Posted on 11/07/2002 6:25:30 AM PST by Illbay
The focus for FReepers in the election cycle just concluded was to take back the Senate. 77% of FReeperdom opined that this was "critical."
This has now occurred, and congratulations are in order.
Now, we have to reset the agenda. Of course, there are many agenda items already set, such as homeland security, confirmation of judges, making tax cuts permanent, passing a budget, etc. And before we know it, the 2004 election cycle will be upon us.
But before ANY of that can take place, I submit there is one item that is MOST important, before all of those.
The Senate is ours, but only just. One less Senator, and we'd be back to "parity," with Mr. Cheney representing the tie breaking vote--and we all remember where that led.
The new majority leader is likely to be the OLD majority leader, Trent Lott of Mississippi. It should come as a surprise to few here on FR that Sen. Lott has a very, very small coterie of admirers here. In short, we consider him basically spineless, and far too accomodating to the Democrats, not to mention "moderates" and RINOS such as McCain, Snow, Chaffee and others.
When the Senate proceeds with its business next year, the Dems will have had months to recover from their defeat. If the past is any indication, they will come back swinging, under the assumption that "stupid people" elected Republicans, and any "mandate" from "stupid people" can be ignored. This is precisely what happened after 1994--when the shift that gave the entire Congress to the Republicans was far more dramatic than this year--and by the next year (with Boy Clinton's help) they had painted the Pubbies into a corner. I don't believe the Republicans have EVER really taken the initiative as a result.
It's time to help our Republican Senators, in particular, to see that you cannot accomodate Democrats. They don't accomodate; they see any attempt to "reach out" to them as weakness, and they take full advantage.
After the 2000 election, even though the Dems were still in the minority, they took advantage immediately to demand "power sharing." Mr. Lott, of course, was quick to accomodate them, and the result was that a few months later they were calling Tom Daschle "Majority Leader."
This time, it can't happen. Democrats have to be kept on the defensive, and off balance. Things are far too critical now. Beside the war on terrorism, we have judges to confirm, and much critical legislation to pass. We have no time for Democrat shenanigans.
But we KNOW those shenanigans are going to occur. Believe me, it's NOT going to take long for the Dems to rally. They are infallibly convinced of their own superiority. They are willing to stop at nothing to get their way.
I propose that we begin discussions on how we can help Mr. Lott, for one, grow a spine. He and the Republican Senate leadership need help from loyal conservatives to see the evil that they face (you'd think they could see it for themselves, but they continue to surprise me).
This, to me, is JOB NO. 1 for Free Republic at this time. I'd like to solicit ideas on how to accomplish this. FR has proven to be a great voice for responsible government. This task is tailor-made for us.
FReegards to all.
Do something about that rug on top of his head...
That's the entire point. When Illbay isn't busy writing a vanity post, he's storming around FR bitching about the proliferation of vanity posts...
If so, you aren't much on "reading for content."
Wrong. You initially posted it into Breaking News. The mods yanked it out of there. Don't believe me? Check post 40 as well.
And don't fire from the hip unless you're anything like a good shot.
Better than the blanks you just fired. You can't even keep track of your own spin - revising history is generally a lib tactic, not one we care to see on FR.
It's the media's ability to sway public opinion. That's what concerns me most, and she will have an enormous impact.
Lott folds up like a cheap suit on TV, because he doesn't have the ability to articulate the conservative views like Frist, or Keyes for example. Lott just sputters soundbites/talking points, and even that he doesn't do very affectively.
I don't think he's been chastised nearly enough. Check out post #48 - now he's claiming this vanity WASN'T posted into Breaking News.
Off the top of my head, the "button" which might work best on Trent Lott is to remind him what Ann Coulter remembered:
1. Possible contenders to Trent Lott as Majority Leader have withdrawn their hats from the ring. So, he's going to get the post, and the ability to get things done in the Senate will depend on him.
2. I suggest a thorough FReep of Trent Lott, to happen in two forms:
a. A fine demonstration by the exellent folks at the D.C. Chapter, as soon as Lott is back in his offices, and as soon as certain critical matters, spelled out below, have been taken care of.
b. A FReep by e-mail of Lott, subject to the same conditions.
3. The objects of this FReep will be:
a. Reorganization of the Senate as soon as the lameduck session begins, not waiting until January. That means a new Majority Leader, new Committee Chairs, and new membership to reflect the new Republican majority. The theme of this is: "The Majority / We Have It / Let's Use It" (Jim Talent will be seated immediately, as will What's-His-Name from Minnesota who may not vote with Lott but certainly will not vote with Daschle. So the Republicans will have a majority now, not even relying on a tie-breaking vote by Cheney.)
b. The Senate has about fifty bills bottled up, thanks to Daschle, which have already been passed by the House. The most important of these is Homeland Security. The themes of this are: "Free / the Daschle / Fifty" and "Homeland / Security / Now" (As you can see, all themes are stated in a way that can immediately appear on posters.)
c. Immediate Committee hearings on judicial nominees who have not gotten them, and immediate floor votes on those who were highly qualified but were savaged by Leahy's Committee by votes of 10-9. The themes of this effort are: "Justice / for the Judges / Means Justice / for America" and "'Highly-Qualified' / Is Fine With Us"
4. Before we go public, I think we should have a thread on FR chaired by Jim Robinson, to set our themes and approaches. There's been substantial trashing of Trent Lott on FR such as Trent ("Vacant") Lott, and references to "a spinal transplant." He's there, he's going to stay there, and we have to work with him and through him. On rhetoric and approaches, I think we should have guidance from JimRob before we go public. (I confess my own guilt in this matter.)
5. In addition to FReeping Lott, we should FReep the media. Again, we have to get our act together and be ON MESSAGE before we do this. I think the first demonstration outside Lott's office will get more press coverage than our Rallies on the Mall have done, for two reasons -- this is the FIRST such demonstration directed at Lott, and it is a man-bites-dog story because we support Lott and yet are demonstrating to push him to do certain things. The media FReep should be three days before the office demonstration, to get the word out.
6. Last but by no means least, we need to talk to the American people about the agenda in the Senate. We have a medium to do that -- talk radio. We should target the whole spectrum from the top national hosts like Rush, to the regional leaders like Jerry Agar, 50,000 watts in the afternoon out of Raleigh, NC. Again, we MUST be ON MESSAGE before we do this. A thread on FR on the day selected could allow FReepers to report in, as they make it on-air on various shows. The talk radio FReep should be two days before the demonstration, to encourage participation by all who can make it.
Because there is a critical role in this for JimRob, I have flagged him with this response. Also, because the FR Network might want to be involved, I have flagged Bob J. I think I've identified the three main issues -- reorganize the Senate now, pass Homeland Security and the other captive bills, and get some judges confirmed. (We might specifically focus on Dennis Sheed, to pay a last compliment to Strom Thurmond.) But, the discussion thread I propose might result in changes in priorities. To hold our focus, I suggest that we come out of that discussion with a bullet list of no more than three items, and guidelines on language to be used in the demonstration and in the FReeps of Lott, of the media, and of talk radio.
Once we have our program set, then we should seek out our natural allies among other interested organizations, both to help in getting the word out, and to pump the numbers in the demonstration itself.
Hope these thoughts are useful.
Respectfully Submitted,
Congressman Billybob
And if you believe that, I've got this REAL nice acre of swampland for sale
LOL; I don't post vanities, Illbay; why should I go read rules upon which you justify YOUR "policing"? [Unless you want to count my one and only from a year ago for which I was bestowed an FR award. It's called "What's Wrong With Clinton (and Those Who Like Him)." FYI, it's about why people seek to justify their wrong behavior rather than change it.]
"Reading for content" is subjective. Apparently, you must be the subjective content judge; perhaps you do believe that some animals are more equal than others.
I'd have left you alone with your "vanity" post here, but, this just seems too hypocritical--as I previously said to you, you seem to post more "police work" than anything else.
I'm willing to go back to "live and let live" anytime.
________________________________________________________
I believe Tuesday proved otherwise. I see a right light at the end of the tunnel. The vast majority that participate in voting has awaking to the goings on in politics.
The vast majority should be fully aware that there is no lengthy alternative for them any longer, so its a must that they take responsibility for their own lives.
Just as there is new blood needed for both party leaders, new young blood is needed in the voting popularity. So that means more recruiting is needed.
Does a poll exist that has the stats for voters under the age of 30 years old?
We don't want to settle to always be the underdog.
Dawg, Keep hope alive!!!
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