The Republican debacle

Townhall.com ^ | November 13, 2006 | Jeff Jacoby

[Just A Nobody]

I'm all for GOP leadership [wink, wink, nudge, nudge] endorsing conservative candidates like Laffey in Rhode Island, Schlesinger in Connecticut, and Toomey in Pennsylvania.

Or DIANA IREY in PA 12!!!

[BufordP]

I know. I was gonna let you say it.
;-)

[George W. Bush]

If Santorum is not a good yardstick, add Burns, Webb, and DeWine, all of whom were far more "kick ass" than their "cut and run" opponents.

Burns beat up firefighters and was in the Abramoff scandal. DeWine was in Ohio where they had a big Republican scandal on top of the ones in Washington and DeWine had made Republicans mad at him already.

They were kick-ass in the sense that voters mostly wanted to kick their asses. Yeah, I would've held my nose and voted for them but I'm more partisan than most voters.

Both Bush and the Demos accurately called the election a referendum on that issue.

I think lack of visible progress in Iraq helped the Dims in many states. But without defections caused by scandal and massive spending, I think we would have held the Senate and at least made the House competitive. Also, those Blue Dogs could, in some cases, look and sound as conservative or more conservative than the Republicans they beat.

[Just A Nobody]

You're allllllllll heart! ;*\

[BufordP]

As you go through all the various categories you start to notice Repubs supported Repubs and Dems supported Dems. The question probably has to do more with miniscule changes (by Repubs,Dems, and Mods) away from the Repubs over the last 2-5 years.

As you cited with your graph, it's a gradation of many things. If the Repubs had done a better job in one or several of those areas, they would have gotten a pass in the remaining areas. My personal opinion: it sure didn't help that they outspent the Clinton Administration when they had the chance to act like Republicans.

[ModelBreaker]

I don't underestimate the ignorance of the MSM either

Actually, I try not to underestimate their mendacity.

[PFC]

I agree.

The problem is not the war, it's the mismanagement of the war.

[George W. Bush]

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound?

An annoying aphorism, almost as bad as the 'what is the sound of one hand clapping' drivel. Naturally, the resonance of air waves caused by the tree's impact will propagate at the usual rate of 1100 feet per second, whether a human being is there or not.

Science education in this country has utterly failed. And no one can blame this one on the creationists.

[Just A Nobody]

Exit polling showed GOP corruption

I just put glasses on and I still don't see where it said, GOP CORRUPTION???

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Wasn't it about a year ago that the Repubs proposed some sort of gas rebate program to give people discount coupons, instead of drilling new wells in the Arctic and offshore?

Buncha environMENTAL-appeasing idiots.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Historic massive voter fraud???

Do you have any evidence that dead Union Goons got up and forced other dead people to vote Democrat and cast evil spells on Diebold machines in Pennsylvania?

[Sam Cree]

I think our politicians deserve most of the blame, but you are right, the MSM was definitely one of the most harmful external factors. I really hate those guys, to quote Happy Gilmore. If not for the efforts of the media, we may have won, even with our many screwups.

Still, you're right that the public loves a winner - I think decisveness in Iraq could have made our guys irresistible at the polls. Add to that the issues of illegal immigration, massive spending on pork, and the abandonment of conservative principles, and its easy to see that the Republicans completely screwed the pooch.

As an aside, the Kelo decision was another opportunity squandered. Why in God's name didn't our guys make a cause out of that on the national level? I know the USSC word is final, but taking a moral stand on Kelo would have been a sure winner. Having Bush give a lame speech on it months after the fact doesn't cut it. We are left with the feeling that our guys are in the pockets of developers or something.

[Sam Cree]

"The problem is not the war, it's the mismanagement of the war."

I am not a military man, but that is the impression I get. For sure, the public gets that impression, the MSM hammers it home. But I think at some level, perhaps many levels, there is truth in that.

[Captain Kirk]

Sure, I'll answer.

Well, it was only a single race....so a pretty thin reed to rely on for those who claim "it wasn't about the war" (contra both pre-election Bush and the Democrats who claimed it was about the war!!).

The short answer for Conn. is that Lamont blew it. After he won, he downplayed the war issue in a big way. He also ran an inept campaign, for example he went on vacation after he won the primary! In any case, a single case does not prove your point compared to massive evidence elswhwere: inclduign the defeat of pro-war candidates (who were also non-corrupt) such as Talent, Santorum, DeWine, Steele, Allen, not to mention the defeat of many pro-war GOP candidates in the House.

BTW, most freepers endlessly argued here before the election that it was a referendum on the war. Were you one of them? If so, what made you change your mind?

[dirtboy]

The short answer for Conn. is that Lamont blew it. After he won, he downplayed the war issue in a big way

No, he reached the max extent of his support in the primaries.

[dirtboy]

inclduign the defeat of pro-war candidates (who were also non-corrupt) such as Talent, Santorum, DeWine, Steele, Allen, not to mention the defeat of many pro-war GOP candidates in the House.

Santorum - Dems chose a pro-life candidate. Big trouble.

DeWine - ethical problems. Steele - great guy in a Dem state, almost pulled it off. Allen - foot in mouth disease, plus I think he was looking ahead to 2008 and not paying enough attention to 2006 until it was too late. Talent - tough race, very close, those happen.

37 Percent - that was the extent for whom the war was a significant issue. That does not swing elections to the extent you are claiming.

[trooprally]

Get rid if them though in the Primaries, not the General Election.

[Mr] T

[Albion Wilde]

A dozen years later, the contract forgotten, the GOP had become an embarrassment -- a party of soaring federal budgets, gluttonous farm and highway bills, and earmarks from here to eternity. Instead of permanent tax relief and Social Security reform, the Republicans delivered a vast new drug entitlement and the McCain-Feingold crackdown on political expression. Worst of all, the party that had held itself out as the antidote to Democratic corruption now reeked of its own scandals.

Bears repeating.

[Albion Wilde]

A dozen years later, the contract forgotten, the GOP had become an embarrassment -- a party of soaring federal budgets, gluttonous farm and highway bills, and earmarks from here to eternity. Instead of permanent tax relief and Social Security reform, the Republicans delivered a vast new drug entitlement and the McCain-Feingold crackdown on political expression. Worst of all, the party that had held itself out as the antidote to Democratic corruption now reeked of its own scandals.

Bears repeating.

[Albion Wilde]

Then why did "kick ass" candidates like Santorum lose?

Because he is from the same state as Fast Eddie and had to fight the Specter-Rendell machine.