the elected officials, but the graft, corruption and isolation that would develop from the unelected staffer in Washington would be overwhelming.
Me too. He had a lot more substance than Bouchard ever had.
In Arizona the English only ballot passed around 70%.
In Colorado the amendment punishing businesses that hire illegals passed.
Most of the Dems that won ran endorsing the House plan.
Your little theory doesn't hold up too well to scrutiny.
What you have said is true. If we had term limits we would not have the Byrds, Kennedys, Lugars, they are entrenched, they needed to be gone a long time. Too much time does breed corruption. Not much of a McCain fan though.
"We must emphasize that Democrats won control with CONSERVATIVE candidates. This country didn't sweep Liberals into office last night; each and every race was LOCAL. Rahm and Chuckie (I have to admit) were brilliant. They know in their heart of hearts that Americans are primarily conservative; but they know that under Speaker Pelosi, the newbies will wilt and comply. Look for investigations of Bush and Cheney. Look for a lower stock market. Eventually, though, the people who voted in these nitwits will finally see that Democrats are downright DANGEROUS."
You might say that the liberals were swept in with a moderate-conservative broom. It means that in this case a new broom sweeps dirty.
The only bright spots were that we voted for a BAN on affirmative action programs sponsored by the state and AGAINST a mandatory increase (based on inflation rate) for the Public Schools. And they won by solid majorities.
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