On Thursday’s "Situation Room," CNN reporter Bill Schneider proclaimed that Republicans need to move left in order to recover from their midterm losses: Posted on 11/09/2006 4:19:09 PM PST by lowbridge
Posted by Scott Whitlock on November 9, 2006 - 18:15.
On Thursday’s "Situation Room," CNN reporter Bill Schneider proclaimed that Republicans need to move left in order to recover from their midterm losses:
Bill Schneider: "Will Republicans move further to the right? Not if they got the message of the election. Republicans lost because they abandoned the center. Independents voted Democratic by the biggest margin ever recorded. The election also provides an alternative model of a Republican who moved to the center and thrived."
Who is this shining example of moderation? Why, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He actually won by becoming a liberal, but perhaps that’s what Schneider meant.
Schneider also provided examples of new Democratic "moderates." Among these cited were Joe Lieberman, Heath Shuler, Bob Casey, and Jon Tester:
Schneider: "The Democratic majorities in the House and Senate include a lot of newly elected moderates like Heath Shuler of North Carolina, a former Washington Redskins quarterback who was courted by the Republicans, and Brad Ellsworth, an Indiana County sheriff who signed a pledge not to raise taxes. In the Senate, there is Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Jon Tester of Montana and Jim Webb of Virginia, who used to be a Republican and was President Reagan’s navy secretary. And Joe Lieberman will still be around."
Joe Lieberman may support the war, but his lifetime American Conservative Union score is 17. Moveon.org campaigned for Montana Senator-elect Jon Tester (Click on Link and scroll down to Montana). And anyone who expects Bob Casey and Jim Webb to be moderate or conservative will likely be disappointed.
A transcript of the segment, which aired at 4:37pm on November 9, follows:
Wolf Blitzer: "So how will the new equation work? And can Democrats work with President Bush? Let's bring in our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. Bill?"
Schneider: "Wolf, there are two ways of looking at what the voters have created. You could say they voted for divided government or government of national unity. President Bush seems to want a government of national unity to succeed".
Bush: "It's in the national interest of the United States that a unity government, based upon a constitution, that is advanced and modern succeed."
Schneider: "Except that he was not talking about the United States. He was talking about Iraq, where warring sects have to figure out how to work together, same as here."
Pelosi: "Democrats are ready to lead, prepared to govern and absolutely willing to work in a bipartisan way."
Schneider: "Can it happen? There is reason for hope. The Democratic majorities in the House and Senate include a lot of newly elected moderates like Heath Shuler of North Carolina, a former Washington Redskins quarterback who was courted by the Republicans, and Brad Ellsworth, an Indiana County sheriff who signed a pledge not to raise taxes. In the Senate, there is Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Jon Tester of Montana and Jim Webb of Virginia, who used to be a Republican and was President Reagan’s navy secretary. And Joe Lieberman will still be around. How accommodating will Republicans be? Moderate Republicans have diminished in number. Representatives Jim Leach of Iowa and Nancy Johnson Connecticut were defeated. So were two moderate Republican Senators Lincoln Chafee and Mike DeWine of Ohio. Will Republicans move further to the right? Not if they got the message of the election. Republicans lost because they abandoned the center. Independents voted Democratic by the biggest margin ever recorded. The election also provides an alternative model of a Republican who moved to the center and thrived."
Schwarzenegger: "We fight our causes but, in the end, we find common grounds. This is the California way. The voters have endorsed it. I embrace it."
Schneider: "If unity government is going to work in Iraq, the various parties will have to disarm their militias. Some steps toward ending the political arms race might be a good idea in this country, too. Wolf?"
Blitzer: "Give us a little sense, Bill, ‘cause you've been covering this political story in Washington for a long time. The seismic nature of this power shift that we're seeing happen right now between the executive and the legislative branches of government."
Schneider: "This is a very big shift, Wolf. We haven't seen it since 1994 and it was very dramatic then and it hadn't happened then for 40 years. Now it's 12 years later. So you can say that it isn't even once a decade we get big shifts like this."
bill, if we need you, we'll call you....
Just....wow. Is this guy high?
Bill must be smoking his socks again.
He is a fool-what an idiot.
I think I am going to have to not turn on the television for a few months if this is the drek they have on.
"Go forth and multiply"
Regards, Ivan
You're half right, Bill. It's your sense of direction that's incorrect.
someone buy this fool a clue. Move further center is NOT what is needed. Republicans need to get back to their core values that the right wing of the Democratic party seemed to pick up on.
Thanks Bill..
then we can lose the entire base.
Need to move left? Then what happened to Lincoln Chafee???????
He should be telling the Dems to move right.
Winners like Webb, Casey, etc. did not campaign as traditional Democrats.
They campaigned as pro-gun, pro-life, etc.
Well they proved they would do anything thing to win. Even be pretend Republicans , go figure?
Thanks so much Bill. Now STFU.
Sadly, some of the FReepers who believe in party over principle will take Schneider's word as the gospel.
You've got that right. I was bummed out about the election, but now I think a lot of us are getting our second wind. To paraphrase Admiral Yamamoto afer the Pearl Harbor disaster: "I think all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."
What an idiot! They weren't all that "right" to begin with, and the constant lies of the media was the real problem in the first place!
Me to Bill Schneider: Eat sh-t and die!
And here's a bit of advice for you since suddenly you're such an advocate for the GOP: Try getting your network to report the news TRUTHFULLY and to stop reporting nothing but negative from Iraq and about the economy and making it look like only Republican Congressmen are corrupt. THAT'S what will win elections for the GOP, not becoming Marxists--since you're so interested in helping the GOP win elections and all Bill...burb.
Not an original opinion. I have seen here, many posts of people who claim that we must vote for the RINO just because there is a "R" after the last name. RINOS are more left than right, but try to tell that to the nervous nellie "right". If it were not so tragic, it would be funny.
I guess a bunch of people voted for the actual democrat instead of the play-like democrat.
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