SAUNDERS: Didn't see it coming

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 11/9/6 | Debra J. Saunders

[SmithL]

YES, I THOUGHT the GOP would do better Tuesday -- I certainly didn't see 28 (as of this writing) House seats going to the Democrats. I thought the GOP was sure to retain the Senate. Democrats beware, however, if you think this was a victory for your party. As Democratic pollster Douglas Schoen noted in a conference call Wednesday morning, Dems won the House by picking candidates who were "running away" from liberal Democratic positions. Independents, who rejected President Bush and congressional GOP leaders, have not signed on to soon-to-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi's agenda.

Yes, I am disappointed. I strongly believe that the precipitous withdrawal from Iraq, which some Democrats support, would consign the more than 2,800 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq to the dubious honor of proving that America is a paper tiger. As Bob Ayers of Chatham House, a London-based foreign-affairs think tank, puts it, "History clearly proves, as with Chamberlain's compromise with Hitler at Munich, that compromise only emboldens the radicals."

Still, as unhappy as I may be, I have to acknowledge the dose of wisdom behind the voters' verdict. The message I hear is that voters want Washington pols to stop fighting among themselves and get to work. They're sick of Bush's "my way or the highway" approach to policy. They want the president to do a better job of managing the government with which they have entrusted him.

. . . Wednesday's announcement that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is leaving shows Bush has now heard the message. Whether Bush has the capacity to make more changes remains to be seen.

If Bush is seeking a model, he need look no further than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

[Defiant]

Bush's "my way or the highway" approach to policy

I think this claim against Bush is unfair. I don't think he's had this attitude. What he has face is obstructionism to his policies at every turn, and when he faced it with the war, he forced the Dems to vote for it, which made them mad. When he faced obstruction on judges and legislation, he was very pliant. He should have been kicking butt and taking names.

[aligncare]

"Vote for us...We're not them!"--and the voters did.

[SmoothTalker]

Dems to America ""Vote for us...We're not them!"

R's to America "Vote for us...We're not them!"

[aligncare]

Only one problem with your well thought-out analysis: The Media wing of the democrat party--otherwise known as the Mainstream Media (or as I prefer: Democrat Media).

[George W. Bush]

He must have been seeing too many of these kinds of posts on FR before the election



Hahahahaha.

Yeah, I was just wondering this morning what happened to that magnificent stuff.

It's like shouting "Wheee" as you fly over the cliff...

[penowa]

I'm pretty sure Debra Saunders is not a Dim.

I'm not sure what she is, but I never found anything much conservative about her views. She is usually carried in papers that lean far left as the token "conservative." She does look conservative compared to the socialists and commies since she's part of the mushy middle only leaning a little to the left.

[George W. Bush]

Give me ONE legitimate example and NOT a Dem talking point wish. Anyone.

Pill Bill.

Held the vote open for hours. Threatened many conservatives that they would run an opponent against them in their next primary if they wouldn't vote for it. One of them was the guy who was leader of the Florida house in 2000 who helped deliver for Bush during that meltdown.

For his conservative conscience, he was consigned to the back benches.

And how about the Bridge To Nowhere and all the earmark nonsense? Tom Delay, once a hero of mine, was saying that he just didn't think there was any more excess spending that could be cut. Like a bad flashback to the Sixties when the Dims were in office. I loved Tom Delay but he lost me there. I never signed up for that kind of corrupt liberal spending and debt.

[George W. Bush]

Dems to America ""Vote for us...We're not them!"
R's to America "Vote for us...We're not them!"

If only...

The real truth: R's to America: "Vote for us...We are them."

The voters heard loud and clear. I'm surprised they didn't boot 'em in '04. The voters were pretty tolerant, I'd say. And the narrowness of the Dim victory in real numbers indicates we can recover our position by returning to our fundamental principles.

And in the red states where Dims won, they ran as us. Not surprisingly, they won. The South still has genuine lingering affection for the old Dim party. If they can get conservative Dims to run again, we've had it there. And we have only ourselves to blame.

Permanent-majority. Total nonsense.

[rivercat]

That may be it. I think I've been in moonbat-land too long!

[rivercat]

Here's some info on her... http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Debra_J._Saunders

It seems she's worked for Republicans in the past.

[Paloma_55]

Dems won the House by picking candidates who were "running away" from liberal Democratic positions. Independents, who rejected President Bush and congressional GOP leaders, have not signed on to soon-to-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi's agenda.

DINOs... the new catchphrase soon to be hitting DC.

Democrats In Name Only.

These will be the conservative Democrats who were sheparded into the party to fight against the Republicans. They will vote for lower taxes, support our troops, and against government social programs.

I think that quickly, they will realize that unlike the Republican party which actually helps RINOs succeed, the DINOs will be ostracized, have no authority in the party, and will be kicked out as soon as a real liberal can take their seat.

[Citizen Soldier]

Well, we sure got a lot of "my way or the highway' from the last administration, and we will still have it with the next one. Bush considers it leadership on what he was elected to do. I cringe to think her heinous will too.

[aligncare]

I voted for George W. Bush (not you--the other one. LOL), and I supported him because he was the first American president to finally fight back against the Radical Islamists who had been attacking America and Americans abroad for decades.

But other than that important issue...I knew conservatives were in trouble when the very first piece of legislation he signed was an education bill with Ted Kennedy. And the rest: immigration, pork barrel spending...a loser for conservative.

(He did earn a B in my book on judicial appointments though)

[lasereye]

He did earn a B in my book on judicial appointments though

Reason enough to vote for him, even if he never did anything else.

[aligncare]

Good point...

The 'culture war' continues...and we need conservatives on the court.

[Major Matt Mason]

If Bush is seeking a model, he need look no further than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I can understand why you cut the article off at this sentence. God help us if the GOP goes in this direction (I know, he is referring to Bush in this article, not the entire GOP). There won't be enough gold in Fort Knox to cover the bill.

[subterfuge]

When I hear the so called Bush mantra of "my way or the highway" I'm thinking of it coming from Democrats, the left and the media. None of your points have anything to do with this meme put out by them. Conservatives/Republicans and Delay weren't the ones putting out this little catch phrase.

Feel free to try again.

[George W. Bush]

I knew conservatives were in trouble when the very first piece of legislation he signed was an education bill with Ted Kennedy.

Me too. And we had beat that back under Clinton!

(He did earn a B in my book on judicial appointments though)

After we shoved Harriet over the cliff, it was good. But why did we even have to go through that? Very messy and unnecessary.

[George W. Bush]

Feel free to try again.

I proved my point abundantly.

I'm not Charlie Brown even if you're pretending to be Lucy holding the football. You're wrong and I proved it. Just be a man and admit it.

[Chi-townChief]

JERRY: Kramer, are you drinking that milk?

KRAMER: Yeah.

JERRY: What's the expiration date on that?

KRAMER: September third.

JERRY: The third?

GEORGE: and SUSAN: The third?

KRAMER: Um, Uh, ugh, ...

SUSAN: Noooo... [Kramer throws up on Susan]

[Monk's]

GEORGE: I never should have brought her up there. Should have known better. Should have seen it coming. I didn't see it coming.

JERRY: I think SHE saw it coming.