Senate GOP Leadership: Accept Minority Status and Surrender to Democrats

Redstate ^ | 1/23/08 | Erick

[Jacksonville Patriot]

The Senate GOP Leadership Embraces the Minority By Erick

The Senate GOP has been having its retreat. This is the first retreat since Lamar Alexander (R-TN) was named Chairman of the Conference. In this position, Alexander is charged with developing the GOP agenda and controlling the message.

Today, the Republican Senators are at a retreat and they are getting their first taste of Lamar Alexander's leadership. His message: embrace being in the minority.

According to Senate staff familiar with the conversations, Senators have been hearing from multiple pollsters including Dave Winston. Winston has consistently been presenting polling to the GOP caucus over the last year that has shown that he war, spending, and corruption were three major issues leading to GOP defeat. You can get a sense of Winston's thinking here.

“What you’re seeing is a greater awareness of earmarks,” said David Winston, a GOP pollster who has done work for congressional Republicans on the issue. “As a result, people have been concerned about waste in government and now view earmarks in conflict with accountability.”

As if orchestrated, other "experts" who were invited by Republican leadership gave reports downplaying the GOP's struggle with spending and pork and focusing mainly on the war in Iraq as the problem. Senators were told that what the American people want most is cooperation in Congress and to see lawmakers get things done: Read -- Pass Democrat legislation. In fact, by the time it was over, I'm told you would have thought the Appropriators themselves had arranged the presentation to completely undermine Winston's assertion that waste and earmarks had anything at all to do with the GOP loss in 2006.

Lamar Alexander's central theme of the day now is that the GOP must work with the Democrats on "bipartisan legislation" to show the American people the Senate can get things done. Whoa unto the Republican Senator who obstructs the will of the majority.

Read on . . .

As if to drive home Senator Alexander's point that there can now be no more stands on Republican principles to upset the will of a majority of appropriators Senators, his Legislative Director, David Morgenstern, sent out two emails to other GOP Senators' Legislative Directors ("LD's"). A Senate source tells me these are the only emails the LD's got before the retreat asking for input on legislative items for the coming year.

In fairness to Senator Alexander though, I emailed Jill Bader, the Press Secretary for the Senate Republican Conference, and asked about the emails sent by David Morgenstern. She wrote back:

The email you sent me is just one small piece of our research as we look for ways to make the Senate more effective and the conference more successful.

The people expect us to work together to get things done, and one obvious place to do that is legislation that's consistent with our principles and already has bipartisan support.

Considering, however, that these were the only two emails David Morgenstern sent out before the retreat and they mention nothing about conservative principles that the Democrats agree with nor anything about wedge issues popular with the public, but not the Democrats, I'm a bit concerned. After all, this is a planning retreat for the coming year. You'd think Senator Alexander would want those wedge issues too.

Read them and weep for the state of the party:

From: Morgenstern, David (Alexander) Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2008 1:06 PM To: Subject: Need your assistance...

Hello,

As part of Sen. Alexander's new duties as GOP Conference Chair, he's collecting examples of legislation introduced by Republican senators that has bipartisan support. He was hoping to discuss these at next week's GOP senators' retreat. Today or tomorrow, can you email me 1-2 examples that your boss has introduced this Congress? Thanks!

Thanks, David

From: Morgenstern, David (Alexander) Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 9:33 AM To: Subject: FW: Need your assistance...

As a follow-up to my message yesterday…

I was actually out of the office sick the last 2 days and dictated most what was sent out below under my name. (The second "thanks" was added by someone else – I'm not that nice.) Since then, I've gotten a little additional clarification on the types of examples we're looking for:

* Legislation that hasn't passed the Senate yet.

* Most interested in Republican legislation with Democratic cosponsorship, but also interested in Dem-sponsored bills that your boss is the lead Republican on – if it's something your boss really cares about.

Hope that helps. Thanks to those who have already responded.

David Morgenstern Legislative Director Sen. Lamar Alexander

[Squidpup]

Unacceptable - lead, follow, or get out of the way.

[Jacksonville Patriot]

They’ve chosen the “follow” option.

[originalbuckeye]

Where are the LEADERS in our party?? I want a hero! Someone who will go out and fight for what’s right for this country! Not some wimps who are still looking for a ‘new tone’ in DC. That worked out well for us, didn’t it?

Republicans in DC........put some starch in your collars and get to work!

[Valpal1]

LAMAR!

[Steamburg]

Can they just have bi-partisanship in the same vein practiced by Democrats; as in no bill is coming out of this congress.

[Nebr FAL owner]

With friends like these jerk-offs who the hell needs enemies??? The GOP needs to learn that the Socialists/Trotskeites in the MSM & the DNC will never like them & just decide to destroy them ?

[Yo-Yo]

Gingrich resigns, Livingston resigns, Duke Cunningham resigns, DeLay resigns, and the remaining Republicans give new meaning to Pork Barrel Spending.

The Republicans deserve minority status for awhile.

[dirtymac]

What a bunch of unacceptable bull sh*t this is. I am try to write a response but I am so pissed off I can’t get a meaningful paragraph written. Who has the balls in DC because tyhe Republicans have been neutered.

Let’s have term limits just on Republicans and I bet we can get something done. Send these Chicken sh*t RINO’s packing.

[doctor noe]

WTF?

[chimera]

These people are amazing. The ‘Rats have a one-vote majority, with the aid of two non-’Rat “independents”. Yet they’re talking about “embracing” being the minority? Cripes, you’d think it was the 89th Congress, where the ‘Rats had us 2:1 in the House and close to 4:1 in the Senate. If I were the ‘Pubs, I’d be busy trying to come up with ways to tip the votes of one or two ‘Rats their way on some issues, maybe make overtures to Lieberman, call Casey on his supposed pro-life stance, whatever. But above all else don’t throw in the towel. Keep calling out these ‘Rats on votes, put them on the record, make them defend their votes, etc.

[traditional1]

"Where are the LEADERS in our party??"

We will NEVER see Republican "Leaders" so long as people will vote straight R, disregarding the RINO's that are being presented as the only choice. Those who "settle for" RINO's willingly, just so the Democrats won't win are fooling themselves...there will NOT be a move to put Conservatives on the ballot, or get them elected, so long as conservatives vote for the RINO's.

[MarkT]

Alexander obviously adopted the children he may represent are his - the guy is a eunuch. Think of what the spineless Republicans have done - 1. They had Lott who was more concerned about: a) his hair; b) his quartet; and, c) some so-called collegiality (think Bush 43 and compassionate conservative). 2. They then named Frist - he may have been a heart surgeon but he commited malpractice when he cut off his own testicles and gave them away. 3. Now we have Alexander whose claim to fame is he made a lot of money by being the president of the University of Tennessee but also must have been operated on by one Dr. Eunuch Frist. Hillary has more balls than this clown.

[Digger]

Liberalism has won. The sheeple, after 40 yrs of the indoctrination by the commies, a president & his daddy who are nothings nor leaders, now have these stooges brainwashed into succumbing to the left. Y’all voted for these RINOS, kept them in office & here is your consequences. The Amero in a couple of yrs followed by a N. American / European currency within 5 yrs. You now can close the last page of “The Communist Manifesto” as its goals have been achieved.

[niteowl77]

I recall hearing the bromide that at one time in the white supremacy movement, two out of three members were actually FBI informants. In the case of Senate Republicans, I'm beginning to believe that two out of three members are actually Democrats.

Mr. niteowl77

[K-oneTexas]

Is he up for re-election this fall?

[Emperor Palpatine]

The problem is the senate itself. They like to portray themselves as an, (for the most part), urbane gentleman’s club. This is why there is always so much talk about bipartisanship and “getting along”. They even sing together!

Now the GOP senators surely wouldn’t want to upset the veneer of civility at their Georgetown cocktail parties, now would they? </sarc>

It was different in the old days. When William Alden Smith was senator from Michigan he got into it once with fellow Republican Henry Cabot Lodge. Lodge went up to Smith’s desk and demanded an answer to a question.

Smith’s reply? “Mr Lodge, I do not like your manner. Furthermore, I do not like your face!”

[Jacquerie]

You remember the 1994 elections. The Gingrich revolution. In 1995 the pubbies passed an “austere” budget. Bill Clinton vetoed it not long before Christmas. For weeks the popular culture, the old media, TV talk shows, all newspapers ripped the GOP apart for putting government workers on the streets, halting welfare checks, etc. You also remember “The Gingrich That Stole Christmas” news mag cover. This happened to the most conservative Congress since the 1930s.

Our guys learned their lesson. The people and our culture as a whole, don’t give a rip about the Constitution, so why fight it?

How many at this forum would give up their jobs for esoteric ideals that few believe?

[Yo-Yo]

You remember the 1994 elections. The Gingrich revolution. In 1995 the pubbies passed an “austere” budget. Bill Clinton vetoed it not long before Christmas. For weeks the popular culture, the old media, TV talk shows, all newspapers ripped the GOP apart for putting government workers on the streets, halting welfare checks, etc. You also remember “The Gingrich That Stole Christmas” news mag cover.

You just hit upon my other sore spot, summed up in two words: Haley Barbour. He was RNC chairman during those times, and he did nothing, NOTHING to counter that anti-Republican media blitz. As a result, we lost seats in '96, Gingrich resigns, and Clintoon wins re-election.

I'd vote for Ross Perot for President before I ever vote for Haley Effin' Barbour.

[jmyrlefuller]

We Americans, however, don’t.