Free Republic

From what I read on the blogs these days, most Democrats believe that their party's single biggest problem is that it is not tough enough. Their solution is to be ever more shrill and hysterical in attacking Republicans. As a Republican, I think this is wonderful. It just makes Democrats look like kooks, and forces moderates to vote Republican. Actually, I think the Democrats' biggest problem is simple ineptness -- they just aren't very good at coming up with politically attractive ideas and marketing them effectively. I even have a theory about why this is the case. The fact is...

It's understandable that Democrats in the U.S. Senate would use the war in Iraq to send a political message to the party faithful, as some did last week in voting for doomed resolutions to fast-track the withdrawal (or "redeployment") of U.S. forces from that country. Trouble is, the message sent to the rest of the country may be that Democrats who are more liberal can't be trusted when it comes to national security. That message is likely to stick even if the Bush administration decides on its own to draw down the U.S. presence. Over the weekend, an administration official...

They feel an increasing intellectual estrangement from and impatience with the activists who people their base of support. And this is something new. On the Democratic side, it is not just as bad but worse. They don't only think they're more sophisticated than their base, more informed and aware of the complexities. I believe they think their base is mad. You can see their problem in their inability to get a slogan. Which, believe me, is how they think of it: a slogan. "Together for a Better Future." "A Future With Better Togetherness." Today for a better tomorrow, tomorrow for...

Debate over Iraq will dominate the Senate this week, with Democrats scrambling to find a Goldilocks solution: not too hot on withdrawing U.S. troops quickly, but not so cold as to alienate large numbers of Democratic voters furious about the war and eager to bring the Americans home...

Actions still mean more than words I must admit that I do laugh every time I hear modern day socialists refer to themselves as “progressives,” as if their alleged interest in so-called “progress” is supposed to demonstrate some sort of advanced intelligence or heightened enlightenment or unusually keen sense of awareness and compassion. That's a tough sell for folks who still think the failed socialist principles of the past represent some kind of “progress” for our future, an idea that qualifies these folks for kinder-care, not national leadership. Not all Democrats are self-styled “progressives” (socialists) of course, but all current...

JOHN FUND ON THE TRAIL During last week's congressional debate over the war in Iraq, critics of the Bush administration's policy made three arguments: that President Bush more or less lied when claiming Saddam Hussein was a threat to the U.S., there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that no progress is being made in the war there. All three assumptions rest on shaky ground, so it is remarkable how much critics have seized on them with such fervor and certainty--the very vices of which they accuse the war's supporters. Indeed, one wonders how Democrats would react...

Democrats call for 'new direction' Jun. 16, 2006 at 3:57PM Democratic Party leaders in the U.S. Congress Friday announced a "new direction," with a plan that seeks affordable healthcare and fiscal responsibility. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a release claiming the "failed Bush Republican leadership has taken America in the wrong direction." "Our new direction will advance a common agenda, seek common ground, and apply common sense in the service of the common good," said Pelosi. "We know that with a new direction, we can meet our national challenges in a...

I've been wondering why there is something familiar about the behavior of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, and suddenly it dawned on me that we have our own similar insurgency right here at home -- it is called the Democrat Party. Think about it. Both are operating under the same motivation -- an unrequited lust for lost power. And both will do just about anything to retrieve it. Remember, under Saddam Hussein's long rule, his fellow Sunnis -- a distinct minority in a nation with a vast Shiite majority -- were the kings of the hill -- and incredibly cruel...

US President George W. Bush's triumphant return from his unannounced visit in Iraq found opposition Democrats more divided than ever on US policy in the wartorn country, and how best to capitalize on administration missteps there. Republicans basked in the afterglow of the president's dramatic lightning visit Tuesday to meet with Iraq's new Prime Minister Nuri Maliki -- an event likely to figure prominently in a daylong debate Thursday in the House of Representatives on Iraq and the US "war on terror." Bush's trip Tuesday followed last week's successes in Iraq, with the formation of the country's new unity government...

The reaction from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to Zarqawi's termination was typical of the Left's unenthusiastic response: "Zarqawi—God knows it's a hard thing for me to say about any human being, but—he got what he deserved." This must be particularly hard to say, we suppose, when it is an Operation Iraqi Freedom success story. More disturbing still was the Demo-memo reaction from Michael Berg, father of businessman Nick Berg, one of at least two Americans believed to have been beheaded by Zarqawi personally. After first dismissing Zarqawi's death as a ploy of the Bush administration, he later declared, "I...

Politics: Among the truly astonishing aspects of the Democrats' foreign policy is how much of it comes out of the Vietnam playbook. It's a dark vision, one that anticipates defeat in Iraq. This vision clouds their effort to cobble together their own version of the Republicans' creative "Contract with America," which led to the GOP storming Capitol Hill in 1994. That famous victory ended four decades of legislative domination by the Democrats. Just maybe, Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi figure, this time their party needed only 12 years to retake the fortress. The Senate and House minority leaders...

Dick Morris writes a stinker today in the beltway newspaper, The Hill, in which he says: “The only way for a Republican to survive in 2006 is to run like a Democrat. The GOP line on oil companies totally misses the fact that voters see a vast conspiracy by big oil companies to manipulate the price to feather their own nests. All talk of supply increase or demand decrease is quite beside the point for the average voter. The issue is whether or not you are part of the conspiracy to fix and raise prices. “The Republican position on climate...

JEROME ARMSTRONG AND MARKOS MOULITSAS are pioneers. Armstrong founded MyDD.com, arguably the first political blog of real prominence. As for Moulitsas, he's the founder and proprietor of Daily Kos, by far the most widely read of all political blogs. Pioneers they may be, but neither Armstrong nor Moulitsas has developed a reputation as a particularly skillful prose stylist.Yet their new book, Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots and the Rise of People-Powered Politics, is a crisp and well-crafted work. The authors sharply diagnose the Democratic party's ills in a blunt and entertaining fashion.Less impressive is the political philosophy they espouse. Crashing...

Yes, Republicans are experiencing great difficulties right now, but the good news - politically speaking - is that Democrats are in even worse shape. While they can feast on their anti-Bush cuisine between elections, they're eventually going to have to come up with a menu of their own. Today, they not only have no menu; they don't even have recipes for basic dishes. Their problem is not that they have too many cooks in the kitchen, but none. All of their chefs are in the Republicans' kitchen, and they don't know how to return to their own. Their negativity alone...

The left hasn't learned a damned thing from 9/11 February 19th, 2006 Every once and a while over the last few years, I have come very close to saying to hell with it and tossing George Bush and the Republicans over the side. That’s when the left comes to Bush’s rescue and proves all over again why even allowing them to get a whiff of regaining power is extremely hazardous to the collective health of the west not to mention the personal safety and well-being of hundreds of millions of people. Just when I thought I was out, they pull...

DEMOCRATS in Massachusetts face the same problem as Democrats in Washington: Presented with opportunity, they are weaker than they want to be and confused about the path to victory. ''We're as clueless as anyone," groans veteran Democratic pollster Irwin ''Tubby" Harrison. When it comes to the 2006 gubernatorial contest, Bay State Democrats are also leaderless. Attorney General Thomas Reilly stumbled badly when he handpicked state Representative Marie St. Fleur to be his candidate for lieutenant governor; she dropped out 24 hours later after it was disclosed she had failed to pay taxes and student loans. Reilly's intervention into the investigation...

PRESIDENT BUSH again pushed his magic 9/11 button -- the one designed to panic the country and paralyze the Democrats. Having survived ludicrous color-coded terror alerts and intermittent videograms from Osama bin Laden, the country is growing too jaded to panic. But Bush is still batting .500. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, continue to paralyze Democrats, who can't get beyond ''no" as their official national security policy. The Democrats' paralysis began immediately after 9/11. Spurred by patriotism, a desire to look nonpartisan and a fear of looking weak on terror, they bought into the Bush response. They endorsed...

2006 Some Democrats Are Sensing Missed Opportunities - February 7, 2006 By Adam Nagourney & Sheryl Gay Stolberg - The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08dems.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1139674067-k3fdmSc/3BoquL+jgwL5Cg&pagewanted=print 2005 Democrats In Disarray - September 27, 2005 By E. J. Dionne Jr. - The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/26/AR2005092601462.html 2004 Democrats in Disarray - September 8, 2004 By Tony Blankley - The Washington Times http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040907-095329-3380r.htm 2003 Editorial: 2004 looms larger: With Democrats in disarray and Bush's numbers in decline, the choices of Iowans grow in importance. - August 9, 2003 By The DesMoines Register Editorial Board http://desmoinesregister.com/opinion/stories/c2125555/21954389.html 2002 Democrats in Disarray - November 7, 2002 by...

I created this video a few days ago and finally got around to posting it on my blog. It was only my second attempt at using Windows Movie maker, but I find it hilarious. Check it out and leave me comments if you'd like...

As this week's hearings into President George W. Bush's wiretapping program make all too clear, the war on terror has been running parallel to a war within the Democratic Party. It's also a war between those who think the Democratic Party has been too quick to accommodate the Bush administration and those who think the Democrats have abandoned the important role of opposition party. The result is a party that all too often seems to be afraid of its own shadow. Added to this is a near pathological fear of Bush's political adviser Karl Rove. It goes back to the...