I know this is a couple weeks old but I found this old gem and just had to share:
“‘I think it is really early for the delegate to be counting his chickens before they hatch,’ said the state’s Republican Party spokesperson Shaun Kenn[e]y.”Hmm, maybe you can clarify Mr. Kenney, just when would it not be early to be counting unhatched chickens?
Wow, and this is the Communications Director for their party?
In the wake of the uproar over the so-called abuser fees, the Republican legislature seems quite open to “revisiting” this abomination. Compare what Republican leadership was saying 2 weeks ago:
“The abuser-fee component … has a proven record, provides relief to hard-pressed commuters, and will improve the conditions on our roadways by encouraging safe driving practices.” – House Speaker Bill Howell (R-Stafford)
to now:
“As a part-time legislature, we will make mistakes, and we will have to correct them” – House Majority Leader H. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem)
UPDATE: Meanwhile, this petition has garnered almost 50,000 60,259 signatures and counting. Have you signed it yet?
Republicans voted against protecting our troops this afternoon. A majority of Republican Senators voted to dispose of a measure by Senator Webb which would have protected troops from hyper-extended tours of duty.
“This amendment sets out a bare minimum floor . . . that will protect the well being of our troops,” said Webb, a Marine combat veteran.
He noted that all senators who served in ground combat, including Hagel, had co-sponsored the measure. “I believe that, if I may say, we collectively understand a truth acquired a hard way, and that’s a truth that transcends politics, and we’re trying in all good faith to do something about it.”
The vote was 56 (in favor) to 41 (opposed) – we know that John Warner did vote for the bill, but I’ll have the full roll call up as soon as it’s posted.
UPDATE: Check out the roll call vote. Where was Vitter?
Hat tip to RK
JMU Duke has been on top of the hypocrisy of Republicans when it comes to questions of moral values. The tendency of Republican politicians to condemn without a bit of notice to the beam in their own eye is pretty outrageous. But this trend extends beyond those issues to taxes as well. Earlier I reported on the Big Lie that Cuccinelli, O’Brien and countless other Republican officials have told when signing these “anti-tax pledges”. And today the narrative continues. The Republican-controlled Board for Prince William County (home of great wingnuts like BVBL) had an opportunity to derail the recent transportation tax increases last night, but instead voted almost unanimously to approve the new taxes.
The title “Republican Division” refers to the gap between Republican rhetoric and reality. The gap between words and deeds. The gap between Republican politicians and Republican voters.
It seems that even Republicans don’t really believe in the crazy ideology they espouse in order to get their base riled up for election time. When will their “base” get a clue?
I’ve resisted downgrading McCain on the horserace for a while now, but today’s news is the straw that broke the camel’s back. After languishing in the polls, among the base, in fundraising (and in particular burn rate), and now bleedi
ng top staff, John McCain has undoubtedly slipped.
Since Fred Thompson’s halo may be fading even before he’s officially announced and Giuliani appears to have peaked, I have to put Mitt Romney on top.
Mitt, for
all his awful shortcomings has run a very tight ship. He’s raised the most money (though if you take out what he’s spent and the 9 million of his own money you don’t have any more than McCain- but it pays to be rich doesn’t it?). And he’s consistently leading in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire.
I also just don’t think that Giuliani is going anywhere in a GOP primary. I may be dead wrong, but I don’t buy it.
Horserace Update: 1) Mitt Romney 2) John McCain 3) Fred Thompson 4) Rudy Giuliani
What the hell? Where did all the GOP donors go? I would knock McCain down on the horse race, but I wouldn’t know who to nudge up. You could put Romney on top, he’s said to have the most competent staff, he’s leading in the early states and has the most money. But he’s also the worst possible candidate for the GOP. He is the most awful stereotype of a Republican- patrician, blue blood, detached from reality by his loads of money, and patronizing. And he also has a tendency to fib pretty badly.
Or I could put Giuliani on top, he’s got the star power and the fundraising capacity. But are the Republican crazies really going to stand for the abortion issue, the gay marriage issue, the multiple marriages, and the cross-dressing videos?
Or I could put Thompson on top. He’s done a good job of sculpting a conservative maverick image out of nowhere in the last few months. But he hasn’t even announced yet! More to the point, I’m not convinced he will have the interest or stamina to mount any kind of consistent effort. But hey, the front porch thing might work for the GOP nomination this time around. As weak as their field is looking.
No Horserace Change, Yet
Senator Bob Corker’s remarks yesterday were shocking in their candor and brutal intensity. Here’s a direct quote (emphasis mine):
“I think that this bill is not good for America because I believe America has lost faith in our government’s ability to do the things that it says it will do. We’ve had intelligence gaps. We’ve had evolving reasons as to why we’re involved in military conflicts. We’ve seen what’s happened at the local, state, and federal level (in situations) like Katrina. We have ministers that want to go on mission trips today but cannot get passports renewed. This is about competence. It is about credibility. I think Americans feel that they are losing their country. They’re not losing it to people who speak differently or talk differently or are from different backgrounds. They’re losing it to a government that … (does) not have the competence or the ability to carry out the things that it says it will do.”
For more information: Audio of Corker’s remarks via NPR (at about the 1 minute mark); Corker’s official release
It appears that Mitt Romney’s fund-raising is dwindling, Rudy Guiliani has plateau’d and John McCain will be right there in the mix at the top of the GOP pile for fundraising in the second quarter. It’s still hard to tell what impact Fred Thompson will have on the race. We’re still in the Washington buzz delirium phase of his place in the horserace. Not a good time to take an accurate temperature. I still don’t see him having the energy or enthusiasm required to run. But, contrary to the suggestion made in my last post, I have been wrong before.
John McCain may also benefit from the recent deal that temporarily broke the logjam on the immigration debate. If he can find a way to triangulate a bit on this one, possibly with an amendment, he might escape Iowa after all.
Now let the real campaigning begin. The state GOP in Wyoming has selected the 3 candidates among which the Democratic Governor Dave Freudenthal will have to choose the replacement for the deceased Senator Craig Thomas. I find this to be such an interesting process. Who will the Democratic Governor pick? Will he pick the candidate he perceives to be the most beatable? Will he pick the candidate that seems most qualified? Biggest vote getter among the Republicans in the selection process? The candidate most likely to act as a caretaker Senator (basically continuing the way Thomas would have voted). Or he will pick the candidate most likely to buck his/her party?
This weekend I went to a Memorial Day parade in the beautiful suburban town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio- where my wife’s family lives. This area is by no means Democratic, having voted for just about every Republican on the ballot in modern times. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a Democratic party float with a crowd of people on board and a positive response from the crowd, but I was even more surprised by this:
That’s the Republican float- 2 guys and an inflated elephant with a “Support Our Troops” banner wrapped around the trunk. No mention of the word Republican, no crowds, nothing. How diminished is the Republican party if it can’t get more than two people to walk with its float in the biggest parade of the year in an area that is their stronghold in a swing state? How diminished is the Republican party if it not only has to hide behind transparent statements of “Support Our Troops” (as it often does), but fears to even clearly designate itself as the Republican party?
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Virginia Political Blogs
