GOP leaders warn of election disaster

Politico ^ | 5/6/08 | JOHN BRESNAHAN

[TomGuy]

It is too early to tell anything. 2006 was a reflection of the publics changing opinion of Bush. He is not on the ballot this time, so the race will about different issues than 2006.

If there is a major terrorist attack on US soil, that will get McCain elected.

Otherwise, the voters will vote based on the cost of gasoline and groceries*, and that will put the Dem nominee in the White House.

[And the cry that the Dems have the House won't fly. They have only had it 2 years, after 12 years under the GOP.]

--

* And the voters won't accept that inflation is running at 2.5%. They see inflation based on the price increase this month over the same items last month. That, for the consumer, is the real amount of inflation. They vote based on their pocketbooks.

[ottbmare]

No candidate would have any trouble if he would get out there and speak directly. Tell the truth about the war, about the economy, about Muslims and terrorism, about global warming. Don’t try to out-liberal the liberals or be liberal-lite; be a conservative, but tell the people why.

I will never, to my dying day, understand why Republicans won’t do that.

[uncbob]

I can only hope that the Republicans are waking up to the fact that they backstabbed and otherwise ignored their base.

Don't bet on it --once they got to DC they lost complete touch with their base ---and they let the dems kick them around led by Bush's wimpiness

[fetal heart beats by 21st day]

Sue Myrick, a solid conservative, who has bucked the RINO’s, won with 92% of the vote.

Patrick McHenry, another solid conservative, who also bucked the RINO’s, won with 67% of the vote.

They turn out the base.

Newt wants us to follow him and the other libs off of a cliff.

[TomGuy]

Are you voting for Democrats believing that they will give you the conservatisim you want?

The irony of your question is that many of the new Dems who defeated Pubbies in 06 are 'conservative' Democrats.

The problem is that too many liberals/moderates/mavericks still hold seats in the Senate and House.

[StatenIsland]

No, many don’t understand Newt’s GW position, but hey, it makes for pithy posts.

Newt is right, of course. His statement has loosed a tirade about the failures of the past 8 years, and not a word about solutions - which is what Newt is talking about.

During this Dem mess of a nominating process, we should have been articulating a CLEAR, CONCISE MESSAGE about our positions and how they differ form the Dem socialists.

A new Contract with America, if you please. But no, it is NOT being done and Newt is being strung up here for pointing it out.

How myopic.

[Obadiah]

1) The answer is Republicans need to appeal more to moderates!!!

2) We need more RINOs.

3) Republicans need to work harder to reach across the aisle to work with Democrats.

4) Republicans need to maintain their cowardly silence so they can preserve their own seats!!

5) Give us more of Lindsey Graham and Chuck Hagel!

6) John McCain and the RNC need to criticize state party's more often!

All these things have been so effective thus far. The RNC coffers are full, right? There are millions of campaign foot soldier volunteers begging for work, right?? Oh.

[dynachrome]

40 years in the wilderness.

[dforest]

In the end because of the sucess of OC and Obama having ended up becoming bloody, McCain will win the general by default.

A month or two ago, I might have agreed with you. Now....I believe McCain will lose.

He may lose big time. It will be the fault of the GOP and McCain when he loses.

He is a terrible lackluster, boring candidate. It will be easy for the Dems to make him into Bush, 3rd time around.

[Dahoser]

The Democrats will call them mean names and they live in fear of that.

Isn't it truly stunning that this is so true while it's equally true that many of these same cowards harbor delusions of grandeur that they can be President and face down the thugs of the world where getting called mean names is just the appetizer?

This gas price spike is manna from heaven for the party that is not against expanding domestic oil supplies and coal usage, but God forbid they'd say a word. You cannot get people focused any better on an issue than how they are focused on energy right now, and yet there is the Stupid Party doing their usual Claude Rains routine.

[Penny]

The end result of all this is that there are simply too many people dependent on government now for conservatives to make their case.

Even the Irish Socialist George Bernard Shaw admitted this: "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul."

I only pray that all the folk posting here today call their congressfolk to hound them about the futile and thus disastrous course we're on--and to plead with them to stand for conservative principles. As Maggie would say, we must not give in and hand the future of America to socialism--or worse!

Regards . . . Penny

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

The problem is that too many liberals/moderates/mavericks still hold seats in the Senate and House.

Obviously.

[rollo tomasi]

I thought this election would be a slam dunk. GOP got the moderate they wanted, the Repubs voters, addicted to Federal $$$ and programs got the candidate they wanted and you know only a Repub moderate can win elections by “attracting” the indies./s

This country is/has been screwed for years and the next several generations will reap our mismanagement as a result. Most likely they will expand on the insane policies that brought on the huge bureaucracy in the first place.

[Obadiah]

When the GOP had complete control of government it did not solve a single national problem. Instead, it grew government worse than any Democrat, spent worse than any Democrat, and added more welfare dependents than any Democrat.

Bears repeating.

[Thermalseeker]

Only one thing-—allow massive illegal immigration by supporting total amnesty

Yeah, I should have added "selling the country down the road for financial gain". That would have encompassed the illegal invasion, as well as numerous other policies adopted by this and previous Congress'.....

[from occupied ga]

Did I miss anything?

Only one thing, when your policies fail to achieve their stated goal, say it's a (fill in the blank) crisis, and claim that "we just didn't go far enough." And now we need to do more (of the same thing that screwed stuff up in the first place)

[Obadiah]

Woody Jenkins may indeed have been a bad candidate in LA, but what about the loss of Dennis Hastert’s seat??

[Library Lady]

The other half.

[Dixie Yooper]

I'm still reeling from yesterday's primary results here in North Carolina. The Republican turnout (those who voted on the Republican ballot) was pitiful with barely 500,000 voters compared to the Democrats 1,600,000 voters.

Thanks to Rush's Operation Chaos, we now have a moderate candidate for governor and the 12th district has a liberal DC lobbyist who worked very hard to promote the last immigration bill as our candidate for the NC Senate.

Thanks again for the fresh crop of RINO's Rush! Those voters who crossed over to vote for Hillary's losing effort, could have made a difference in helping conservatives regain some kind of foothold in the Republican party. The Jews wandered for 40 years in the Sinai Desert before they were allowed back into the Holy Land. How long is it going to take before we realize that our leader has to be a politician, not a talk-show host?

[from occupied ga]

our mismanagement

I resent the word "our." I voted libertarian when the choice was available, but most of my fellow voters are addicted to leviathan government