Republicans on the Ropes,

The Hartford Advocate ^ | 10-30-03 | by Alan Bisbort

[RiflemanSharpe]

What is the author smoking?

[ought-six]

"then who are the next republican leaders? these people ought to be household words by now."

The up-and-comers are: Rick Santorum, Condi Rice, Lindsay Graham, Bobby Jindal, Jeb Bush, Mark Kirk, just to name a few. And then there are the already-knowns, who are on the cusp of making some big shows: Rudy Guiliani is foremost among these.

[Snuffington]

Wow. Talk about building castles in the clouds. This guy seriously seems to think Republicans insulting Democrats in dismissive terms is going to fire up the heartland against the Republican Party.

Sorry to break the news, but the commentary about the Democrats in the heartland is even more scathing. The Republicans are on the verge of becoming the true majority party in the country at the national, state, and local level; with people identifying themselves as Republican overtaking self-identified Democrats possibly as soon as next year. And they're doing it by tapping into some deeply imbedded contempt among the masses against a Democratic Party increasingly seen as pandering to the elite.

This should have been obvious to all but the most thick headed when the Democrats crippled their own fund-raising by limiting soft money, while the Republicans took it in stride because of their huge hard money donations edge. Hard money donations are a far better indication of mass appeal than the soft money kind.

[Mr. Bird]

Your names are good. To say that the GOP doesn't have legitimate leaders to succeed the current ones is plain silly. Among the top of my names would be Don Nickles. I think his stepping down from the Senate is the first move in a run for the White House in '08. And I wouldn't count out Gingrich. He could use '04-'08 as time to rehabilitate his image outside the party and make a very strong run.

We also have, here in Maryland, Governor Ehrlich who could become a hot property if he can succeed in such a hostile atmosphere.

[milan]

It was great. He was your "normal" true American democrat; not the nut jobs that the Clinton era has brought out of the woodwork.

[milan]

You're right...he is the only real Democrat. The others are socialists...they shouldn't be allowed to use the word democrat anymore...how about the "progressives" party? How about the "dumbass" party?

[Tribune7]

My bad in last week's column: I blew Red Sox manager Grady Little's name, calling him Grady Wilson.

I don't think I'll take this guy that seriously.

My bad. I meant seriesly

[Tribune7]

The democrats are headed south

Nah, they're headed northeast as in Vermont a.k.a. the state without restaurants. When we get the votes in Congress, we can turn it into one great big reservation for them, complete with government supplied food, health care etc.

Just like we do for the Indians. They'll love it.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

bump #60

[T Lady]

Methinks Alan Bisbort (what a name!) has ingested WAAAYYY too much of the Cherry Fusion; he may need to be rushed into detox ASAP. This is Wishful Thinking gone bad, folks.

...'They're coming to take me away, ha-ha! They're coming to take me away!' Ya Think?!

-Regards, T.

[petercooper]

agree with Nickles, but no way Gingrich would get anywhere- the media would crucify him

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

unless they start publicly grooming a successor.

Senators and sitting vice presidents are seldom elected. I think Abraham Lincoln was the last congressman to be elected.

The only way to groom a successor is to allow them to learn the ropes of electoral politics and of executive action. IOW, there are 50 governorships, and if any one of them has a good Republican executive you should consider that person to be "groomed" for the WH. Not that I'm in favor of dynasties, but the two Republican governors who have won election by the most votes in the past decade are both named Bush.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

these people ought to be household words by now.

Funny thing about that, on FR there was an article to the effect that presidential timber has a short shelf life--hardly presidents were elected POTUS more than 14 years after they gained public notice as an elected governor or senator.

They did however consider that the shelf-life clock was stopped while a person was a sitting vice president . . .

[Constitutional Patriot]

"Call me laughably optimistic, but I believe the Republican Party is in deep trouble."

..right out of the chute...nothing but mainstream, unbiased commentary!!!

[Constitutional Patriot]

"To wit: Republicans control the White House, Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court. They control all three branches of government, have no checks and balances on their power. They also control Wall Street and the media. They not only run the show, they massage the message. "

It's pretty obvious that a person of minimal intelligence should have no problem getting a job with a newspaper.

[Constitutional Patriot]

Yeah right. As if Hillary could win an election. Unfortunately for her, most people in this country (excluding highly ignorant, uninformed soccer mom types) hate her guts. The only people fawning over her are the aforementioned idiots and the Katie Courics in the media. I think the democrat vote-fraud machine would have to be in hyperwarp mode to get her the votes she needs outside of NY/LA/Chicago.

I think Hillary would be lucky to win another term as senator in NY if a moderately well known candidate ran against her.

I think that if Condi were to run against Hillary in 2008, Hillary would get burried.

[KC_for_Freedom]

And in Germany, Schroder is going down. Really looks bad for the socialists, and this guy can't see it?

[Constitutional Patriot]

"then who are the next republican leaders? these people ought to be household words by now."

Why? Our current President wasn't a household name 5 years prior to being elected POTUS. WHo the hell heard of Bill Clinton prior to his campaigning for President?

[Zack Nguyen]

They also control Wall Street and the media. They not only run the show, they massage the message.

This is where I stopped reading. I wouldn't even say that the Democrat Party "controls" the media.

[Dutchgirl]

There are several household names that are RINO's, and Giulianni, as much as he may be electable- is one of them. I like Nichols too, and even better, Kyle of AZ(?)

For VP material, McConnell of Kentucky (Unfortunately- a little short on charisma) and Alan Keyes is still out there. Condi keeps coming up, but like Whitman,she is pro choice.

What his author fails to realise is that the GOP has become the refuge for any Democrat with a bit of character or moral clarity left.