Posted on 11/09/2004 5:23:38 PM PST by KoRn
Exactly. Getting our judges confirmed is the preeminent consideration and is why Specter deserves to be taken to the woodshed for his comments last week.
With the GOP gains in the Senate, Chafee and the other liberals in the caucus have been marginalized and will no longer be able to hold the President's agenda hostage. I'd still rather have a borderline Republican than a Teddy K or Hillary disciple in that seat.
A part of me despises these types of "republicans" more than I do someone like Kennedy that has no pretense, but in agreement I'd rather 50% agreement in votes than 0%. Considering the north eastern section Chafee comes from, it's a good record considering.
I suspect Chafee also realizes if we do the "unthinkable" and tack on more gains '06 in the remaining "red" states Dems still have a hold, his relevence will continue to fall. Snowe, Collins, Chaffee, etc..aren't going to follow Jefford's example. They'll put up enough of a fight to be of use to Dems in case they make gains, but stay enough in the fold not to alientate Reps completely if the lead expands to the point they become irrelevant.
How many states did kerry win? 13? That translates to 26 Senate seats for Dems if we ran the board elsewhere. While not altogether likely, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Another reason Dems are whining about secession. Their high population cities may keep them close in electorals and popular figures, but it does nothing to aid them in the Senate races. If we hold on to these states, eventually we could have that 2/3rd's majority.
This has to be a concern for Dems. The White House may be top symbolic prize but they cannot allow further loss of the Congress.
Exactly. Being in the minority sucks!
"we should hold our noses and support Chafee"
Seems to be a lot of nose-holdin' goin' on these days. I swear, some of you people would support and vote for Satan if he had an (R) behind his name.
Come on Jeffers come back the Waters Cold.
Translation -- I'll be part of the loser minority, instead of a rock star, if I leave.
Well if Satan would vote to confirm our judges he'd have my vote, but something tells me that's not something you'd find on his agenda.
That's the reality if we want to win elections. It's the formula Bubba used in '92 and '96. He was able to pick off enough RINOs - who think along the lines of Jeffords and Chafee - by hijacking Republican issues and claiming them as his own. GW Bush was able to combat this in '00 and to a lesser extent in '04 by neutralizing the traditional Democrat advantages on education, Social Security and health care.
I'd rather be in the majority with a few riffraff Republicans who tow the line 50% of the time as opposed to having Teddy K clones who are with us none of the time.
If we remain the "big tent" party that Reagan conceived, we can ensure that the GOP will be the majority party for decades to come.
He's staying only because his threats won't work anymore and because his career would be toast if he jumped ship
IIRC, Chafee is the one who introduced a bill to repeal the Second Amendment.
He and McPain are the reason I will not contribute to the RNC. I've sent money to individual candidates - I contributed to Thune's campaign even though I'm unemployed - but the national Republican Party will not get a dime out of me until they start "Disciplining" the likes of Chafee and McPain - up to, and including, telling them they're not welcome in the Party any more.
It's very big of him to stay in the majority, where he'll have more power.
man jeffords is just that much more meaningless now..
"Chafee had said last week he would consider switching party affiliation if Bush won because he thought the president was taking the party too far to the right."
Tranlation: He would have switched parties if the Democraps had taken control of the Senate, or if his switching would give them control. His loyalty knows no bounds, as long as he's in the majority party.
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